Dad Tip: Crocs + Armor All

If you want to bring an old pair of your kid's Crocs back to life (or if you want to hand-down an older pair to a younger sibling) wipe them down with some Armor All after you wash them. They'll go from that dried-out dull to an almost-new finish. Crocs makes something called "CrocsButter" (which comes with a sponge applicator that in my experience dries out rather quickly) but chances are you've already got some Armor All hanging around in the garage. And if you don't, at least you can spend your money on something that might come in handy for other stuff.

Tuck in Your Shirt and Put on a Belt

via manofthehouse.com

My latest post on Man of the House is kind of a rebuttal to a post from a few months ago telling guys NOT to tuck-in their shirts. I really don't agree.

But perhaps more importantly, I also used it as an opportunity to complain about the one thing that bothers me the most about how some men dress. If your pants have belt loops and you're a guy, then you should ALWAYS wear a belt.

Always.

Tuck In Your Shirt and Put On A Belt  [Man of the House.com]

New Canvas Summertime Shoes from Lugz

A few weeks ago I was sent a pair of these new canvas shoes from Lugz for review. I've never reviewed clothing before, let alone footwear, but they looked pretty cool so I decided to try them out.

The pair I got were in the "Sparks" style, which basically is a casual canvas sneaker. Lugz calls it a "Moc toe design"  but to me they look like a low-cut summertime version of Clarks' Desert Boots. You can get them in eight different color combinations, but I got dark tan/white which looks good with jeans (and I'm hoping shorts when the weather gets better).

After wearing them for a while, the only issue I had with them really is that they are about a half-size too big. It wasn't that big of a deal for me, but there was a little more room in the toe than I normally would have wanted. (Actually, the Lugz website now suggests ordering a 1/2 size smaller than normal, so I guess my pair wasn't an aberration). Being decidedly casual, there isn't a lot of support in the insole so I probably wouldn't wear them if I was planning on walking any long distances or being on my feet for a long time. But for shoes to kick around during the summertime in, they seem great.

Sparks by Lugz, $39.99 from Lugz.com. Or check out all of their new canvas shoes.

Asking Ronald McDonald the Obvious Question

via www.threadless.com

Here's a reprinted t-shirt from Threadless I found today. Cynical? Sure. Harsh? Kind of. Funny? Yes.

But who wants to wear a t-shirt with a puking clown on it - even if it's rainbow puke?

(I guess the fact that the t-shirt is reprinted kind of answers the question for me...)

"Not So Happy" by Lora Zombie, $20, men and women's sizes only [Threadless.com]

Bond on the Brain - The Music and the Fashion

You may or may not have heard about the recent death of film composer John Barry, but he was the person most famous for composing eleven James Bond soundtracks, most notably the James Bond theme at the beginning of every movie. He also wrote the theme songs for Goldfinger and Thunderball.

Even if you set aside one of the most iconic themes in all of film music, he'd be tops in my book just for Goldfinger. Who can deny the awesomeness of Shirley Bassey's Goldfinger?

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MagCoUYvIXE&w=480&h=390]

In fact, if you want to check out a really great interview of John Barry before he passed away, check out his interview with Terry Gross on Fresh Air on NPR

The Suits of James Bond
And then last night I was reading one of the blogs that I regularly check out - Put This On (it's a blog that kind of aims to encourage men to dress like adults) and they linked to an amazing website called "The Suits of James Bond." And while I am rarely what anyone objective might call "well dressed," I stayed up way too late last night reading it.

The Suits of James Bond is a website written by a person who has (what appears to me at least) an expert-level knowledge of mens clothing, who can parse exactly what type of suit James Bond is wearing, how it is made, and often what brand it is. It covers all phases of James Bond, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig. And sprinkled inbetween the minutiae is how the fashion relates and inter-relates to the rest of the James Bond universe. To wit:

Roger Moore always wore slip-ons with his suits, as practised by the literary James Bond. Slip-ons are traditionally too casual to wear with a city suit, though it was popular to wear them in that fashion in the 1980s. Moore left behind the bit loafers in the 1970s and for the 1980s wore a more conservative style.

Read it long enough, and you start to realize you're getting tips about dressing yourself too (for instance, shiny neckties are more appropriately worn in the evenings and for more formal occasions). It sounds nerdy (and believe me it is) but it is really awesome.

The Suits of James Bond via Put This On.

UPDATE: For those shopping on a budget, check out Affordable Bond via my friend (and 007 enthusiast) David.

Star Wars Clothes (Onesies, Snapsuits, T-Shirts and Hats) for Babies and Kids

Back when I was a new Dad, I tried hard to find a cool Star Wars Onesie (or snapsuit, or bodysuit or creeper, or romper, or whatever you're supposed to call them) for my daughter. I eventually found some at mall store Hot Topic, but those have long been removed from their store - probably to make room for truck loads of Angry Birds T-Shirts.

Sadly, there isn't much to choose from out there. Even Think Geek doesn't have any Star Wars clothes for babies (costumes don't count). However I did find a couple of cool things, so here's an updated roundup of the best of the Star Wars baby clothes (in no particular order):

Buy Buy Baby is selling a basic red Star Wars Bodysuit

with the Star Wars logo (pictured above). Sizes newborn through six months are sold out, but the 9 months version is available for $6.99.

Amazon.com has a few "unofficial" Star Wars snapsuits. Instead of images from the movie they have quotes from the movies. There is "Judge me by my size, do you? Size matters not." and my favorite, "Aren't you a little short for a stormtrooper?" (above, available for $9.99).

The Retro Baby doesn't have any Onesies or snapsuits, but they do have some pretty cool vintage-looking t-shirts. They've got a girls pink long sleeved shirt with a picture of an Ewok that says "Save the Trees," a neon R2-D2 girls shirt and a black Empire Strikes Back T-shirt that looks like it was taken from a Chinese poster for The Empire Strikes Back. If you're looking to get your kid (or nephew) a Star Wars shirt that most of his friends don't already have, I'd check that one out. (TheRetroBaby.com)

If a Onesie or t-shirt just aren't cool enough for your kid, then the Baby Yoda Hat might fit the bill. Etsy.com is full of crafters and entrepreneurs making cool stuff to sell, but this might be one of the cooler things I've seen. Honestly, you'd have to pay me a lot more than $22 to make a green beanie with Yoda ears, which is why I think you should probably go get one now. (Star Wars Baby Yoda Hat - crocheted by knitterkrys on Etsy.com)

And finally, the absolutely LAMEST option for Star Wars baby clothes is ironically the only baby item sold at the official StarWars.com store. It's a rather ugly bodysuit and bib that says "Ugnaughty or Ugnice?". I mean, I get it, but no one likes the creepy Ugnaughts from The Empire Strikes Back. And it's a long way to go for a lame joke - especially for $22.

Also on Modern Day Dad: 

Star Wars snapsuits. A hot topic. (from 2005? Seriously? I've been blogging that long?)
May the force be with you. Just not in 12-18 mos. (Wow. I guess I have) 

My new favorite kid's t-shirt.

Finding a cool t-shirt is one of the few things the internet is really good for. But finding one for your kid is even twice as sweet. This one from Threadless is my new favorite. Alas poor unicorn, you are SOL.

Get Biblical Disaster from Threadless for $17.

Tricky & Titch

MDD reader Sarah sent me a link a few weeks ago to yet another online baby boutique, but this one is pretty good. Tricky & Titch describe themselves as "Fresh and modern on a smaller scale" and I have to say the designs definitely reflect that. Like pretty much every other online kid store, they sell baby clothes, bibs, hats and blankets with cute messages, but what I like is that they're not too cutesy, just really simple. There are shirts that say "big brother" or "little sister" or, my favorite, "{gorgeous}". If they made a "Monkey" t-shirt for a girl then that one would be my favorite, but I guess they figure "monkey" is more of a boy appellation. They haven't met my Madame obviously.

They're Canadian, so you'll have to figure out how much "$30 CDN" is. Though the upside is, as Sarah pointed out to me, they make the products themselves and don't just slap a design on an already pre-made shirt. And isn't that really what you want when you're paying $30 CDN?

Tricky & Titch [via Sarah - thanks]

Going to t-shirt hell.

I've written about some funny t-shirts and kid's clothes in the past, but I don't think I've found a more crass (some most might say offensive) on-line kid's t-shirt store than this place - T-Shirt Hell. A lot of the shirts are simple bumper-sticker comedy, but a couple of them genuinely provoke a "I can't believe someone actually put that on a kid's t-shirt and I'm laughing" response. I'd never in a million years put this shirt on my kid, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't crack me up when I first saw it. A few of my favorites are the "Are You My Daddy?", "Now that I'm Safe, I'm Pro Choice!" and just in time for Christmas - "Cuter Than Baby Jesus"

T Shirt Hell.com via DaddyTypes.

Search for more kid's T-Shirts and clothing on Modern Day Dad.

Infantile t-shirts.

I'm not exactly sure where, but last week I came across a new online children's t-shirt boutique called Infantile. Unlike most of these online  children's clothing stores, this one focuses on the designers themselves. As I don't really know much about cutting edge graphic design I can't really comment on the designers, but the site has some pretty cool shirts - all with that NYC-graphic-design-t-shirt-fetish sensibility. My favorites are "Ready Set Grow" (pictured) and "M is for Mosey." At $22 a piece they're not the cheapest, but they're cooler than Carter's. 

Star Wars snapsuits. A hot topic.

[UPDATE: If you've found this page and you're looking for Star Wars baby clothes, check out the updated post:

Star Wars Clothes (Onesies, Snapsuits, T-Shirts and Hats) for Babies and Kids]

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about how I couldn't find any Star Wars onesies (or snapsuits, or bodysuits, or whatever), but yesterday MDD reader Kate J tipped me to where they had some - mall store Hot Topic.

Wait a minute. Hot Topic? The same store where pre-teen kids who just discovered punk rock buy their Dead Kennedys hats? The same store where I felt old for being in there when I was 21? Well, yes. And I must admit, these were the bodysuits I was looking for. I'm kind of partial to the Princess Leia, but they've also got "Daddy's Little Ewok", "Stormpoopers" and the Darth Vader themed "Who's Your Daddy?"

Check them out at the Hot Topic on-line store. Which is more my speed really, as I think I'd still feel weird going into one at the mall. [via Kate J - thanks!]

This is not a Fugazi snapsuit.

I had a pretty funny idea for an infant "snapsuit" a couple of months ago, and for once it was an idea I thought I might be able to make some spare cash off of. So I worked out the design, uploaded it to Cafepress.com and set up the Modern Day Dad store. But my cash cow was not to be, because Cafepress froze the selling of the item because of copyright issues (they must be concerned about the Gerber onesie police). So this morning I was thinking about it and I figured, screw it, I should just give it away.

I'm not going to explain it - if you don't get it immediately you won't be interested in the first place. Use the file to make your own iron-on. It comes out pretty good.

Download thisisnotaonesie.png

May the force be with you. Just not in 12-18 mos.

[UPDATE: If you've found this page and you're looking for Star Wars baby clothes, check out the updated post:

Star Wars Clothes (Onesies, Snapsuits, T-Shirts and Hats) for Babies and Kids]

We're going to the midnight showing of Star Wars tonight. I know. I'm a geek fan who has been burned twice before, but I still can't help myself. Although we won't be taking Madame (of course), my sister still wanted to know if I had any sweet Star Wars gear to dress her in today. It was a good idea I thought, but I don't have anything, and I can't say that I've ever seen anything in a store or online. So even though it's too late, I went shopping online last night to see what's out there.

The quick answer is almost nothing. There are some t-shirts for older boys at Target, and the official Star Wars Shop has some lame kids t-shirts with an M&M tie-in (I guess one brand just isn't enough). Other than that and one Star Wars "Celebration III" onesie I found over at Rebelscum.com, it seem Star Wars clothes for babies are pretty much the domain of eBay DIYers. The tshirts and onesies seem like something I might be able to do with my meager Photoshop skills and some iron-on paper, but I did think the Darth Vader baby costume was kind of cool.

Could I have found a merchandising niche Lucas hasn't exploited yet?

Holy crap is that a Mr. T onesie?

MDD reader Ray posted in the comments of this post a few days ago a link to another online baby boutique, Retro Baby. I've blogged about these stores before, but this one is good. Like Baby Wit used to, they've got all kinds of onesies and baby t-shirts using some of your favorite old school tv shows and celebrities. I'm obviously partial to anything related to Mr. T (it's obvious to me at least), but there are some other winners out there too. The site makes me wonder however, how do places like this use images of celebrities, movies and television shows to sell t-shirts without getting into trouble? I'm thinking it would be good to buy what you like soon before the inventory starts disappearing. I pity the fool that doesn't give Mr. T his cut.

Don't be a fool! Stay in school!
Mr. T onesie (sorry, "one piece") $16.95 at RetroBaby.com

Bombalulu's.

Baby boutiques are, as far as I can tell, mostly the domain of the internet and NYC. They have some in LA, but not like New York. Maybe it's just because now I'm a dad I'm interested in them, but when I was there recently I seemed to see them everywhere. (In my youth I used to see record stores everywhere in NYC. What am I going to see when I'm an old man? Drug stores?)

One I stopped in on my way to Kid-O was Bombalulu's on West 10th. They have the requisite educational toys and cute stuffed animals, but they really excel in children's clothing - especially for girls. There were great t-shirts (like the one we picked up for Madame - pictured above) and all kinds of dresses and accessories. They're even capitalizing on the princess craze and making tutus and other frilly play clothes for girls. According to their website all the clothes are hand-made so it's not cheap, but hey, you are shopping in a baby boutique after all.

Bombalulu's. 101 W. 10th St. NYC (right down the street from Kid-O)

To bib, or not to bib?

Babies spit up. Of all the gross things involved with an infant, in my opinion spit up is low on the list. But now that Madame is eating solid (well, kind of solid) foods like sweet potatoes and carrots, the color of her spit up has gone from a nice white that can be wiped away to a bright, staining orange. Not wanting her to puke all over her clothes, recently I've started to put a bib on her in the morning with the rest of her outfit.

But yesterday it occurred to me that this technique is kind of like covering your sofa in plastic so you won't ruin the sofa. Putting your little girl in a cute outfit that your friends gave her for Christmas and then putting a bib over it kind of defeats the purpose of the outfit in the first place. But then, when she spits up all over it when you're out at the store, there's really nothing to do but change the outfit.

These are the kind of ridiculous dilemmas I never expected before I became a father. I guess I gotta go buy some better looking bibs.

Dirty socks.

Baby’ssocks should be relatively clean right? It’s not like she’s walking anywhere. Recent examination of her socks as they were going into the laundry revealed three sources of soiling:

• Poop – Stretching your legs the second your dad takes off the dirty diaper might seem like a good idea, but not to your socks.
• Shrimp marinade – Sometimes dad is skewering shrimp for the grill as you hang in front of him in the Baby Bjorn. At least he’s not skewering feet too.
• Blue jean dye – Showing everyone how you can stand is definitely cool, and the best place to practice is on dad’s lap. His blue jeans used to rub off on the car seat, now it’s socks.

Halloween bunting.

Halloween is officially a month away and I spent a good part of last week trying to figure out what my little girl is going to be this year. Even though she’ll barely be 3 months old, it’s my favorite holiday and we’re going to participate. Her costume however has to meet my three requirements for any good Halloween costume.

1. The costume has to be specific and immediately recognizable. If you have to explain it to someone at a party, you have failed.
2. The costume should provide you with some sort of shtick or gag that you can repeat all night long. For example, one year I went to a party as the pope and blessed and absolved people all night. Plus I was infallible so that didn’t hurt.
3. The costume can not completely cover your face or hinder your ability to drink in any way.

If it was 1997 I’d get my mom to make her a grey suit, dress her up like Mini-Me and be done with it, but that’s way too tired. I did find an infant Wonder Woman costume for sale that sounds cool, but the website doesn’t have a picture of it. I’m still open to ideas, but I think I’m going to go with a personal Halloween tradition. I go as Santa, and this year I’ll bring along my own little Christmas tree.

Mary Janes

One of the great things about having cool friends is they get your kid cool stuff. One of those gifts we’ve received is Mary Jane socks from Trumpette. They come in a box of six pairs of little socks that make your baby look like she has little Mary Jane shoes on. And the great thing about them, they’re only for girls. Trumpette is one of a seemingly endless amount of online baby boutique stores, specializing in (of all things) socks. And why not? As any new dad finds out, baby socks are almost impossible to keep on, so it’s not like you could never use another pair.

The tyranny of pink.

Pink is for girls, blue is for boys. It was that kind of traditional attitude towards babies that this modern day dad was hell bent on challenging. That is, before I actually had the child. Now that I have a girl, I now realize that pink is for girls, and every other color is for boys. Because all babies pretty much look the same, whenever we go out and I’ve got Madame in something other than pink, at least one stranger will tell me what a cute boy I have. Or that “he” is such a good sleeper. And the strange thing is I never thought I would react so negatively to these innocent comments. Usually I just let it go, but inside I’m thinking “ARGHH. SHE’S A GIRL NOT A BOY.” It’s now gotten to the point that I don't want to take her out unless she’s got on at least something pink.

Besides pink I did find another way to clue people in on her gender, the “I’m Not A Boy” snapsuit from Wry Baby. I guess there’s always the baby headband, but I’m a firm believer that, even if it's camo, headbands just don’t look good on (practically) bald people.