Like mother, like daughter
Posted on June 24th, 2008 – 10:03 AMBy May Chen
“You’re not a grown-up,” my 2-year-old says, gravely. “You’re a mama.”
Hmmm. She’s right. I do seem to have regressed socially and intellectually since I had Kid No.1 four years ago. I no longer have the attention span to read anything over 100 pages. I yawn like a kitten if I’m still out after 10pm. And we haven’t even mentioned the daily candy cravings.
But there’s one thing I’m not doing…yet….and that’s to start dressing in little girl clothes.
You know the women I’m talking about. They’re everywhere. The moms in the flouncy knee-length skirts. With hair pulled in two bunches, the way they wore it at least two - more like three - decades ago. Some actually look cute. But mama mia - what are they thinking?
The closest I’ve got is buying black leggings in a fit of nostalgia at the return of that 80’s fashion staple. They reminded me of my teenage years. But two months after the splurge - a Simply Vera sale at Kohl’s! - they sit, still in their cardboard band, in my closet.
No, I haven’t got a link to a smart analysis in the New York Times style section for you. Or any sage fashion advice from our own newly resuscitated Variety section. But I wish I did.
Cribsheeters? Are you dressing like your preschooler?
13 Responses to "Like mother, like daughter"
May, I was really hoping for that link, because I have no idea what you are talking about. I am so far away from the fashion world that I read this and said, “Huh? People are wearing what?”
I think it’s more due to the fashion trends this season. Look around, what do you see? Baby doll dresses and tops, leggings, bubble skirts, and maxi dresses. Not to mention the return of the big headband. So of course more moms are looking like their younger daughters:)
Wait, so as a mom, my skirts have to be past my knees? Since having kids, my tummy jiggles, my top parts sag, but man, I’ve got killer legs. Please don’t make me cover them up!
Ha! I agree with Kim! My legs are all I have left.
I keep my hair in two braids so at least when the baby grabs and pulls, they hurt less. I call them my “mommy reigns”.
I don’t think May means short skirts, but those flouncy babydoll dresses that some women are wearing nowadays. Short skirts are definitely okay!
I think Anissa describes it well in her post. All of those fashions can be cute, but you have to be so careful how you pull it off so you don’t look too childish. And you can’t wear a lot of them together without looking ridiculous (imagine a baby doll dress with a headband with pigtails all in bright pink on a grown woman…too much).
I also don’t like the women that wear matching clothes with their children, like the same exact dress or something. That’s a bit strange to me. Katie Holmes and Suri Cruise also freak me out with their same bob haircut.
Some of the kids fashions are adorable these days, but I don’t think they would look right on me 
Thank you, Amy! I have a closet-full of short skirts myself and I too am grateful my legs don’t require the, er, underwiring, that other regions now do. It’s the head-to-toe ensembles that I wonder about…
I’m pretty much in the “mom uniform” — capris and a t-shirt. Wish I could break out of it, but now I’m scared!
Hmmmm….Kay and I are plotting a Cribsheet playdate sometime soon (we hope!). Maybe we should all wear flouncy skirts and pull our hair in pigtails :)!
I’m about to have baby #2, with the first being only 17 months old…who has any time for fashion???
Though, mom or not, I don’t like to be brushed off because I look like a kid. It’s one thing to have “cute” outfits, and another to be mistaken for a highschooler with unusually loose skin:)
I has nothing to do with fashion, because the matching outfits are from from the ‘current trends.’ I can’t stand it when moms dress like their daughters…it looks awful. There are a few stores that actually show moms and daughters in matching outfits in their ads…YIKES…I always wonder who looks at that and says, ‘Oh how cute, we just have to have those!”
I wouldn’t say I’m dressing like her as much as she’s dressing like me. I like to be comfortable, so I dress her the way I would want to dress. T-shirts, capris (she can pull off shorts, I cannot) and very few dresses. Good clothes to play in. If we end up in similar colors, its only because with similar coloring, we look good in the same colors. It is never on purpose.
I pretty much dress how I did in college. Although I’m still young (28). Sometimes my husband complains because he says I look like his students, he teaches high school. But I shop in the junior’s department and I really can’t stand any other clothes in other departments.
