I love little-boy clothes. When my now 20-something daughters were little, it 
was girl clothing that got all the attention — smocking and embroidery and ribbons and ruffles — but now I think that boy clothing has caught up, style-wise. And just in time, too, for our grandson to be one of the most fashionable little guys on the nursery circuit. Little-boy clothing departments are full of miniature cargo pants with tons of pockets, cozy hoodies, cute T-shirts and of course Robeez shoes. I’d never heard of Robeez until my daughter was expecting and she showed me these precious soft shoes with colorful and fun designs for babies and toddlers — a far cry from those stiff white lace-up shoes she had to wear. Our grandson (also known as Capt. Adorable) is wearing his dragon Robeez in the photo — they seem to among the few pairs of footwear he doesn’t/can’t kick off immediately. I think the “Busy Car” pair also is a must-have, and we’ve got a couple others on our shopping list. Now that he’s standing on his own and considering this thing called walking, shoes are becoming more important — he usually gets by with bare feet or just socks — and of course when it’s 20 degrees like it is today, shoes are a must. Thank goodness for Robeez — pulling those white leather shoes on and (attempting) to get them tied was exhausting! Check out the Web site, http://www.robeez.com.
Baby Shoes
11
My fondest dream — well, after becoming a bestselling novelist, owning my own tropical island and acquiring the ability to eat chocolate all day with impunity — is to learn how to wear a scarf like all those stylish celebrities. Or, like every other normal woman knows how to wear a scarf — except me. I love scarves and collect as many as I can, but whenever I wear on I just end up looking silly. Sigh. Read more at my column in today’s TimesDaily, 
My younger daughter loves fashion and putting outfits together. She’s the best 
thrift-store shopper I know. We go into a Salvation Army dig store and I’m done in three minutes because there’s nothing there — I think — and she emerges with an armload of cute and stylish pieces. Of course, she’s young and cute and stylish herself, so that helps immensely! Most thrift-store finds would just look sort of sad on me but she wears them with flair. It’s all in the attitude, and she’s got it. The other secret to thrift-store shopping, I think, is combining high and low and new and found. When she was home for the holidays, she brought some of her latest discoveries and had fun putting looks 
together. In these pictures she was going to a Christmas party with her dad’s family and was trying to winterize a festive 
black sundress with pink embroidery she’d bought in a thrift store for about $4, I think. First she tried a black short-sleeved pullover top over the whole thing. Nice, but no pizazz, although it fit her well. So next she tried a black cardigan with black velvet trim and little black velvet bows on the pockets for an elegant yet casual touch. Adorable! I voted for this look, but I got outvoted — she ended up ditching the dress idea and instead headed to the party in her usual but very chic college-student look of jeans, boots, scarf and sweater. And here’s the thing: These two black tops are mine, and she looks great in them. However, if I wore this sundress, I would only look ridiculous. Why is that? My daughters borrow from me and look fantastic (better than I do in the same clothes, that’s for sure) but the reverse does not hold true at all. If somebody can figure this out and fix it, I’d be so grateful! In the meantime, I continue to be in awe of both my daughters’ creativity and style. I’m in constant hope that some of that gets passed up to me.
Happy Day No. 11 in Cathy’s 12 Days Before Christmas Countdown. Let’s face it, as mom and CCO — chief Christmas officer — of your family, things are a bit hectic right now. So pour a cup of coffee, take a break and help Michelle Obama decide what to wear for the inauguration balls. Well, not really. But at 
of the company that publishes Ebony and Jet magazines and friend of the Obamas — on the first page of Sunday’s New York Times’ Style section? Here’s the link: 
Don’t you think? It’s a Weston Wear dress I bought this past summer in Birmingham, Alabama, to wear to a wedding — and here it shows up in the New York Times Styles section. On a publishing magnate. On a friend of the President-elect. A dress that I personally have in my closet. I mean, this woman is smart and gorgeous and rich and powerful and knows the upcoming First Family and could presumably wear anything she wanted to and she and I picked out the same dress!!!! I am absolutely stunned. Does this mean I have somehow acquired a sense of adult style? Can world domination be far behind??? And as a side note, this only further solidifies my belief that we Americans finally and with much wishy-washiness have chosen a good team.
Coffee with Cathy 