A Style All Her Own

This post was originally posted back in 2011 as part of SocialMoms and the jcpenney blogging program. I thought I would update things a bit and share it with y’all again. At some point as mothers, we all go through the “I don’t want to wear that!” argument with our children. I remember the very first one with my oldest daughter and I swore that moment I would never have another. I wanted to have something I didn’t have growing up. A sense of my own style. I always wore what was expected of me. While my sister would put on the shortest skirt she could find and push the limits of the boundaries our parents set, I didn’t. I wanted my daughters to be comfortable in their own skin and self aware enough to know what they like.

When Victoria was seven I was more than a little embarrassed at times to be seen out in public with her. She wore rain boots with poufy dresses, cowboy boots with shorts, and more. She loved colors and patterns and was happy in what she wore. My determination not to step in until necessary was hard tested time and time again.

A Few Basic Rules

We did establish a few very basic rules that she had to follow. They were to not to be bent in anyway and I tried to not make them too strict. The first was she had to actually wear clothing. At no point, could she come out and declare she was going naked for the day. I just knew she would do it if she thought she could get away with it.

She couldn’t show more skin than was age appropriate. So, at age seven short shorts was allowed but if she bent over and I saw her panties she had to change. This is something I can’t seem to get my sister to understand. She sent me a picture recently and while she looked nice her skirt was super short. I asked her if she knew that after forty her skirt should be slightly longer and she told me no.

She had to dress appropriately for church and special occasions. No wild colors or looks for those events. She had no problem dressing the way I wanted for any of those. Other than those few rules she was allowed to dress however she wanted to. She became so independent and more open because she developed a sense of who she was.. There were days when she tested my limits but she never broke one of the rules openly.

Watching her pick out her outfit was always such a show and to this day it still is. She would stand in front of her mirror and put things on, take them off, rearrange things until she was happy with it. The day I originally wrote this post she put on a pair of deep purple shorts with striped colorful knee-high socks, and a shirt with flowers.  She spun around about ten times before she decided it was the perfect outfit. All that was left was to add pigtails and some crazy hair ties.

One thing I did worry with Victoria though was when she went to public school for the first time. I know how cruel kids can be sometimes but confidence in that she dressed herself and chose what she wore was stronger than mine as an adult has ever been.

I suppose the best thing I could have asked for is that she followed all of the rules. Not to mention Maggie (my youngest daughter) didn’t follow her footsteps. Maggie picks her own clothing but she isn’t as wild in what she likes. I could not be prouder of either of them to tell the truth.