The Drama of Wearing Pretty Clothes

I don’t get it.  I try so hard to have my kids organized the night before school so we avoid the screaming, whining, complaining (mostly from me) in the morning.  It doesn’t work.  Two out of the three girls get up, get dressed, and manage to walk out of the house looking like a child model.  Oh but the third?

I cringe when I have to wake up the 7 year old in the morning.  I never know what to expect.  Once in a while I get a “Morning Mom” and a pleasant smile.  More often I get a sound of sheer annoyance and a “I don’t want to get up”.  Despite the clothes that are hanging in the closet, outfits for all 5 days a week well planned out and hung up since Sunday evening, she has “nothing to wear”.  One outfit is too warm, one is too cold, one is too tight, one is too big.  Mostly I get “it’s not pretty enough”.

So… here is what my children wore to school today.

 As you can see, my 10 year old is appropriately dressed in cropped black leggings and an oversized white shirt that is crocheted around the neckline.  She is wearing black patent leather flats.  Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail.  She has simple jewelry on - silver earrings.

My 5 year old is wearing an adorable outfit that I got on sale (really cheap) from Gymboree.  It is a floral pattern with jewels on the neckline (a girl’s gotta have some jewels) and a criss-cross back.  The short leggings match the shirt pattern.  She is wearing pink and white sneakers to complete this sporty yet stylish look.

Now we come to my darling little 7 year old.  Oh dear.  Please keep in mind she has similar “cute” clothes as the other two.  This is what she chose to wear this morning: brown shorts and a leopard print shirt with embroidered flowers around the neckline.  Now let me explain: this shirt was pretty cute when we first bought it (TWO YEARS AGO).  Ahhhhh…. then she went and paired it with a knitted sleeveless sweater in all the colors of the rainbow.  Now I did suggest she lose the sweater.  Oh no… the sweater was her favorite part of the outfit.  Where did I go wrong?

Another sigh!  Ahhhhhhh….. I guess I just have to accept the fact that my 7 year old’s “style” is a lot different than mine.  She likes mismatched clothes.  She likes wearing shorts with sweaters.  She’ll wear a tank top in the winter with her big pink parka over it.  Yet… yet… she complains because the clothes “I” pick out aren’t pretty enough. 

I guess beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.