Shopping & Fashion

Sure, once you become a mom you may lose your ability to sneeze and laugh at the same time but one ability you do gain is shopping like a pro. Whether it’s the newest release in baby gear or the most perfect outfit for Easter or even the best toy deal in town, Providence has your parental shopping needs covered. If you don’t know where to start, here’s a good list.

Do you have a little Martha Stewart or Buddy Valastro on your hands? Joann Fabrics offers a Kids Studio where your child can learn how to sew, craft and decorate cakes, all at different levels to fit your child’s need. Over on the East Side, Kreatelier, a unique retail store on Hope Street that’s filled with environmentally conscious textile products, offers kids sewing workshops (and sewing birthday parties), where they create fun items like robot pillows and stuffed bunnies in sleeping bags.

Attention all modsters, we have a hip shopping destination for you. Mod Mama in Davol Square (and now open in Garden City) carries to-die-for designer clothing, locally made goods, modern baby gear and eco-friendly products. Aside from wanting to spend your entire paycheck on the endless drool-worthy products, they also offer family-friendly classes, workshops, and events – like kid yoga, pajama parties, photography and more. This is a store we want to spend our Friday nights in. (With martinis, of course.)

Who doesn’t love a good deal? Every spring, Wheeler School hosts Rhode Island’s oldest and largest family clothing sale with the Wheeler School Clothing & More Sale. This year’s sale happens April 18-20. From designer dresses to blue jeans, fur coats to sweatshirts, housewares to hardware, you’ll find amazing bargains on clothes, sporting goods, electronics and more – all while supporting community and education.

There are some certainties in life, like taxes, death and endless toys in the playroom. Instead of fighting it, just enhance the inevitable by shopping at super cool toy shops like Creatoyvity on Hope Street. Stocked with creative and imaginative toys (and unique crafting kits that you’ll find nowhere else), the top-notch pickings from around the globe will keep your kids busy and your playroom less traumatizing to look at. (Flowers help, too.)