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Ever wanted to reevaluate your wardrobe ladies? Wanted to decide if what you wear is age appropriate? Or what the impact your clothes have on people? Well, then become the role model of a pre-teen.
Lil burs is eleven and at that marking point of turning into a teen. She’s very much into skull t-shirts and cargo pants. Tight or short clothes has no appeal to her….unless I’m wearing them. And then its ‘that looks sooooo nice.’ That one statement yesterday, as I put on a short skirt to go to a friends party, made me cringe.
Mind you, I’ve been wearing shorts skirts for the better part of my entire life. My folks weren’t the sort of people that put restrictions on what I could wear (the only thing that ever got a stop and question from my dad was a crop top. I was 18, I put on a sweater and he let me leave). I like to think that, if blessed (or cursed – all depends) with a daughter that, I too, will have the same thought process. I’ll teach her to respect herself and to not put herself in compromising situations. And though I am the ever so cool and laid back non-biological mommy, I’m not the one who gets votes on what will be deemed appropriate for lil Burs.
Thing is, her dad may feel differently about this than me. Correction – he does. There are shirts that lil Burs will try to wear which get the too tight mark from dad and are given away to charity. Currently, she likes her tops lose. Her trousers, even more so. But then enters me – the one in the short skirts, tight tees, skinny jeans galore which in the winter are paired with my knee hi-boots.
Which now has me thinking that, perhaps, I should be a better example. A better fashion example.
Let me better explain. Right now, today, lil Burs doesn’t seem like she’s going to turn into the sort of teen that will want to wear such things. But I’m hedging on the you just never know mentality. That, combined with the fact that she’s well on her skill front of using me as a bartering tool. For example, when she wanted to get her ears pieced she casually asked me when I had gotten my ears pieced. And of course I told her ‘three days after being born’. The follow-up questions went along the lines of if I think she’s too young to have them done and so on…needless to say, later that day she was able to repeat me verbatim. Which knocked Burs argument out the water. He was left with ‘ask you mother’ which she did and on her next trip to visit lil Burs happily got holes in her ears.
Of late there have been questions about whether I’ve ever worn crop-tops and at what age, how short was the shortest skirt I’ve ever worn and when did I begin to wear dangly earrings. So you see people, we’re headed down this path. All I’m trying to do is make changes accordingly (and learn that telling the truth isn’t always necessary).
Now, I’ve no plan on running to the nearest Ann Taylor (or London’s Ann Taylor equivalent) but I found myself purging my wardrobe a bit today, in light of yesterdays applause of my incredibly, tiny fringe skirt (which I wore with a blue tee and cute flats – just in case you were wondering HOW scandalous the outfit was). Luckily the other day I went to the new Forever 21 and saw NOTHING I liked (which wasn’t hard since it was all fraternity chic) and H&M looses it’s luster every time I go in for a looksy. Which leaves me asking where will my fashions come from? And what is the correct adornment for a woman in my predicament?
Because seriously, what is the appropriate wardrobe for a woman in her thirties? Especially one who doesn’t have any small kids or a real job? One who, for the most part, has her life to herself with the exception that there’s an almost teenager lurking around storing information to use in her defense later? I work from cafes and home. There’s no little fingers getting me dirty or needing me to run around after them. And because of that, I’ve gone on dressing like my former NY single self – minus the heels.
But no one needs to worry, I rather be speared and jostled in Tarfalgar Square then wear a twin set and Keds. So for now, I’ll stick to t-shirts, jeans and trainers on my casual days and try to leave the super short skirts for when the lil one is away. After all, Burs shouldn’t have to go without. My legs are still great and I need to keep showing them off while I can…and before she’s big enough to start borrowing my clothes (which she’s remarked on already).