Your child but their style: Why my kids dress so randomly

Sometimes as a parent it's hard to relinquish control over the bodies of our children.  To realise that although they're our child, they're their own person.  It's their body.

They spend the majority of their days in uniform being taught to conform, to be the same.  They are told what to wear and how to wear it even down to their shoes and socks.  They have no freedom of choice or self expression.  It's all decided for them and then dictated to them.





Often it doesn't stop there.  Once they get home they have a wardrobe predominantly chosen by Mum/Dad.

I spend hours compiling online baskets of seasonal wardrobes for them.  In my head the outfits are pieced together.  When they arrive I tell them which items go together.

I'm essentially lazy though and they dress themselves.  The idea was they'd pick one of the outfits i'd compiled.  The reality is they make their own.  At first I'd wince and twitch at their somewhat interesting choices and subtly suggest they substitute certain items.  If they failed to take the subtle hint I'd be guilty of outright telling them that that top goes with these trousers.

Why? they asked.

Why, indeed.

Because I said so?  Because I think it looks better?  Because other people will think it looks better?  Because how they dress is illogically a reflection on my parenting?

Plenty of possible reason or excuses yet where in the multitude of them is there anything about the child and what they want?

So long as their clothes fit and are clean, what right do we have to tell them that they can't wear that top with them bottoms based purely on aesthetics?  If we tell ourselves it's because we bought the clothes or because we know better then we're full of shit.

At least they're willingly wearing clothes, right?  So what if it happens to be bright blue tracksuit bottoms that are possibly a size too small that have somehow reappeared from the pile of outgrown stuff you're sure you'd put it in, with a  long sleeved yellow and navy striped top and sandals.  If they're happy, liking it and feeling good about it....why the hell not?  Surely the freedom of genuinely not giving a fuck and wearing what we like and what makes us happy is a lesson we could all learn from them.

So yes, my kids often look like street urchins or blind clowns at times.  It doesn't mean they don't have nice clothes or matching clothes.   It simply means they've styled themselves out of the aforementioned clothes and that's okay.  Honest.  (Gin helps you come to this conclusion)

In the words of Elsa, let it go . (ok..too much Gin.  Sorry)

Why teach them something as unnecessary as being self conscience?