Child Style, August

Child Style, Once Upon a Time This August Morning

Mom's Sandals and a messy bun

I’ve decided to post pictures of my youngest daughter in her everyday clothes. Somewhat regularly (notice I can’t commit to an actual schedule…no Child Style Saturdays here). Don’t worry; I’m not going all Spooky Pageant Mama on us… I am just purely delighted and entertained by her little girl sense of fashion. Wanting to share the fun.

I’m trying to figure it out. Nora dresses herself. How/why does she choose each day’s particular combination? She seems to have an organized mind (she likes rows, sets, neat piles)…does she have an actual strategy? There are so many variables to consider. She likes little girl glamour: butterflies, ponies (no princesses please), occasionally bling. But her favorite color is blue; pure, simple (variation: she wears Maurya’s Blue –robin’s egg–with loving loyalty). Meanwhile. Her oldest sister Michaelyn visits wearing animal prints…Nora has started requesting leopard dots and tiger stripes, though she doesn’t have much to choose from yet (I try to distract her with other options when we’re thrifting together). She protests pink in theory; nevertheless, I actually see her wearing it quite a bit. She’s too young to be whimsical (whimsical is when you’re past childhood, looking back wistfully), but she does have a very festive flair. And an uncanny eye for pattern. Except I don’t know that she’s selecting great patterns on purpose. It may be that the top she’s wearing happens to be a favorite, and was conveniently in plain sight when she opened that first drawer…the leggings just visible over yonder, the skirt handy because it doubled as a toga in yesterday’s big game of Dance/Dress Up and is still languishing where it was abandoned in the middle of the floor.

I don’t know. But I am completely smitten.

buckling mama's sandalsLet Children Dress Themselves

Here she is with one of her best friends, a welcome regular at my house. They had just discovered a pair of heels I’d left out (careless) in my bedroom. Nora’s hairdo is our “messy bun” strategy, a compromise.  She doesn’t have to brush her hair out completely, if she lets me tuck the messy tangled ends in a bun.

one best friendshe dressed herself that day the best of friends friendly hug Peanut, peanut butter...Jelly! peanut, peanut butter...jelly!

Except for the candids of Nora trying to buckle my sandals and the closeup of peanut butter on Best Friend One’s face, they figured out their poses on their own. No Mama Pageantry here.

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  • Ann August 7, 2013, 2:52 pm

    Such lovely girls having fun as young girls do! Great candid photos. I bet they are excited to have the pictures on your blog. Fun writing!

    blue hue wonderland
    Ann recently posted…It’s All About the BagMy Profile

    • Lynaea August 8, 2013, 1:50 pm

      Thanks for visiting, Ann. I don’t think they get what an Amazing Honor it is to be featured on my blog (smile), but they do love it when the camera is out and pointed at them. When my husband was a toddler, his parents could stop his temper tantrums in an instant with a camera. Maybe they had a Polaroid? Instant gratification? (=

  • Vickie Barney August 7, 2013, 10:49 am

    Sabrina tells me over and over she’s not a girley girl, that she’s a “tom boy”I just say ahuh! You should see her closet full of clothes, has to always match her shoes with her outfit, and find matching jewelry, perfume, and nails done. Although, she forgets to keep her toe nails looking their best!! But still claims to be a “tom boy”??

    • Lynaea August 8, 2013, 1:47 pm

      Maybe it’s the “mean girl” or “dumb girl” media stereotype that makes the girls worried about being seen as too girly? Interesting dynamic. Girls just ought to have fun!

  • Tabetha August 7, 2013, 5:05 am

    I see another artist in our household!! Love your writing. Oddly enough my youngest also swears she doesn’t like pink, yet willing wears quite a bit of it…
    Tabetha recently posted…So That I Can Feel the Rain…My Profile

    • Lynaea August 8, 2013, 7:51 am

      Thank you so much. She certainly is her own person. You said once before that pink didn’t always carry the girly stigma… But I think that might be what our girls are reacting to (current stigma). I guess no one wants to feel limited by stereotypes?

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