I’d love to open a children’s clothing store, especially after having a child with such a particular sense of style. I’m much more comfortable in muted neutrals so having a little girl who loves bright and fun colors makes me nervous. No, seriously, I didn’t realize just how many shades of pink exist in children’s clothing until I became a mother of a precocious, style conscious, comfort conscious child. This little post shares some of her more recent typical outfits, all of which have very little influence from me, other than practical directions. Such as, it is friggin’ cold outside and you will get sick unless you wear long sleeves and either pants or leggings (a little white lie, I admit).
I confess… I told her what frostbite can do to little toes and fingers. If I could have shown her The Triple Dog Dare to stick a tongue on a frozen pole Scene from the holiday movie, The Christmas Story, I would have. Her little Texas warm blooded soul stubbornly refuses to wear gloves at times, preferring to tuck her little hands up into the sleeves of her down jacket. I’ve nearly gotten over the strange looks (disdain?) German mothers give me as my hatless, gloveless preschooler dances past their clothed-from-head-to-toe-in-multiple-layers child.
Lately, threats to hold her Legos hostage also work for getting her at least choose warm clothing or practical shoes but I confess, I’m usually not up to a battle of wills or wits at the end of the day or worse, before my first cup of Joe. These days, if I can get her to wear a hat, mittens and scarf, I consider that being a good mother.
No Fear sense of style
My daughter has her own sense of style and is much more confident in her daily style choices than I am. Her main decision points waver between patterns, colors and comfort. Always. She has a lot of variety in her wardrobe, most for daily play rather than dressy situations, and still she frustrates me when she picks the same handful of pieces to wear week in, week out. Worse, although we are in the dead of winter, she will gravitate to short sleeves or insist that her sleeves be rolled up, since she has all but outgrown her short sleeved tops!
This outfit was the one she picked to see her papa off at the airport. HE let her pick this ensemble. I admit, I can be vain and yes, would have figured out a way to get her to wear a different top or skirt that well, didn’t clash so much. But once again, my child taught me to embrace her style and admire her youth and freedom. She’s my little Hippie at times. The older sister of her BFF saw her later that day and said, matter of factly, “Bella dressed herself today, didn’t she?”
* The lilac blouse, sent months ago by my mother in a box full of play and school clothes, had finally seen the light of day. It came with matching lilac jeggings, which she has also FINALLY taken to wearing more often as it is too chilly to go barelegged. Why so few times? Because…THEY WERE NOT PINK.
* The flouncy, hippy Eliane et Lena skirt and pink Ugg boots were purchased in late November and thankfully she’s worn both countless times, making them almost worthy of their extravagant cost. The skirt has some pink…good enough for Bella. (She’s worn the skirt before here…)
* the pink tights, with little black cats sprinkled throughout, are part of one of her Halloween costumes, seen in this old post. She’ll wear them again soon for the kids Carneval parade here in Mainz.
. This is an awful photo but all the other ones have her looking like she’s possessed (red eye demon). We attended a birthday party recently and she wanted to wear her new sailor outfit with matching slim navy pants with red bows at the ankles. I consider that day a good outfit day… Petty, I know, but there is pleasure in small victories.
I’m usually not a huge fan of children’s clothing that markets characters and she normally doesn’t pick them out of a rack of clothes. However, while gift shopping at a local children’s store, Spielemax, she saw this Cool Club top with Twilight Sparkle, Hasbro’s My Little Pony resident geek. TS is my favorite of the 6 main ponies, too, so of course, I said yes when she asked if she could get it.
This outfit is typical for what she seems to prefer on cold wet days lately: knit top, leggings, boots. However, she decided to wear legwarmers when she saw mine (flashback to the 80s…). These pretty pink and white chevron patterned ones are her BabyLegs from when she was an infant. I knew keeping them would be good one day, since she didn’t use them much in Texas as a baby with extra chunky legs. Who knew they would still work on a 4 year old? (Interested in getting some for your little girl or boy? You can find similar ones here at the BabyLegs site.)
My tiny style maven is far from being a Diva or a little princess, but perhaps her freestyle sense will rub off onto her conservative boring mother…
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