I have a confession to make: I think somewhere amidst the lingering pandemic, I sort of fell asleep at the fashion wheel, in regards to my kiddos.
I mean, yeah, sure, they’re all getting older and entering the years of stronger apparel opinions, significant preferences, and growth spurts out the wazoo. So it’s already become much trickier to shop for them in the past year or two.
But, I also think that we—like much of the rest of the world—hit a level of complacency during the early pandemic times when it wasn’t so important to shop or get dressed or fancy, because nobody was going anywhere, and that complacency accidentally stuck around.
So you combine complacency with complicated kiddo opinions and you equal a lot of hodge-podge clothing, ha.
Case in point: please note our family Christmas Eve attire this year…
I mean, Little Man was in a tropical shirt, Chicklet was in camo, Chica was in tie-dye, and none of it was at all fancy. Worse still, they were all rocking ratty, beat up tennis shoes they wear every day at school because I haven’t even made them shop for church footwear lately. Oye.
What happened to our adorable fancy family coordinating???
The answer, of course, is that those days are likely a thing of the past. Because I’m a firm believer in giving my kiddos the right to choose their own clothing in the hopes that they feel their most confident and authentic selves as they navigate school or play or anything in between. And now that they’re older, their choices are, well…unique, ha. (And man oh man are they particular about fabrics, seams, fit and a gazillion other nuances.)
I mean, I will always force them to color coordinate for annual family photos, and I try really hard to scrounge up something matching for family vacations. But that’s about all I can sneak in anymore, ha. And even those occasions haven't received my best attention in the past year or two.
But.
There’s definitely something to be said for empowering the kiddos to do a little shopping of their own so they might discover fun and fashionable choices we can both get behind, and that’s what we’ve been slowly trying to do.
I placed the most emphasis on Chica for the time being, as she’s the one hitting that tender age of particularity, and I’d noticed her having a very difficult time selecting outfits for school, of late.
Bottom line: we just needed to explore and find a couple new items that she was happy with, and it was a pretty fun process—and fairly painless since we’re not looking to buy a ton until springtime and a change of seasons.
It was a delight to send all my babies off to school today in something new. Whether it was shoes or a jacket or leggings. Anything just to switch it up a bit.
So here’s to engaging my babies a bit more in the shopping process alongside me in the coming years.
And here’s to some of the adorable new finds that bring me smiles.
Like…Chica’s first pair of high-top converse. So fun I’d buy them in my size. :)
Or these super cozy, athleisure-type outfits we assembled to make daily dressing less complicated. Comfort is key, but that’s okay on most days!
And Halleluiah, praise the heavens, we found ONE new pair of pants Little Man will actually wear, ha.
I’m thrilled to report that although Chicklet is usually rocking hilariously miss-matched or cross-patterned ensembles these days, she’s actually my least particular at the moment, and has the widest range of items she’ll actually wear.
Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say she dresses by mood…and has a lot o’ moods to choose from. ;)
Anywho.
Love my babies—even WITH their challenging apparel needs. And it’s just a whole new obstacle for us to tackle together.
Keeps life interesting, yes???
HAPPY MONDAY, peeps!
Over and out.
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