The Rainbow Connection, Part Deux

Brian Atwood Mania Strass Rainbow Pump; your daughter can't wear these, but she'll love that they're shiny, sparkly, and generally fab.

As some of you may remember — and as an astonishing number of people searching for “rainbow hair” have discovered — Magnolia is rainbow-obsessed.

Still.

Recent requests for multicolored items — pleeeease, mama?! — have included: rainbow shoelaces, rainbow sandals (hard to find), and a rainbow swimsuit like the adorable one-piece from Target we saw a little girl wearing while on vacation.

I’ve done some research, and the colors-of-the-prism goods are out there — bright, fun, and ready to make someone happy.

Here are a few things your little rainbow-lover — or you — might like:

Blue heart print rainbow flips flops, Etsy.

Get inspired to sew your own, if you’ve got the time and talent, like this mom did! Rainbow dress via BurdoStyle.

Rainbow shoelaces, Etsy.

Tie dye rainbow dress, Etsy.

For mom! Custom rainbow link wedge sandal, Etsy.

Circo multicolor stripe swimsuit, Amazon.

And the one-piece number mentioned above, available from Target or Amazon.

Hand-painted rainbow Velcro MaryJanes, Etsy.

To make a rainy day brighter, the rainbow umbrella from MoMA.

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For more inspiration — and some clever ideas and beautiful images — check out Swiss Miss’s “rainbows” category.

For still more colorful pretties, see Brooklyn Bride’s list of Top 10 Rainbow Details.

And if you missed Part One of this rainbow madness…. Weekend Links for Brooklyn Mamas: The Rainbow Connection Edition

Boys’ Clothes: Buy European!

CubeTee T-shirt from Du Pareil au Meme

I used to blog for CafeMom about pregnancy, so I wrote a lot about finding out the sex and how the gender news makes moms feel. I took the news kind of hard when we were expecting our first baby — I wanted a girl, and we found out (very early on) we were having a boy. I have to admit, at first, I was disappointed.

Right after the doctor’s appointment when we found out, we went to look at baby clothes and to fantasize about what lay ahead. We went to Old Navy. Tragic mistake. Their boys’ clothes are a little cuter now (five years later), but at the time it was all miniature football jerseys and dark brown shirts. The idea that shopping for baby clothes would be waaayy less fun with a boy than with a girl only added to my slight gloom about the gender. (Needless to say, I got over the boy thing completely and of course adore our son.)

But the clothes were an issue. Here’s how we overcame it: The secret is to “buy European.”

You have to search out some of these brands, but the ones we loved (and still love — FYI, we lean heavily French here) are:

• Du Pareil au Meme — French, but not ridiculously expensive. Great for cute basics.
• Petit Bateau — Also French, but pricier than Du Pareil au Meme
• Mini Boden
• Jacadi
• Bonpoint
• Oilily

There’s no need to pay full price for any of these adorable threads — you can find tons of them at affordable prices on eBay.

Where do you shop for kids’ clothes? Any favorite finds for labels or stores?