School style... and how I'm an enabling mother

Published: Tuesday, 05 September 2017

School is just around the corner, and by that I mean less than 24 hrs 'till GO time, people!!

Can you feel the excitement!? Some days I feel like it's me starting Grade 1 all over again. I wonder what she's going to do on her first day, whether she's going to enjoy it or be nervous about it. It's almost like dropping her off on her first day of JK... when she just waved goodbye and walked into the school, and instantly forgot she had a mother (seriously kid? I had separation anxiety for weeks!). Well, Grade 1 is kind of like that, except she's a big kid now and I'm still a crying baby.

There's one thing you should know about Emma: she does not wear pants. Like ever. Not even shorts. She doesn't even own a pair of pants, to tell you the truth. All she ever wears is dresses, and they have to be as 'twirly' as possible. 'And what about skirts?', you say. Only on rare occasions. 'T-shirts?'. Only if they have a long enough ruffle at the bottom to make them look like short dresses.

Middle of January, -40 C weather and she's in a dress. Hey, whatever floats your boat, kiddo. But here's the catch... up until 2 years ago she didn't like leggings either (they looked too much like pants). So how do you keep your kid warm? Tights! I bought them in every colour, texture and print I could find... and she loved them... until 18 months ago when she decided she didn't like tights anymore. She now prefers leggings. So leggings made a grand entrance and tights were never again seen in our household. There's one thing you should know about me: I'm an enabling mother.

I've always believed fashion is a way to express yourself. Be you and wear what makes you happy. So I'm an enabler... but this actually benefits me. I can sew leggings... tights? not so much. And making dresses is way easier and quicker than, say... jeans. So if she's giving me an excuse to sew (because I obviously need one), I will take it!

Last week, while going through her closet, I noticed she didn't really have a lot of Fall dresses that fit her (is it awful that I am already having to put her Summer clothes away? Where's the Sun!). So I looked through my ridiculously large fabric stash, and found some small-ish pieces of knit fabrics in different colours and prints left over from past projects. A-ha! My favourite kind of sewing, creating something wearable out of mere "left overs". And that's how I spent my long weekend. Making a bunch of leggings, long sleeve dresses, and t-shirts (with long ruffles at the bottom... because dresses!).