I’ll be honest. I adore it when my kids are all dressed up in cute outfits and looking utterly magazine-worthy. But those moments are rarer than a hen’s tooth in my house for one good reason: My children like to dress themselves...
This is actually good when it comes to my older two kids. They put on clothes, are therefore dressed, and I don’t have to lift a finger. Talk about a win-win. It’s a different story when it comes to my two-year-old. Take this morning, for example. She decided to wear an orange dress. She paired that with some bright pink leggings, then added blue striped socks and pink sparkly shoes. Sounds stunning, no? But her look was not yet complete. She still needed her bunny jumper, her sister’s shoes crammed on top of hers and something like 17 bags hanging off her arms. Only then was she ready to face the day. Of course, seeing her like that made me smile. It also made me think about the fashion rules I’ve learnt from her. Here are my top 5…
1. Colour is the new black
Black is so last season, dah-ling. Instead, colour is the new black. And not just any colour. It’s about All The Colours. Altogether. All The Time. On a side note, did you know the term ‘clashing colours’ doesn’t exist in toddler-ville? True story.
2. Accessorise, accessorise, accessorise!
My toddler is going through a hair-clip phase. If she were in prison, I reckon she’d give up all her food rights for some of them hair-clips. Because she doesn’t just wear one or two hair clips, like other people. Oh no. She piles those puppies on her head so that she has a whole assortment of hair clips sticking out at odd positions. She does the same with bracelets and necklaces too. She likes things glam and reminds me to up my own choices by accessorising, too.
3. Bags
It’s all about the bag, love. Doesn’t have to be haute couture; any bag will do. In fact, it’s preferable to have lots of bags, each brimming with a random assortment of stuff found from around the house and stuffed in till the zip can’t close. Then you know you’re ready to take them out and about.
4. Underwear
Victoria’s Secret have built an impressive empire based on what women put on under their clothes. My toddler has already cottoned on to how good you can feel with the right pair of knickers on. Hence she loves wearing undies. Her big sister’s undies, to be more accurate. In multiple pairs, to be more honest. On top of her nappy, if we’re being frank. Nothing makes that kid happier than having five pairs of undies on top of her nappy, all bulging out from under her leggings. Heavens knows what the daycare staff must think of my toddler-dressing skills…
5. Wear what you feel good in
The main fashion rules I’ve learnt from my toddler is to wear whatever you feel like wearing, and forget about the rest. Haters gonna hate and all that, so you might as well be who you are and love what you do (or wear). To be honest, I love watching the way she dresses herself. The results are often hilarious (she wore stockings with shorts and two skirts today. I know.) But more than that, the pride on her face as she shows me her ‘look’ says it all. The truth is, while my toddler may take the cake in the fashion stakes, she also has my heart. And as long as she wears that knowledge at all times, whatever else she pairs that.