No Fashion Sense At All

That would be me apparently. Yesterday as I was getting Miss Gabs ready to go to 'school,' I carefully picked out an outfit that would be neither too hot nor too cold, that would let her roam around easily, that could clean up easily, and above else, looked cute.

That is what is most important afterall, isn't it? That she look cute?

My husband and handfuls of clothing manufacturers would say "Yes." Don't get me wrong, what mother doesn't want to see their baby dressed in something that makes them so cute you could just gobble them up. But, I also consider the functionality of the ensemble. I mean, what good is a cute pair of jeans if they are 6 inches too long, thus causing baby to faceplant on a hard service resulting in bruising, redness and many tears? And who wants to wrestle with a baby trying to get a pair of overall's on that clearly were designed by an adult never having had to dress a child?

Back to my initial point. Gabby no longer seems to trust my fashion sense. After carefully dressing in her in a pair of pink pants and a cute pale yellow shirt with lots of pink flowers on it (maybe I don't trust my fashion sense anymore after describing this outfit in writing! I promised it matched in an easter egg kind of way!), I reached over for a white sweater that has a cute little pink and green dragonfly on it. Gabby set her eyes on her strawberry sweater - it really is supposed to make her look like a strawberry, it is red with little black "seedlike" spots and has a matching hat that looks like the top of a strawberry (now I am really doubting my fashion sense!!!!). There was no way she was going for the dragonfly and she made that verbally VERY clear. She wasn't satisfied until the strawberry sweater was on her person.

So there she was. An easter egg wearing a strawberry sweater.

She still looked cute, as always of course. And who knows? Maybe she will someday grow up to become the worlds best designer EVER. In the meantime, it is my responsibility and duty to see to it that she is dressed each day - although I am sure she would prefer to be naked. Since the age of 3 months she has let us know whether or not she approves of an outfit in a store. Once at Baby Babinski's, her glee over an outfit my mother held up for her approval nearly caused Mama Jo to spend $85!!! I convinced her to just say no. Everything her Dad held up that day was vetoed off the floor - true story. I fear we may have a clothing monster on our hands, the depth of which can only be fully understood for years to come - likely peaking in ugliness around the age of 14 I imagine.

So what exactly is it with women and their wardrobes? In all honesty, I am myself just coming out of a funk in this area. I would much rather go shopping for clothes for Gabby then I would for myself. Not only are her clothes more fun, I don't have worry about increasing waistlines and all that the post-pregnancy body entails. For Gabs, a size increase is not only a good thing, but also expected! And who can resist the cute clothes they make these days for little girls? Whether it is a strawberry sweater, an acorn hat, horizontally striped pants or a dragonfly on the chest they are all cute as a button. And let's face it, as adults you just can't pull such designs off anymore unless you are a gradeschool teacher or an old Grannie.

If I could, I would be a wealthy stay at home mom who joined other "ladies who lunch" afterwards shopping the day away with baby. What a nice dream of era's past. Now, at least in my outlet mall shoes, that lifestyle just no longer exists. And that is ok too. That lifestyle also seems to entail quite a bit of keeping up with the Jones' and having dinner on the table by the time Mr. Man Breadwinner comes home. Those are things I would just as soon pass up. So even though my 11 1/2 month old daughter is already contradicting my sense of style, I am still going to pick out her shirt, pants and shoes each morning. I will just leave the accessories up to her!