A Princess's Prerogative

Clearly, it's nooooooo secret that my Chica is a girly girl.

Necklaces, bracelets, hairbows, fancy shoes, purses--the more (and the sequined!) the better.

So it's also no surprise that my little fancy pants wants to wear her princess dresses all. the. time.

She's old enough now to express an adorable preference for her clothes--and mine as well (ha). And I actually love that she wants to be so dressed up all the time for mundane errands, around-the-house-play, or special lunches with Daddy.

But I'm actually kind of perplexed about the general assumption that a girl in a princess dress out in public = a parent who lost the good fight.

A fellow parent at Target the other day smiled sweetly at Chica in her Cinderella dress, and then said to me, "wasn't worth the battle, was it?" And I, of course, laughed in friendly commiseration.

But the truth (in my opinion) is--what's there to battle???

So Chica wants to wear something fancy? So it makes her light up and feel pretty? So it makes EVERYONE she passes smile? It's a win/win/win. It's not me giving in, or giving up, or losing my ability to say "no."

There are times when the ball gowns are inappropriate or impractical (outside play, church). And, as always, I reserve my right to veto Chica's choice on any given day in favor of something that, say, matches her sister, when I want the family to be coordinated

But for this stage in her life, when she's not in school or a daycare situation where a princess gown might cause disruptive problems, I say, shine on, my beautiful girl. And wear what brings you joy.

If only we all wore ball gowns, the world would be such a magical place.

:)

Happy Almost-Friday, peeps!