Individuality

My daughter has a unique sense of fashion. On any given day, she may go to school wearing a cowboy hat and fairy wings (she's a "cowgirl fairy") or shorts and a winter hat, scarf, and mismatched gloves. She wears dresses with jeans under it, a dress with a shirt over it, mismatched socks, four different bows in her hair, and any number of other combinations.

I get mixed reactions. At preschool, teachers usually just smile and say they never know what to expect or that she reminds them of Punky Brewster. Other times, I get asked, "Are you going to let her go out of the house like that?" Or "It's great that you let her pick out her own outfits." (In one of those tones where you're not quite sure if that's a compliment.) She wears what she wants -- as long as it's seasonally appropriate and fits -- because long ago I drew the line at arguing over clothes. I did not let her leave the house with the face paint "designs" she did above. I have let her go out with that pink hair extension.

Besides avoiding arguments, I also let her pick out her own clothes because I want her to be comfortable being herself, even if she's weird. I love the preschool she goes to, but it's very homogenous. It's a private school in a small town, and there's definitely some pressure (maybe not so much in preschool) to be like other kids. Smocked dresses are pretty popular among the preschool girls. But I want my child to stand out, to feel confident in her choices, in her own likes and dislikes, and feel comfortable expressing her views. Clothing is one small step toward that, and she doesn't care what people think of her red skirt, purple leggings and orange shirt. And I hope that never changes.