I love being part of the Zulily blogger team (and supporting the Zulily brand as a whole), and so when I learned about this fun back to school contest I knew I wanted to share about it here on curiouser & curiouser! Even though Maggie isn't quiiiiiite old enough to be eligible (it's for kids ages 5-14), I know lots of y'all have children who would qualify.

Here's the gist of the contest:

Obviously the 2020/2021 school year was a hugely different kind of experience for pretty much all kids. For many children, school happened from home last year, and they likely didn't pay quite as much attention to their style than they would have in an in-person school environment. Since most schools will be back in session in person this fall, it's time for kids to have fun with fashion again, and to use their creativity to express their personalities through elements of their style.

Zulily will be giving away SIX prizes -- EACH valued at $6,000 -- to kids whose parents share a public Instagram photo on their behalf that somehow demonstrates fresh, unique style. It can be a specific outfit they put together, a flat lay, a design sketch, a collage, a mood board, or anything else along those lines that helps communicate creative fashion. Be sure to use the tags #zulilycontest and #uniquelyzu when you post to be considered for the contest.

Each of the six winners will receive the following prize pack:

  1. $5,000 to go towards their education
  2. A $1,000 shopping credit to use on Zulily's website to get them ready for heading back to school in the fall
  3. A bonus opportunity for the winning kids to co-inspire a new capsule collection for 2022!

Entries will be accepted now through July 31, and you can read the complete rules here. The six winners will be announced in August! I reeeeeeeally wish Maggie could enter this, because I know we'd have a ton of fun putting something together for her.

Oh, and I also thought this was fun: Zulily conducted a survey among 1,000 kids to gauge some of the top trends as the 2021/2022 school year kicks off. Here are the three they identified (and you can read more about them here, too). Do these trends seem to align with the way your children view clothing and style?:

Trend 1: Movers & Shakers

Essentially, kids are excited to use their personal style as a way to feel their best and increase their confidence at school.

Trend 2: Glue Guns & Glitter Bombs

Kids are tired of the lounge clothes they wore all during the pandemic, and are ready to use their style as personal expression and a way to show creativity. 70% even say they add personal touches to make their clothes feel more like them.

Trend 3: Retro & Reimagined

So many of the styles we parents grew up with are back (I'm personally very excited scrunchies have made a reappearance, for one!), and kids are looking to Mom and Dad for inspiration and tips on incorporating those elements into their style.

P.S. If you enter the contest, please tag me, too, so I can see your post!