Lauren Moffatt has a knack for designing vintage-inspired clothing with a thoroughly modern appeal—the kind of pieces women want to wear everyday. Her keen eye for covetable, yet slightly offbeat style extends to the newly renovated apartment she shares with her husband and three-year-old daughter, Stella (the multi-talented toddler is an expert tap dancer, painter, and pancake-maker).
Stella, three, March 2011
1. Painting with Stella
2. Morning tea together
3. Candlelight dinners for three
4. Weird slightly messed up haircuts
5. Clip on bow ties (a staple in her wardrobe)
6. Dancing together
“We used this vintage bureau as Stella's changing table when she was a baby.”
“I get a lot of her shoes at Gap and Daffy's. And we get her of these adorable Wrangler jeans at the local farm store in Kansas (my husband's hometown).”
Gap shoes, second from right
“I try to put the things that I love for her to wear in easy reach. Without fail, this is the dress she grabs."
On Lauren: Lauren Moffatt blazer and blouse, thrifted Wrangler jeans
"I have to work way more efficiently now because if it 's time I'm not spending with Stella, it should at least be productive time."
Stella's vintage bag and belts
“My mother-in-law sends me these vintage pieces for Stella. She finds them in antique shops in Kansas, where things are $10.”
“I bought this crib because it was simple and I loved the Lucite sides (I painted the drawer turquoise)."
"I just ordered her a big girl’s bed on Craigslist."
Stella’s vintage coat
“These are Stella’s tap shoes. She wears them when we walk Gertie [the dog] around the block.“
“This was her first bangle [shown top left]. I made it out of an earring—I just cut the post off."
"It's hard to be little so give them the time they need to sort it all out—I'm pretty sure that by the time she's 10 she will no longer want a pacifier at bedtime, wear a diaper when she sleeps, or insist on putting away her favorite toys when friends come over (her attempt at getting around the whole sharing thing)."
"The hardest thing about being a mom is not laughing when she does something really bad."
"I wish I was better at saying no to sweets. Can't make myself do it because I want it too."
“We have a babysitter three days a week, and she’s really good about making sure Stella says please and thank you. I’m so not. I think Stella got it from her."
“This dress is actually a women’s shirt from H&M that I just made smaller. I took in the front and took in the back and shrunk it down for her.”
“We keep her on our schedule—she goes to bed by 11:00 p.m. and we all sleep until 9:00 a.m. So if I'm busy and have to work late, I'm still able to see her at night—I highly recommend it. We put her to bed and then have about an hour to ourselves."
"My proudest moment so far as a mom is having a happy, content, funny little kid."
"If I had more time, I'd paint. There's a painting I've had in my mind for months and an empty wall in our bedroom just waiting..."
“This was a present Stella got for her 2nd birthday from our friends—it’s one of her favorite things. She puts Gertie’s leash on it and walks it around the house."
“We spent the last year renovating our apartment. During that time, we lived in a friend's little 200 square foot 5th floor walk-up studio.”
Moffatt and her husband bought the apartment one floor below and joined the two with this staircase
“My dad picked this little table up off the street on trash day not too long ago. It’s perfect.”
“Stella is a big painter. She's very neat and doesn’t like to mix her colors."
"She usually bosses me around when we paint together and tells me which colors I can use."
Kid Craft vintage kitchen, found on Ebay
"Tea, showers, and bed time reading with daddy keep me sane."
"The most surprising thing about being a mom is that you make, and then proceed to eat food with abnormal amounts of butter."
“We make pancakes every morning. Stella tells me what goes in—she knows to put flour, eggs, milk—she’s good."
“I cut her hair. She’s actually never had a proper haircut. If I took her to a kids salon, it costs like $60—I don’t even pay that much for mine!”
"My most humbling parenting moment so far was realizing Stella should go to preschool in the fall and that admission deadlines were six months ago. We ended up getting really lucky."
"We go out around once a month. But luckily we have friends who come to us—Stella's a great host."
“When she was a brand new baby, I was inspired and made her a few dresses with zippers running up the back—they’re the only things I ever made her from scratch. There’s probably a reason why baby clothes don’t have zippers.”
Stella drinking her Early Grey tea
"Best advice for preventing a meltdown: distraction."
Lauren's sugar cookie recipe
