Lessons on Fashion from My 8-Year Old

The back to school sales are EVERYWHERE and my 8 year old thinks we should live at the mall. I don't remember being a clothes horse when I was her age, but somehow she's caught the fashion bug and she has it bad! Not only is she highly concerned about what she wears and how she wears it, but she's developed an opinion of my wardrobe as well. "Mom, you're not wearing that out of the house are you?"... has been uttered a time or two. Sometimes she's right. lol

To my 8 year old, fashion appears to circulate around layers of clothing that may or may not match in color, or in season. She's all about wearing skirts over leggings, which is cute, but occasionally it's skirts over denim, which makes me hot just to think about. She thinks nothing about wearing a long sleeve sweater with shorts or a tank top over said sweater and then wrapping a scarf around her neck. Indeed, her own personal sense of style is a mix of adorable and hard on the eyes... if that makes sense. Stripes with polka-dots, red with orange and  pink, somehow she finds beauty in each and every masterpiece she creates.

The layering she has mastered in a way I've witnessed nowhere else... she builds her layers with any bit of fabric she can grab onto. Making scarves and shawls from pillow cases, doll blankets, her brother's t-shirts, my yoga pants (my personal favorite, lol) and parades through the house as although she were on the catwalk. I suppose this is just one of many joys of having a girly daughter! lol She's all girl and I have a feeling it's going to cost us deeply when she gets a little older! lol

When she's not dressing herself, she's dressing her dolls, her ZuZu pets, or her brother's favorite stuffed animal. I can't tell you how many times I've found my 10 year old's BuBu (a fluffy stuffed dog) wearing a dress, sitting on his bed. lol Of course my son had no say in the matter. My daughter thought BuBu needed some style. Or perhaps he just looked cold?

Hitting the department stores this time of year is exciting though. I love the sales and it's a lot of fun to refresh a wardrobe. Especially a growing girl's wardrobe. It has to be replaced every season anyway and with the Back-to-School sales in full bloom there's no better time than now to grab some deals. The current styles are sweet too! I love the bright colors we're finding and ruffles are back! Ruffles on tops, ruffles on skirts, and on little girly dresses.

My daughter loves accessorizing her creations too... whether they're store bought or home constructed out of the ready-to-fold and put away laundry pile sitting on the sofa. Necklaces, bracelets, hair bows and ties... whatever she can find to brighten her appearance she calls style. I've seen her wrap necklaces around socks, and somehow make a thick chunky bracelet or hair bow. Yes... it's a bit much and I sometimes wonder if this isn't just her way of getting me to take her to the mall so she can get something mom will allow her to wear when running errands. Then again, she seems to find beauty in anything that she can somehow wrap around her tiny body.

Does any of this sound familiar? Do you have a fashion horse at home and if so, what is the funniest thing you've ever seen her (or him) wear? What's the coolest outfit they've pieced together? I can't wait to see what my girl becomes in a few years and one of the things I'm most anxious about is seeing what her style blossoms into! She's all about bright colors and feeling alive. I don't anticipate that will ever change!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and jcpenney blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

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