Danielle Vaugeois: Oscar Gone Wild

Oscar Gone Wild is an online store dedicated to providing moms of boys with a better choice of clothing and accessories. Here Victoria Mom chats to Danielle Vaugeois, founder, owner and shopaholic! 

1. So Danielle, Oscar Gone Wild is dedicated to all things boy. I know you have a little boy yourself, but what motivated you to be gender specific with your business approach?

Hello, my name is Danielle and I am a shopaholic. My husband will tell you that I had 2 reasons for wanting to have children. First I love children and am fabulous with them. Second it is another reason to shop! I would like to say that he is wrong, but after 10 years together he knows me pretty well. I started shopping for Oscar as soon as the stick turned pink. When we found out we were having a boy, I pushed all the beige clothes to the back and replaced them with "boy" clothes. Something I quickly found was that there was nothing "boy". Whenever I walked into a clothing store, I would see half the store and usually the back covered in dresses, skinny jeans and many other incredibly cute things for girls. Then in the far back corner, was a sad collection of boys’ clothes. If I was lucky, no one else was there and I didn't have to pray that they had a child who wore a size smaller or bigger than Oz. If I was unlucky, it was a scene out of a movie, with hair pulling and name calling as we tugged at that little onesie like it was our lifeline. OK, I jest, but it feels like that sometimes. All I kept thinking was, what if there was a store that had everything I want, but only for boys? I wouldn't have to weed through the girls stuff, it has the size and style I need, and there is a huge selection.

2. Other than boys clothes and accessories, what else do you carry onsite?
Well I keep telling people that, as Oscar grows, so will the store. I am currently branching out into the baby carriers. Oscar is in love with the cloth wrap we have, he likes to lay in it and then have me "superman" swing him over my shoulder. I have discovered a new, comfortable love and want to share it with the other Mamas out there.
We also carry a couple brands of cloth diapers that we have used with Oscar, as well as the accessories needed to use cloth diapers. There are too many brands and products to name, but I love all of them for many different reasons.  

3. How do you plan to expand, do you ever see yourself offline as well as on?
In my 5 year plan, I would love to own a brick and mortar store. I love the idea of having a store I can decorate and arrange. I would to have something with a play area for the kidlets and a room for workshops. I love Mothering Touch and I think it’s such a fabulous idea to offer more to the community than just a store. I would love to open something similar in another area of town, like Langford or Saanich.

4. Tell us what your three favourite products are out of all the lines you sell on the site.
Ahh! This is such a hard question. It seems as Oscar gets older, my favourite products change! I have recently fallen in love with Best Bottom diapers, because they are so easy to use and fit my skinny little boy so well. I also love the EIO cup, and

5. If you were giving advice to a new mom, which of your products would you recommend them to have stocked before their firstborn arrives?
My best advice is that you really don't need a whole bunch of things for a newborn. I would suggest cloth diapers, my favorite are prefolds with a cover, or best bottoms (which are way easier).

I would also suggest a good carrier. These we don't carry yet, but it's in the works! Buy a wrap or a mei tie, or even an ergo. Buy something that supports babies development and is comfortable to wear for long periods of time.

After that buy something unbelievably cute that you can't wait to see baby wear or use! I bought an Aden and Anais sleep sac, because it is cute, soft and Oz looked so adorable all snuggled up in it :)

6. You say on your site that when you had a child your philosophies changed? Can you explain that a bit more for us, as I am sure lots of women will resonate?
Working in childcare was the best thing I could have asked for. I met some amazing people, both parents and educators. After I had Oscar, parents began coming to me for information. Having worked in childcare for almost 10 years at that point, I had lots of experience to use for advice, however, some things I had no information about. Being a childcare worker gives you no knowledge about breastfeeding, cloth diapering or any of the other things I began to find were becoming very important issues in my life. Parents were coming to me with questions about cloth diapers, and I really only had information about the diapers that we used at home (which are the ones we sell). It was around that time that my son got very sick and I had to be at home with him, he lost a lot of weight and I began wondering if childcare was the right option for our family. We made it work for me to stay home and look after Oz, and I haven’t looked back!

I still think childcare is a very important resource, and think the right childcare facility can offer so much to the childhood experience.

7. We read that you are now in school that must be exciting! What courses are you taking? 
I am taking an Entrepreneurial course! I want to be a good business owner. I want to give more back to our community by offering jobs to people and hopefully open a physical store to have workshops to the parent.

8. As a Victoria Mom, what are your favourite activities in our fair city?
I love that everywhere you go in Victoria there is something to do. There are a million little parks to hang out at for the day, or you can do a more touristy activity and head to the Museum, Bug Zoo or Shaw Discovery Center. I also love that in the summer there is a fair almost every weekend.

9. Okay so tenuous link here... but a fun question, if you had to outfit any man for an awards or presentation ceremony, who would it be?!
Ryan Renolds! I love to support local. Although, to be very honest…he may not be wearing very much!

10. And the question we ask everyone, what did you have for breakfast!
I generally have vanilla coconut yogurt with granola, with a cup of tea.

Yep, we definitely interview awesome local folk, thanks Danielle!