LittleStar Reversible Dress from Baby Bahoonie: #Review and #Giveaway (Closed)

Baby Bahoonie, the chic and eco-friendly online baby boutique which has already sponsored two reviews/giveaways here at Manager to Mom (check 'em out here and here) has generously provided me with the opportunity to review yet another product they offer - the reversible dress made right here in Canada by LittleStar Boutique!

The concept of this dress is ridiculously cool. Not only can it be turned inside out to create two completely different styles for your baby...

...but when your sweet little princess grows a little older, it becomes a top and can be worn either way for two new looks!

So, all in all, you get four different ways to wear this outfit for the price of one!

A bit more on the reversible dress, from its product description:

This little dress has it all! It comes in several color options, grows with your child and works great in ALL seasons:

• In warm weather, wear it solo with sandals
• In cooler weather, a shirt underneath with leggings or tights will complete the look and take you right into the fall
• As she grows, it can be worn as a top over jeans!
• 100% cotton designer fabric on one side and solid, super soft 97% cotton/3% lycra for extra durability and comfort on the other
• Hidden velcro closure in back
• Available in Medium (6-12 months), and Large (12-18 months). Sizes reflect "dress size" rather than "top size".

For review purposes, I chose the Light Bright pattern for my daughter. She has blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin, so I thought this lighter-coloured pattern would really compliment her features. We also went with the large size as she is almost a year old, to maximize the wear she would get out of it.

Here's a close-up of the dress with the print side out:

And a close-up with the cotton/lycra side out:

The dress comes with a product description booklet and a designer cotton sachet filled with wild-harvested French lavender petals. The sachet smells soooo good! It can be placed in your little one's dresser or anywhere else you'd like to enjoy the soothing and aromatic scent. What a nice touch!

A single velcro tab is included as the closure mechanism. Simple = good when it comes to dressing a squirming baby! *nods*

Overall, the dress definitely has a high-quality, hand-made "feel" to it!

S is on the small side for a 1 year old gal (50-60th percentile height but only about 15th percentile weight) so I was a bit concerned that the dress would be too big for her at this point. I first tried the dress on her alone and it did, indeed, hang off her somewhat awkwardly with big gaps under the arms. But a shirt underneath balanced things out quite nicely!

Since we were just hanging around at home during testing / picture-taking time (and S, naturally, has limited patience for this sort of thing), the looks we tried were pretty casual. But I'm a practical gal myself so I would be inclined to put together a "low frills" style for her when we're out and about anyway. That said, I can totally see the dress jazzed up with hair clips, tights and mary janes for a more "formal" look! :)

S seems pretty pleased with her new dress, don'tcha think?

I love the way the dress falls; the hem length & shape are very flattering.

 

Of course, I had to test out the dress as a top as well, so I recruited my friend's 3 1/2-year-old daughter L (who has eagerly helped me "product test" in the past) to give it a whirl. Perfect fit!!

Note that since the sizing reflects dress size rather than top size, there are no "official" guidelines for when the dress would work as a top. One can guess, however. Since L is still able to wear the large at 3 1/2, it might fit up to age 4 or so. Though she's also very slender, so a bulkier gal might outgrow it at 2 1/2 or 3. The nice thing is that since most often the outfit would start out on a baby, the child's own growth pattern would determine when she is ready to start wearing it as a top, thus maximizing the wear she gets out of it.

In terms of care/maintenance, the attached product booklet did not address the topic so I contacted Cinnamon at Baby Bahoonie who advised washing on cold/delicate and air drying. I ended up including it in a cold/regular load for logistical reasons and hang drying it on our clothing rack. I had some initial concern that the dress would come out a bit wonky due to the two-sided fabric (as this has happened with some of our two-sided receiving blankets and bibs), so I was relieved when this didn't occur here. What we DID notice is that the material wrinkles very easily (as it can be seen a bit in the pictures above), so you might want to whip out your clothing iron for those special occasions!

Overall, I think the dress is adorable, well-designed, high-quality and would flatter baby girls and toddlers of all different sizes. I'm looking forward to S wearing it on many different occasions! :) It does require a bit more TLC than your average baby clothing item, but this is certainly worth it for an awesome piece which should last your little one through the baby stage and well into toddlerhood!

Buy It:

Head on over to Baby Bahoonie to purchase a LittleStar reversible dress of your own! This would make a wonderful gift for that While you're there, take some time to check out all the other great merchandise that the boutique has to offer! You can shop by category or brand, or do a direct product search.To stay up-to-speed on the latest product discounts, you can sign up for the Baby Bahoonie newsletter!

Shipping is available to Canada and the United States. Different rates apply depending on location and order total.

Win It:

One lucky Manager to Mom reader will receive their own LittleStar reversible dress from Baby Bahoonie! Open to Canada and the United States.

To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Comments do not count as entries, however feel free to add a comment to remind yourself that you entered!

Disclosure:  The prize is being provided and shipped to the winner by Baby Bahoonie.  I received no financial compensation for writing my review or offering this giveaway, although I did receive the sample item free of charge.  This is my completely honest opinion above and may be different from yours.