Spring Sale 15% off at Maison de Belles Choses Now Happening for April

It is clearly Spring here in San Francisco. It has been so sunny that our daughter Molly swears it is summer and time to go swimming. We are getting close and to celebrate this great weather, Maison de Belles Choses is having a Spring sale. The entire website is 15% off and this includes recently marked down items put on Sale.

We have great new items from Zuccini including the Girls Ice Cream Short Set or the Boys Truck John John.













We also have a adorable Fish Romper from Anavini and a smocked Monkey A-line Dress. I think you get the picture - beautiful and handsome smocked clothing on sale now at Maison de Belles Choses.

The little boy pictured at the top is sporting the Vive la Fete Classic Car Shirt and Cargo Short Set, in case you were wondering.

Happy Shopping!

Ribbit, Ribbit! The Sound of Smocked Frogs

Frogs are extremely popular in our house. Our son loves to say 'Ribbit' and both children love to hop like a frog. And honestly, when do you ever see frogs depicted in a surly, unpleasant manner? You don't. Even when the Prince is stuck as a frog, like in the latest Princess & The Frog movie by Disney, overall he is still a happy little guy.

Claire & Charlie created very friendly frogs on their Smocked Frog Bishop Dress and their Smocked Frog Shortall. I love the purple gingham fabric for the dress and the aqua blue check fabric for the shortall. And, of course, everyone in our house loves the adorable, smiling frogs! These are great complimenting outfits for Spring.

The Sailboat Option

I try to have some options for brothers and sisters, particularly since I find great joy in dressing my children in the complimenting outfits. Another great option for the little brother and sister are the Zuccini Embroidered Sailboat Romper and the Zuccini Two-Piece Smocked Top and Bloomer set. These are fabulous! I love the complimenting blue colors and the styles are just wonderful. For the complete selection of sailboat themed clothes and swim suits (and there are quite a few) please click here.

Feel free to email me if there is something you are looking for and don't see it on our site. I will see if I can special order it for you. It is my pleasure to see children dressed in smocked clothing from Maison de Belles Choses.

Happy Shopping!!

Fabulous Swimwear from Funtasia Too!

I know I may say this every summer season since I have started buying swimwear but this may be my favorite swimwear yet!!!

Funtasia Too has created the most fabulous whale embroidered and appliqued swimwear on blue gingham. As for an emblem to signify swimming, what could be more apropos than a whale? If you've ever seen them launch out of the water it is hard to imagine anything more grand or majestic!















I loved Bailey Boys blue gingham swimsuits with red ric rac last season (Yes, I see the pattern) but the wonderful green embroidered whales on the boy swim trunks and girl one piece really makes the suits pop!

In case you're interested, the girl at the top of the blog is wearing the Bailey Boys suit with the red ric rac, and here it is just above. It is perfect for a monogram!

Until this season, I have not bought a two-piece bathing suit for girls. I am in love with this Funtasia Too Two-piece Appliqued Whale Bathing suit for the big sister. The top extends pretty well down the torso and the bottoms have the fabulous ruffle also found on the one-piece. I think this swimsuit is still sweet and innocent and a perfect compliment to the embroidered options.















Funtasia Too picks great fabric and does a wonderful job with the embroidery on this suits (I believe there might be a few swim trunks in red gingham with embroidered navy anchors in the sale section). Funtasia Too knows their strengths and I am so happy to be able to offer these adorable whale bathing suits this season!

For all the choices for girls swimwear click here. For all the boys click here.

Happy Swimming!

Smocked Clothing for Every Occasion!

So I recently took a photo of my daughter in one of her favorite dresses. My daughter only likes to wear dresses, for now at least, and is always up for a smocked one. In this recent photo, as you can see, she is wearing her beautiful Bois de Rose blue floral dress with her construction hat and goggles. This got me thinking - smocked and classic clothing look great for any occasion! It also reminded me that I make a point as the buyer (and owner) for Maison de Belles Choses to buy quality at multiple price points.















I have been very pleased with Royal Child and Carriage Boutiques and the quality of their clothing at more affordable prices. This Celery Smocked Bishop Dress by Royal Child is beautiful! The color is great and the smocking is well done. What varies, I noticed, is the material is a cotton/polyester blend, rather than 100% cotton. The pink accents throughout look wonderful and this dress will get a ton of wear throughout the Spring/Summer season.















Carriage Boutique did a great job with this Blue Striped Smocked Dress. I love the fabric with the slightly raised white lines. The smocking is nice and tight and well done and the puff cap sleeve and peter pan collar just finish is out so well. It also comes with coordinating panty cover in the smaller sizes.















Funtasia Too is another favorite of mine and the brand is made in the USA. This is a family affair and they are true advocates for dressing kids well without breaking the bank. I am a huge fan of their bathing suits (more about them in another blog) and the Pillow Case Dress. This dress is well made, reversible and absolutely adorable! You can't pass this dress up this season.















Two dresses stand out this year in party dresses. First, the Vive la Fete Pink Smocked Party Dress has a wonderful vibrant pink for those girls who go for a more intense color scheme. For those with perhaps a more delicate color preference, the Zuccini Pink Party Dress is sure to please. The quality of the smocking and fabric is evident. Your little girl will look beautiful in these dresses also for her special occasion!















My children are often spotted in smocked or appliqued clothing - at school, at parties, and many other days. I find all the brands we carry to wash well and to last. My son has gotten almost everything on his smocked shirts and I can always get it out and the clothes hold up. I think you can never go wrong with well made clothing, at all price points and I hope you agree that smocked clothing can work for everything occasion!

Happy Shopping!

Bunny Reversible Appliqué for Spring

Searching for fun bunny facts, I discovered that bunnies can get pregnant while pregnant! Yikes! I enjoyed pregnancy, but hey, a break was in order after those ten months. No wonder bunnies proliferate so fast. Hmmmm.

So if bunnies as pets could be a bit much, why not add some bunny appliqué to some darling outfits? Even though these bunnies are guaranteed NOT to multiply, the outfit itself is two in one. That is, if you turn it inside out you have a different appliqué outfit. Now that's the kind of multiplication I can deal with - extend the outfit life beyond the holiday on into the summer!



For the girls we have the Zuccini Bunny Reversible Dress. Rather than a flat cloth rabbit, the bunny is made with a soft white terrycloth. The stalk of the carrot is actually a thin green yarn. The appliqué is set on pink seersucker.















Turn it inside out, and Voila! an outfit ready for the summer with appliqué watermelon pocket covers. This side is done in blue and white seersucker, and there are buttons set at the top with an ingenious system of hiding the tag.















For the boys we have the Zuccini Bunny Reversible Shortall. Same bunny as the dress in blue on blue seersucker - a great match. Turned inside out we find a shark, perfect for the summer.

I love the way Zuccini multiplies the wears their clothing give us as well as the length of time our kids can wear the clothes - and with such a high quality, too.

Pink Smocked Dresses for Spring

Once toddlers begin to sing, the potential for lyrical "enhancements" takes on comic possibilities. That is, on purpose or not, they can mangle songs in a very funny way. Molly had just learned the song "Hot Cross Buns", a simple and straightforward tune. One day she was wearing pink pants, and started singing "Hot Pink Pants, Hot Pink Pants, one-a-penny, two-a-penny, Hot Pink Pants!"

Our new Spring Arrivals lack Hot Pants, pink or otherwise, but we've added some great pink smocked dresses by Vive la Fete and Jeanine Johnsen. Have a look!















The first is a stunning dress by Vive la Fete, the Pink Smocked Party Dress. The smocked area in front has amazing detail, with a white chevron design reminiscent of Bois de Rose. Integrated with the white chevron are pink flower designs in vertical columns. The collar has subtle red and white stripe piping on both edges and this is carried down below near the hem on top of a ring of ruffles. Sizes are from 4T to 6X. This dress has a lot of wonderful subtle touches, perfect for birthday parties in the Springtime!















For smaller girls, there is the Vive la Fete Pink Smocked Sun Bubble Dress. It features the same white chevron with flower design the the Party Dress has, but in a rectangle on the front. This would be perfect for a pair of sisters - similar, but different enough to not be too cute. The sizes range from 6 months to 24 months. The collar has the same red and white piping.

Changing it up, we have a lovely dress from Jeanine Johnsen, the Soft Pink Striped Dress. Fairly simple, the narrow ruffled collar adds just enough to make it stand out and get noticed. It is fully lined and comes with a complimentary pink and white striped panty cover. Sizes are 6-12 m, 12-18 m, and 18 to 24 m.

Do you have funny story about how your little one mangled (er, improved) a song? Would you share it with us? Either here on the blog or on Facebook, we'd love to hear it!