Lands’ End is my go-to source for Laurel’s summer tankinis and action sandals, but I also dig that they offer women’s swimsuits with a few magic details to inspire beach strutting confidence. Offering suits for all shapes and sizes, their Slender Suits - which create sleekness via slimming fabric and shirring - are particularly handy to cope with residual winter excess. And the ability to search for suits by body shape helps take the guesswork out of which styles will flatter your rectangular or triangular proportions. The collection does tend toward conservative and I’d love to see LE eventually work more modern prints, but when in doubt, you can fall back on black, or opt for a pretty classic pattern such as the Damask Floral.

Want to win a $100 gift card to Lands’ End*? Here’s how:

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THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED
Congrats to winner Stacey C.!
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Visit the Lands’ End swim department, then email contests@bostonmamas.com (with ‘Lands’ End’ in the subject), and name a swimsuit style you’d like to rock this summer.

One entry permitted per person.

Entry period closes at midnight EST, Wednesday, May 14, 2008.

*The winner will receive a $100 Lands' End gift card to use on swimwear of their choice.

The seasons are, blissfully, officially about to change, and no doubt your child’s wardrobe is due for some spring cleaning. It’s the perfect time to check out the fresh designs of Little Lark.

Based out of Portland, Oregon, Little Lark’s collection includes a variety of designs, most of which show clear inspiration from nature. Designs are letterpressed onto note cards, or are hand silk-screened onto snuggly soft, sweatshop free, 100% cotton shirts, onesies, pants, and hats (for babies and toddlers; big kid and adult sizes are forthcoming). Onesies and shirts also come with a gift-ready, reusable muslin bag that adds to the rich, organic feel.

With plenty of snow and ice still on the ground, the spring promise of the Geese Tee (shown, $24-$26) is especially welcome.

We’ve recently partnered up with some fellow stylish bloggers to bring you a weekly dose of cool web finds for your weekend reading. This week’s treats include:

A very fetching round up of the best-fitting, figure-flattering maternity jeans, from SheFindsMom. Kudos for Babyproofing Your Marriage, from OneChicMama. Tips on how to use color to inspire kids, from Coochicoos. The peaceful deal behind the names of Angelina Jolie’s kids, from CelebrityMoms. And the baby photo of the week, from Babyfaces.

It’s always a bit of a retail bummer when you find a design you love that’s unavailable in the right size or styling for the season. That’s why we love the customization offered by Makrista Baby.

Makrista features a lovely collection of whimsical, watercolor style designs that can be applied to a variety of 100% cotton clothing styles and accessories (0-36 months). Images can be screen-printed onto pebble or white garments, or placed against rich, hand-dyed colors via their cool new distressed patches (images are sewn on the chest; wording at the back neckline). During these troubled times, the “World Peace” graphic (shown on a short-sleeved romper; $30; click thumbnail to see detail) brings hope.

Sometimes (particularly after a stretch of indulgent eating) serving as a fashion consultant to a friend is more fun than shopping for yourself. Yesterday I had great fun hitting the maternity pavement with a girlfriend desperately in need of bumpworthy business attire.

After checking out Target and Kohl’s, both of which have a few business separates options but are better suited for casual wear, we hit the jackpot at Destination Maternity in Natick. Surprisingly not overwhelming in square footage, this one-stop shopping location includes retail areas each for Motherhood, Mimi Maternity, A Pea in the Pod, Destination Maternity, and Edamame Spa, which ensures satisfying a range of budgets and clothing styles, whether you are in the market for a $10 basic vs. $300 designer dress.
Destination Maternity offers a small number of physical locations around the country; the Natick store gets a thumbs up for including a play area for kids and a spacious lounge area for weary shoppers and shopping partners. They also offer free fitness and pre/postpartum classes in their learning studio (check the site's store location section for class schedules).

Destination Maternity, 104 Worcester Road (Rte 9, eastbound side), Natick; Tel: 508-653-1605

Just because tees are an inevitable part of the mommy wardrobe doesn’t mean you can’t hang onto your sassy style.

Tuni & G offers comfy clothing for babies, kids, and adults (including maternity); among their collection are separates that can be paired to create punchy Mommy & Me sets. Especially cool is the My Baby Rolls/My Mom Rocks set (piece prices range from $28-36). Available in various sizes, styles, and colors, the logos are constructed entirely of chic pressed stud embellishments. We also love that this style offers a “My Grandma Rocks” baby/kid onesie or tee to honor hip and stylish grandmas.

Given my obsession with ballet flats, I was thrilled to see StyleBakery’s round up of 8 ballet flats under $60. I immediately ordered the Old Navy Satin Ballet Flats ($19.50), and they're fabulous. Word on these elegant, impressively comfortable flats clearly is spreading. There was plenty of stock when I ordered a pair in chocolate last week; now chocolate is sold out and the two remaining colors are following suit. Click quickly to get a pair!

Meanwhile, if the satin flat ship has sailed in your size, you'll likely find consolation in Old Navy's new Leopard Ballet Flats (shown; $19.50); they don’t appear to offer the cushioned foot bed of the satin flats but the styling is too cute to pass up.

A reader recently wrote in with praise for Jinwood Shoes. Based out of British Columbia, this shoe company produces groovy, soft-soled infant shoes (available in 0-24 months) that have a skid resistant sole, Velcro styling for easy on and off, and come in a variety of cool retro stripe color combinations (shown, Green Stripe). Available for $25.95 at Simple Me Boutique.

UPDATE (3/5/07): In addition to standard free shipping on orders over $25, Simple Me would like to offer Boston Mamas readers 10% off orders over $50 using the code BOSTON.

In my dream world, I already would have mastered Korean plus all of the Romance languages. And although there's little time for the language lab these days, now it's possible to expand your cultural horizons while hanging with your babe.

Inspired by a desire to help parents and kids celebrate different languages and cultures, Il Cocco di Mamma carries a unique, worldly collection of apparel, books, and toys. Their super soft, super cool line of signature onesies ($22; 6-24 months) are printed with popular international sayings (shown; Ciao!). Elegant and colorful wooden foreign alphabet blocks are available in English, French, Greek, Italian, Spanish, Russian, and Hebrew. And be sure to check out their nifty series of international books and CDs; if you've got Dr. Seuss down in English, now's your chance to learn it in another language.