BayouKidz | Kids Fashion Guru: Let Them Express Themselves

article by Cindy G. Foust

Happy back to school to our esteemed BayouLife community, in what is now the cusp of the holiday season. Can you believe it? We just put up the tinsel and the tangle, and we are about to get it all out again as we jingle all the way to Christmas.

But not before we get our Bayou Kids back in school. I would first like to address something before we get into my monthly nuggets of wisdom that I know you look forward to. Last month, I had the privilege of writing about my Samuel, in honor of his 25th birthday. First, I got so many wonderful comments, texts, calls, and FB posts that gave me so much encouragement, and I very much appreciate the support. It’s a perk of this job, you know, to have this platform to write about my problems, like free therapy, and then have all the wonderful feedback to propel me forward. So, thank you so much for that. Second, because last month’s column was difficult to write, I inadvertently stated Samuel would be 23 on August 14th…he was, in fact, 25. It’s been 23 years since his passing, and I simply missed that in my article. I appreciate your grace, and look forward to sharing more about Samuel now that I’ve kind of had a breakthrough in believing that I can, in fact, write about him.

This month’s column, however, will have a bit of a different spin for me, not my usual one, because I am, in fact, writing about fashion. I can almost hear your collective gasp, as anyone who knows me knows that my fashion sense shoots straight out of the pages of a Cato magazine. Or their freestanding store if I have time to shop.

No, I missed the style DNA gene by a long shot, but I do cook really well, so I make up for the fact that I don’t know what color pantyhose to wear with my suits. Just kidding, I know we don’t wear pantyhose anymore. I do, however, struggle with the whole fashion trends each year. I think I need a stylist, and I have appealed to my dearest friend Lori French, who is the quintessential style girl, to help this lost cause.  But because back-to-school fashion is upon us, I decided to do a little reading to see if I could offer input for you parents out there who also might struggle with what to put your children in for school.

Now, I know some of you get lucky with the whole uniforms in school, and I would have loved that when I was in high school. Instead, I was busy making poor fashion choices, then with yellow boat shoes to be worn with my yellow and red overalls. SOS. When my own children were young, Robert Scott was easy peasy because he was a “dude” and they just needed some gym shorts and sneakers.

But my girl? Well, this is where the fashion gods got a big laugh by giving me a daughter. Because with clothes comes shoes and with shoes comes hair, and I just found myself buying one smocked dress after the other. At one point, the wonderful Mrs. Linda Lavender Ford, restricted me from actually doing Angel Grace’s dance bun because she said it “looked like a doorknob.” SOS. Again.

But as the years have passed, my daughter actually did become a clothes horse, with a keen sense of style, probably from likely sources at Herringstones like Cindy and Debbie. And my sister, who is in fact, a clothes genius.

But this year? I have decided that I would study the trends and share the latest and greatest for our Bayou Kids. Readers, did you know that vibrant colors like electric blue, sunshine yellow, and neon green are in style this year? You heard it here first. I will back track at this point and state the obvious that I was a trendsetter in 1984 with my yellow boat shoes and yellow overalls. I, was, in fact, ahead of my time. I don’t know how I feel about neon green, because you don’t want your kids looking like Shrek but hey, the fashion gurus at Harper’s Bazaar say these are the colors.

Next, calming shades like soft pinks, baby blues, and lavender are also trending. See, this is why I don’t do style…on the one hand, we are vibrant, and the next one we are pastel. I’m telling you right now, I wouldn’t have put Robert Scott in lavender, I just wouldn’t have. And aren’t soft pinks and baby blues like baby colors? Any newborn experts out there?

Animal prints are also on point this fall, and Teen Vogue says everyone will be wearing them. Again, not sure how the boys will feel about leopard or zebra prints, but the girls will go wild. I actually wore a leopard print dress in a talent show one time when I was Gitarzan (Ray Stephens song), but that’s a column for another day, all by itself.

In yet another confusing trend, vintage closing, from the 80s and the 90s, is on the rise. Now, here’s one I might get behind, because I think the best years were the 80s!

Finally, Athleisure is considered a staple with comfort being the key, “with moisture-wicking fabrics, relaxed fits, and chunky sneakers being staples.” I want to be clear, I don’t even know what Athleisure is, so there’s that, but how’s a kid supposed to run around the playground in chunky sneakers? And what in the cat hair is “moisture-wicking fabrics?” Why can’t we just go back to my son’s era and get some gym shorts and sneakers and call it a day?

I make light of all this, because trust me, I could go on and on with the trends, but the truth is, shouldn’t we just take a deep breath and let our kids be their own fashion statements? Shouldn’t we let them dress to their own sense of style in what makes them comfortable? I know when my daughter was done with the smocked, she was done. And then we moved into the Limited, Too, and it just went on and on from there. Now, I wouldn’t dare try to pick out anything for her!

Kids have a way of expressing themselves through their clothes, and I believe, with some parameters, of course, they should be allowed to do so. The right outfit does give us confidence, and during those formative years, when self-confidence can be elusive, our outfits can fill that gap for us. Trending fashions are fun, so let your kids trend. Or let them be vintage. Or let them be in a pair of gym shorts and sneakers. Or yellow boat shoes? Guide them through the fashion seasons with a gentle hand, but let them enjoy the clothes that they helped decide on that they like but also feel good wearing.

Cindy G. Foust is a wife, mom, author and blogger. You can find her blog at the alphabetmom.com for weekly columns about home life,  parenting, small business stories and insight with a smidgen of literacy. Give her a like or follow on Facebook and Instagram.