Marching to her own beat
September 12th, 2008
Tonight when we went to dinner, Annalie chose purple socks, pink polka-dotted Converse sneakers and a sombrero to wear with her pink-checked skort and magenta t-shirt from the Omaha Zoo. I guess most kids her age don’t have a grasp on the finer points of complementary colors and matching solids to patterns. But it seems to me that Annalie is just one of those kids who has her own unique sense of style.
I have a fairly vivid memory from when I was about Annalie’s age, of my mom explaining to me that most people don’t wear two different patterns at the same time and that usually people tried to wear colors that sort of matched. I think I tended to listen to that kind of thing, mostly because I didn’t want people to point and laugh at me. I was very big on not attracting attention, and with my waist-length blond hair and a younger brother who looked enough like me that people often asked if we were twins, I already got more attention than I wanted. If wearing jean shorts and a red shirt meant less attention than plaid shorts and a striped shirt, well, you can guess which one I’d choose.
When Annalie puts together an outfit that’s unconventional, I try not to discourage her fashion choices. Even though it’s not what I would choose to wear, she is her own person. “They’re my clothes,” Annalie often reminds me. “I can pick which ones I want to wear, can’t I?” I try to let her choose what she wants to wear, as long as she doesn’t want to grub around in the dirt in her church clothes or wear the dress with chocolate stains to a wedding.
Sometimes when Annalie wanders into the room in a new outfit, I’ll mention off-handedly that most people probably wouldn’t pair, say, purple-checked shorts with a yellow-striped shirt. She invariably assures me that she doesn’t mind, she likes it that way.
I’ve written a bit about Annalie’s fashion sense before. I have taken many photos of her while thinking, “I have to preserve this outfit for posterity!” So I decided it was time to start a set on Flickr for Annalie fashions, to gather together all the photos of her fun and/or funky outfits. Who knows, maybe someday she’ll become a famous fashion designer and I’ll be glad I have all these photos in one place.
Or maybe they’ll just be fun to tease her with ten years from now when she won’t wear anything but the coolest new trends!
September 12th, 2008 at 3:21 am
I digg her style! I’ve always love mis-matched clothes. I LOVE HER PINK DOTTY SHOES!!!! Do they come in a women’s size seven? Or Toddler size six?
September 12th, 2008 at 3:37 am
She looks cute no matter what she wears. My favorite outfit is the yellow dress with sneakers. I think I’d put her in that again on purpose. It’s adorable!
September 12th, 2008 at 4:43 am
I love her sense of style and I think it’s wonderful you let her wear what she wants.
September 12th, 2008 at 7:37 am
I would like to point out to Bethany’s readers that she too was once known for wearing “interesting outfits”, as evident from showing up in yellow shoes, purple sweathshirt, & blue backpack on the front page of the Fashion section of the Lincoln Journal Star while in college.
But honestly, I don’t see what’s so weird about her outfits. They all look like they match to me….
September 12th, 2008 at 7:40 am
I love that you don’t stifle her creativity in putting these outfits together, but what I love even more? The fact that she’s self-assured enough to say, “This is what I’m going to wear, it’s my choice!”
I mentioned it on your last post about her fashions, but it bears repeating… I wish everybody could have that kind of confidence, young or old!
September 12th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Hmm, those outfits are all better coordinated than anything I could come up with.
September 12th, 2008 at 9:09 am
I can’t wait to see what she picks out for tomorrow!
September 12th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Way to go. Let her explore her own sense of individuality.
September 12th, 2008 at 10:33 am
I love that she picks out her own clothes. I let my three year old do her own thing 90 percent of the time. Nothing cuter than a tutu and rubber boots.
Have a great week end (psst. you won the Starbucks card @ mommyknows).
September 12th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
I think she’s very stylish. My mom just shared that I insisted on wearing a purple jacket over an orange shirt. She tried to dissuade me - to no avail. :)
September 12th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
I hope she always stays true to herself and never changes.
Rock on with your bad sombrero self!
September 12th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
I have always thought that her outfits suit her personality :)
September 13th, 2008 at 1:26 am
The title reminds me of a line in the Drew Barrymore movie ‘Never Been Kissed’ when she is talking about one of her teachers who marches to the beat of her own drum….and funnily enough the teacher is marching about the classroom wearing a sombrero.
Love it….and Annalie too.
September 13th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
The Kid has Annalie’s style sense, too. I try to keep my mouth shut but when there are more than two kinds of stripes involved I struggle.
This is how style icons are made, right?
September 14th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
I wish they made Annalie shoes in my size–I love all of them.
When I was little, I thought the most beautiful pairing of color was magenta and orange…or maybe it was red and purple. Either way, I always tucked my shirt into my underwear and wore cable-knit tights 24/7. Cooool…