Thursday, August 27, 2009

Fashion

A picture on the post below got me thinking-- kids really do have their own sense of fashion. Today Emma is wearing a blue and yellow flowered shirt, a brown skirt and pink leggings so she can play outside. Nice, right? I feel like I ought to put disclaimers on my kids about them picking out their OWN clothing, though I have some say when we purchase.
So, I was wondering about other parents: Do you let your kids pick their own clothes, even if it is hideously ugly? And wearing the bad outfits at home is one thing, going out in public is another. What do YOU do? There is a poll at right and please feel free to leave comments below.

5 comments:

Ellerbeck Family News said...

Danae=I let your cousins pick what they were going to wear when young=they also did their own hair-Nichole was amazing-she could french braid her hair as a little girl-
OK so now they watch home videos and can't believe I would let them dress that way/wear their hair/etc./etc.
It didn't hurt them-
Jeanne

Woodrich Family said...

I read somewhere that it's good for kiddos to be able to make choices like that on their own. It's easier with boys than girls. My mom always had a great deal of influence on what we wore. We'll see what happens with Rachel!

Cailean said...

There was one pair of pants that Elizabeth wore that looked like clown pants to me - multicolored horizontal stripes. When worn with the matching hooded sweatshirt it came with from Target it looked nice but separately it looked like a clown and I told her that jokingly. She loved them. But eventually decided she didn't like them either. I kind of felt bad for influencing her and changing her opinion. I think people overlook kids clothes not matching if the individual pieces the kid is wearing are cute on their own and not stained or torn etc. If you look at kids lines like Oilily, it is not always very matchy-matchy anyway! So yes I let them dress themselves and unless they are immodest or are wearing brown and black together, they can wear what they choose to go out even. I think the key is not having something really hideous in their closet for them to choose from.

The A Team Mom said...

I'm picky sometimes but not all the time. Church- always- my kids do not get to wear PJ's, or rain boots, or princess costumes etc to church... (yes I have seen all of this) they have to wear their church clothes. Not saying I look down at anyone else- I understand that most of the time it is NOT worth the fight. I'm picky about what is worn to school also. Kait mixes and matches most of the time and if it looks ok I just let it go, but I really hate that she has TONS of clothes and never chooses to wear what I consider to be the cutest of them. If I was smart I would only keep the stuff I like. But then I would have to sort through everything... I cannot seem to find the time to do it!

Becky said...

At home I let them wear whatever they want- - but when we go out in public I do get some say. Though truly I don't push it- - if the child in question is particularly adamant and it isn't a health risk (like wearing shorts in January), I just let them. Each of my kids have very different personalities too. I can NEVER pick Marcus' clothes or get him to change just because I don't like the outfit- but luckily he understands the need to wear something clean, and that generally matches. What happens the most is he wears his favorite shirts over and over, and ones that I really like sit in the drawer never to be used. Sad, but whatever. If I tell Marcus his shirt is dirty, he will totally go change. Cynthia isn't like Marcus, and even though she might balk at changing something that looks terrible, I can usually convince her (not 100% of the time, though!).