Desiree Mazzarese grew up in a house full of creativity. “My mom is very artistic. She gave us little projects, and we would often move furniture and decorative objects around the house to give it a fresh look. So, I always loved interior decorating,” she says.
In 2021, she channeled that passion by opening Guest House, a home and gift boutique in Basking Ridge. “I wanted to own a place where people could shop a curated collection and find items with an eclectic flair,” she says.
Soon, as she did with her mom growing up, Mazzarese and her sister, Stephanie Ossorio, started tinkering with a concept, adding unique children’s clothing and accessories as a pop up store in the back of Guest House. The idea caught on, and they launched LULU Kids Style. “Stephanie and I both have four-year-old daughters. Her son is nine and mine is two. We had been toying around with the idea of opening a store since we saw a need for one in the area. Whether we’re looking for clothes for our kids or for fun, thoughtful gifts for a classmate’s birthday, we struggled to find options,” she says.
LULU Kids Style—an online boutique, with a pop-up shop at Guest House—offers fashion-forward looks for toddlers to tweens.
The name is a homage to their mom, who would sing “Skip to My Lou” to her children. “She still addresses my brother, sister and I as ‘Lu’ or ‘Lulu’ and it has extended to our kids. We wanted to include our mom somehow with the store and what better way than with something that brings us warm memories of our childhood,” Ossorio says.
To keep their pulse on what kids want, the sisters poll family, friends and visitors to the store. “We have a large family and will send them pictures and ask their kids, ‘Would you wear this? Are your friends wearing this?’”
The looks for the start of the school season are vibrant and uplifting. “My sister and I always dressed our kids in fun styles with bright colors and sequins and paired them with sneakers. Comfort is important when dressing kids, so why not make it fun and stylish,” Ossorio says. “That's what we’re seeing now: bright, rainbow colors and smiley faces like we saw growing up.”
Comfort is key. “They like to wear what we adults wear—sweatshirts and jogger pants—but we tailor it to them,” Mazzarese says.
For girls, the hot look is tank tops and shorts sets as well as denim jackets with sequins or patches—lots of patches. “But there is also a girly-girl trend with dresses that look like a tutu,” she notes.
For boys, all things casual-comfortable are flying off the site, along with fun button-down shirts with nautical or skull themes.
Tweens love sweatshirts with inspirational and environmental sayings or images from ’70s and ’80s musicians like The Beatles and David Bowie. “A light lilac sweatshirt that says Be Kind’ in small print on the upper-left shoulder sold out within days of it being posted on the site,” Mazzarese says. “Tweens like crop tops, but parents do not want them to show too much of their middle, so we advise them to order one size larger—and everyone wins!”
LULU Kids Style’s “Confetti Collection” is one that adults and kids alike can get into, with key chains, notebooks and business card holders—perfect for adding a little whimsey into a more serious work routine.
Mazzarese and Ossorio, who both live in Basking Ridge, have fallen in love with the downtown. “It’s adorable, and everyone is so welcoming and warm,” Mazzarese says. “People want to shop local and support small businesses. And I’m happy to be able to bring something new to the residents of Basking Ridge.”
Discover the latest trends at lulukids.style and follow along @lulukidsstyle.
