5 Minute Free Write Day 3: Wardrobe
I grew up in St Paul Minnesota as the only girl in a mostly conservative Irish/Italian, Catholic family. My wardrobe was always something of a big deal to my mom. I was her only daughter and she loved to shop. As a result, I was always dressed very well.(Thanks mom<3) In addition, I attended Catholic school and we wore uniforms, so I never really had to think about what to wear. My wardrobe was dictated for me. A "choice" in outfits was not even something I thought about. My mom laid out my clothes and I got dressed.
When I was 11, my parents divorced and my mom moved out. This ended my lifestyle on the Best Dressed Kiddo List. As I slowly grew out of my clothes, my dad thought it was perfectly fine to wear my older brother's hand me downs. My dad came from a family of all boys and really had NO clue how to dress his daughter. He would tell me that my uniforms were for school and my brother's clothes were fine because I was just using them as "play clothes". This scenario would have been bad enough, except my brother was a year older, 30 pounds heavier and about a foot taller than me.
Things were okay until I hit about 12 and while all my friends had the pastel Guess jeans and ruffle shirts, I was sporting my baggy Wranglers and plaid shirts. Life got rough, real rough. Going through adolescence without my mom, was difficult, looking like the neighborhood hobo was unbearable.
As an adult, I can understand why my dad did things the way he did, however, the scars of those years still creep in now and again, both in my own wardrobe choices and those of my daughters. I think they would tell you that they have greatly benefited from my desire to always make sure they feel good about the way they look and how they feel in their clothes. I try hard not to channel my mom and keep them the best dressed:). It has been a push and pull over the years. Balancing my daughter's needs to be individual with my own comfort level with what they choose to wear. I have been lucky, they make good choices and are never really too extreme. It is important to me that it is my daughter's choices and not mine or what society says they should or should not wear. So far this has worked out and as for the Wranglers and plaid shirts??? I have 4 boys that love them:).
When I was 11, my parents divorced and my mom moved out. This ended my lifestyle on the Best Dressed Kiddo List. As I slowly grew out of my clothes, my dad thought it was perfectly fine to wear my older brother's hand me downs. My dad came from a family of all boys and really had NO clue how to dress his daughter. He would tell me that my uniforms were for school and my brother's clothes were fine because I was just using them as "play clothes". This scenario would have been bad enough, except my brother was a year older, 30 pounds heavier and about a foot taller than me.
Things were okay until I hit about 12 and while all my friends had the pastel Guess jeans and ruffle shirts, I was sporting my baggy Wranglers and plaid shirts. Life got rough, real rough. Going through adolescence without my mom, was difficult, looking like the neighborhood hobo was unbearable.
As an adult, I can understand why my dad did things the way he did, however, the scars of those years still creep in now and again, both in my own wardrobe choices and those of my daughters. I think they would tell you that they have greatly benefited from my desire to always make sure they feel good about the way they look and how they feel in their clothes. I try hard not to channel my mom and keep them the best dressed:). It has been a push and pull over the years. Balancing my daughter's needs to be individual with my own comfort level with what they choose to wear. I have been lucky, they make good choices and are never really too extreme. It is important to me that it is my daughter's choices and not mine or what society says they should or should not wear. So far this has worked out and as for the Wranglers and plaid shirts??? I have 4 boys that love them:).
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