The other day I was trying to recall at what age I began to care about clothes. Was it my affinity for that striped sailor shirt and matching mini-skirt in first grade? Or those knickers I coveted while standing in line for my first Cabbage Patch doll? (Btw, can we just all agree that those pants should never, ever make a comeback?) Either way, I don’t remember caring that much about what I wore to good ol’ Beaumont Elementary back in the day.
Of course, these days, I do love a good Calvin Klein dress as much as the next girl. And my favorite color? Black, of course!
So I guess it shouldn’t surprise me that my daughter’s fashion taste went from Garanimals to Gucci at the tender age of five. But thank God she’s more Hello kitty than Juicy Couture, at least for now.
It seemed to happen suddenly. Overnight she went from happily wearing all the frilly dresses and ballet slippers lining her closet to demanding that I give all her clothes away to GoodWill (or as she put it “kids with no clothes”) and replace them with skorts and T-shirts. Because, as she mentioned, dresses were for babies and girls with curly hair. (Um, what?)
And so began the power struggle of all time. Each morning, I would mentally prepare myself for battle as she ate her waffle. What would I threaten this morning? To take away her beloved bear? Spongebob restriction for a week? Make her listen to me sing on the way home from school? Nothing seemed to work. It. Was. Ugly.
So using Fall shopping as my excuse to save face, I finally went to Target and bought every single skort I could get my hands on. And because she had developed some sort of affinity for early 80′s punk fashion, (WTF?) I also picked up a bunch of ugly Gwen Stefani reject T-shirts. knee high socks and boots. Oh, and guess what her favorite color was now? Black. And no, the irony was not lost on me.
Realizing that her insistence about choosing her clothes had become more of an issue of power than fashion, I began to let her dress herself each day. And being the Type-A control freak that I am, it pained me to watch her put outfits together. But I bit my tongue.
Striped shirt and polka dot skirt? No Problem!
Red and orange together? Why didn’t I think of that?
Wearing a Hello Kitty shirt, skirt, headband, barrettes and sunglasses all at the same time? Talk about brand loyalty! Everyone should look like Hello Kitty threw up on them!
Each day, I would ask, do you want Mommy’s opinion? And surprisingly, her answer was always NO, MOMMY! So I obliged. And guess what? Each week she got a bit better at putting her clothes together. She started to look more Miley Cyrus and a little less Lady Gaga. In fact, she really seemed to carve out her own look and although it wasn’t exactly my style, I felt proud that she was wanting to lead rather than follow. Even if it meant she occasionally looks like a cracked-out 80′s rock star.
I just make my husband drop her at school those days so they blame it on him…
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Lucky for you , you didn’t see what she put on for Pre School graduation day!!!I was overjoyed to know that a cap and gown would go on over it!!
D Y I N G…I can just see the morning battles but kuddos to her for her spunk! Sounds an awful lot like mommy =0) (which is why I’m not having kids…my mom’s warning of ONE DAY YOU WILL UNDERSTAND ring in my head and I KNOW what I was like growing up…Sorry Mom!)
Omg, Juana, you should see the smile on my mom’s face everytime she sees Riley go all Mariah Carey on me. She thinking it’s PAYBACK TIME! xoxo
La, See? So you know what I’m talking about! At least her taste has improved a lot since then! xoxo
I think she has major style! She looks much better than I do most of the time! I secretly love her taste! (well, not so secretly anymore!) In all seriousness,I often think about your words–that picking their own clothes is a way for a child to have control. And I think it makes a lot of sense to give children something they can feel is up to them. But you must admit, it helps that she now has pretty darn good taste! xoxo
PS: What an adorable picture. Is this her CLIND debut? I think it is…
Lisa, Thanks! Yes, her taste seems to be improving, THANK GOD! Because I don’t think I could handle one polka dot/stripes/checkers combo. I have a rep to protect! haha
But seriously, it really is a control issue. Kids don’t get control of much and food and clothes are some the only ways they can feel like they get to decide something…
And yes, it IS her CLIND debut! I just showed it to her and she approved! xoxo
All I have to say is it’s much easier dressing the boy. Nice job figuring out a solution to the once daily battle. Oh, and don’t worry. I always admit it’s my fault when the polka dots meet the stripes.
Mike, Thanks honey! You’ve come a long way too, Shane ALMOST matches most of the time! xoxo
Hi Liz and Lisa,
So nice meeting you both. Your book was laugh out loud funny and I CANNOT wait to read the second one.
Jackie
Hi Jackie!!!
It was so great to meet YOU! I’m so happy you liked the book! Now it’s time to get started on yours! xoxo
What a gorgeous girl!
And what’s wrong with Hello Kitty?? I happen to love Hello Kitty!
Wendy, Thanks! And I actually love Hello Kitty too, reminds me of trading stickers when I was eight. I just wince a bit when she’s covered from head to toe in it! xoxo
Oh Liz, pay back is a bitch, huh? I think most mothers of daughters just have to wait until they are grandmothers to sit back and enjoy!! Do you remember our trip to the garment district in LA on that bus from LaCosta? You had the MOST clothes of anyone on the bus and you were, what 13?? And what was the name of that factory in San Francisco? Expree?? (I know I am spelling that wrong…)You would not even spend the night with a friend but at the tender age of 11, you gladly hopped on a plan to visit your aunt in San Fransisco who conveniently lived near that factory…..Just wait…..
Mom, What can I say? Even at a young age, I knew the that you only got one chance to shop the Esprit factory. I wanted to make the most of it. (And for those of you that did not grow up in the 80s, Esprit was da’ BOMB back then!) And as for the woman on that LA Garmet district bus trip, all I will say is that they were AMATEURS! If you are going to board a bus and risk being shot in that part of LA just to get a bargain, you better be a serious shopper! xoxo
aww too cute!! and her outfits! I can imagine them already!!! =) and hey she is getting ready like you said, defining her own personal taste!! I bet she will be one stylist!! =)
I had a pin for my daughter that I use to stick on her on days like that. It said “I dressed myself today!”
Betsy, Ha! Where did you get it? I need one! xoxo