As I’ve said before on this blog and pretty anywhere else I talk about baby carriers (which is a lot of places!), I love a bit of glam in my babywearing stash. Once the baby’s tied on, nobody can see what I’m wearing - so I may as well make a fashion statement with my sling. But how much bling is too much?

You see, I have this fabulous electric blue sequinned disco jacket. It’s so 80’s nightclub trash that I want to puke glitter just thinking about it. It’s one of the joys of my dreary grey Canberra winter existence (even the election campaign hasn’t been enough to perk me up this winter). I would have LOVED a mei tai with a feature panel in that blue sequinned fabric when I had newborns, for those days when I just wanted to sit and cry on the couch with sleep deprivation. Putting on something sparkly really does help - it’s a bit “fake it til you make it”, but it works for me.

In the meantime, I’ve gotten away with just a bit of a sheen rather than in-your-face shine. After all, I don’t want to blind people!

Hemp silk is one of my favourite fabrics for a sling. Breathable, but with a lovely soft sheen on the silk side of the fabric. I’ve also seen some stunning 100% silk slings that would feel ever so soft on sensitive newborn skin. My excuse is that silk has natural healing properties that are particularly good for babies with rashes

Mei tais are also absolutely fabulous with a bit of bling. I used to have one with a gorgeous brocade feature panel in purples and silvers. Even better, mei tais can be worn reversed if daddy isn’t metrosexual enough to get away with shiny-side-out.

I’ve also seen some very pretty stretchy wraps with a pocket panel in brocade fabric. I bet it would be easy to just sew a panel like this over the existing pocket panel in your old stretchy, if you feel the need for a facelift. You could even match it to your favourite jacket or bag - ooh bling and matchy-matchy! My two favourite ways to wear babies!

If you already have a plain sling, you can dress it up with a bit of hand beading along the rails. Similar things work on straps - a bit of embroidery with silver thread on the straps, and hey presto! Bling sling!

Just one word of warning on coordinating the look… bling slings are best worn with a plain outfit, and go easy on the metallic lip gloss. Otherwise you’ll spontaneously combust as soon as you step into sunlight.

I’d love to hear from anyone else with a bling sling obsession, even if just so I don’t feel like the odd one out who considers baby carriers an extension of the jewellery box.

I have a pretty small stash by babywearing addict standards - more than 20, but not by much. Still, it would be nice to have a better storage solution than bags in the spare cupboard, or leaving them lying around the house and car. The keys to sling storage are holding in straps that want to escape, and visibility. I don’t want to be opening drawers at random when I’m searching for a specific sling in a hurry, and I tend to forget I have other beautiful slings when I can’t see them.

Here’s some ideas for small storage solutions to go in the spare cupboard:

Left: Clear storage bins from IKEA - the angled lid at the front means you can reach in and grab slings when the containers are stacked on top of each other.

Middle: Storage boxes with clear windows on the front from IKEA - the only downside is that I have different sling types that are very similar colours (eg green ring slings and green mei tais, or blue long wraps and blue shortie wraps).

Right: Hanging storage from IKEA - hang it in the wardrobe where sticky toddler hands can’t easily rearrange your wraps.

And if I had the budget, here’s some ideas for larger storage furniture pieces:

Left: Glass-front cabinet from IKEA

Middle: Shelves from Fantastic Furniture - great for storing carriers in the kids bedroom, and you can write on the front what’s inside

Right: Ladder shelf from IKEA - you could also use an actual ladder - shock! Yes, it is possible to use things for something other than their originally intended purpose, like babywearers who co-opt tablecloths as shortie wraps…

And finally, a lockable cabinet for those who are lucky enough to have a stash that includes a long wrap handwoven on a hundred year old loom in Eastern Europe. If you’ve spent your budget on slings and can’t stretch it to the IKEA version shown above, you can pick up a cheaper, boring grey version from the ex-government warehouse and paint it in whatever shade of enamel rocks your boat.

So what do you like? Or do you already have your own perfect sling storage solution?

It’s Australia Day (aka Invasion Day, for some of Australia’s indigenous population) on 26 January 2010. Which means lots of families heading out to BBQs and picnics, visiting friends and family, goint to festivals and major public events, or just staying out late to see the fireworks.

On my way to work this morning on the bus, I passed Commonwealth Park in Canberra. This is where the early morning citizenship ceremony was held, and a short walk from last night’s Australia Day Live concert. I spotted parents carrying their babies in stretchy wraps and SSCs (soft structured carriers that clip on) with hoods - both great choices for sun protection. I also noted that most of the carriers I saw were in shades of beige - very sensible when in the park on a dusty day. And that the carriers I saw were mostly machine washable - so zinc cream or sunscreen should wash out.

And here I am, in my tragic 1980’s blue sequinned pop-star jacket, trying to decide which carrier would go best with it for this afternoon’s BBQ after work finishes. I’m leaning towards a red shorty wrap - a quick and easy way to get a toddler on my back, and keeps to the red white and blue theme. Or perhaps I’ll change into green and gold, and go with a bright yellow woven wrap, to coordinate with a green skirt. If I had a little baby, I would show my support for our indigenous Australians in a stretchy wrap with indigenous art panel on the front. Or perhaps I’d wear a black ring sling with red and yellow ribbons pinned onto the shoulder - fun for baby to play with.

What are you wearing today, and how are you keeping the kids happy while you’re socialising?

I often tell people that nappies are for the baby, but the sling is for me. Which is why I can wear a little boy in a very girly floral embroidered carrier if I feel like it. He’s not the one wearing the sling, he’s the wearee. And besides, when I’ve got a baby on me, nobody can see what my shirt looks like - so I make my fashion statement with the sling.

So here’s my style guide to making a fashion statement with your slings or baby carriers:

1. Colour - coordinate your sling with the clothes you’re wearing. I start by choosing the sling that best suits my babywearing purpose from a functional perspective, then choose the rest of my clothes to go with the sling. It doesn’t matter how nicely that mei tai feature panel goes with your formal dress to wear to a friend’s wedding, it’s no good if you really need a ring sling for feeding the baby discreetly during the reception.

2. Pattern - don’t overdo the patterns. If your sling has an intricate pattern print on it, wear plain clothing. Or if your skirt is making a bold statement in print, wear it with a coordinating sling in solid colour. The exception is when you can match the Amy Butler feature panel on your mei tai to your pre-schooler’s Amy Butler print pinafore, or if you’ve managed to get a silk ring sling made with silk Alannah Hill trim to match your Alannah Hill dress. It goes without saying that some prints will clash - but wearing stripes and spots together can work if the colours match.

3. Favourite fabrics – a luxe look can be created with plain colours simply by choosing the right combination of fabrics. For example, sturdy hand-woven cotton carriers are a great match for both well-worn denim and delicate linen pants. I love putting silk together with velvet, or combining varying weights of corduroy. And I do love embroidery or hand-painted feature panels on an SSC or mei tai.

4. Getting it on - some outfits make it fiddly to get slings on or off. For this reason, I hate tying straps over a bulky jumper in winter, so I prefer to put a big poncho over both me and baby after the carrier is on. In summer, my pet peeve is tops that ride up, exposing my chunky middle, while I’m tightening the sling. Choose tops that are a bit longer than usual so you don’t feel exposed if they ride up, and wear close-fitting clothes that won’t bunch up under the baby carrier.

5. Don’t be a drag - if you’re babywearing outdoors, think about what will happen when you drag long wrap ends or mei tai straps through the mud or dust while putting it on. If you’re not in the habit of putting wrap ends or straps between your knees to keep them off the ground, consider wearing a soft structured carrier, ring sling, or shorty wrap instead. Or if you must have long straps, choose a mei tai with dark coloured straps that won’t show the dirt as much - brown or khaki are more forgiving than either black or white.

Last week, I went out shopping with Billy in a hand-dyed green hemp silk sling. I wore white t-shirt and jeans, he wore a light green singlet and matching green minky cloth nappy, embroidered with a green tree frog and studded with Swarovski crystals. Very cute, I thought! Plus, the sling covered up the dirty marks on my t-shirt