Trendsetters. Fashionistas.

Your Kids’ Style Should Be a Reflection of Who They Are

article by Cindy G. Foust

Well, well, well… it’s May. What.In.The.World? I cannot believe I am writing my column and we are nearing the halfway point of the year. Time is flying by and I’m just sitting around looking fashionable. It’s true… I’m quite the fashionista. In fact, you can ask anybody that knows me… Lori French, where are you? Can you please back me up on this because you know I have a closet full of fashion? It’s true! I have at least 20 pairs of black pants… well, I have black everything if the truth be told. I truly look like I am perpetually going to a funeral. That’s why I always dread the fashion issues at BayouLife.

I love this magazine with my whole heart, but seriously, what can I contribute on this subject? And I’m supposed to be writing to parents and their children and I can’t even keep my pants up. But I’m getting ahead of myself a bit. A few weeks ago I had to go to Houston for check-ups and such, you know, to see how 16 rounds of chemo worked out for me. As it turns out, it worked out for me very well. Thanks be to God and my great team… including Shelley and Paula who are my beloved hair team members. But that’s another story for another day. Anyway, for my readers who are following me, just rest assured our prayers have worked and I am doing great. But I still had to go have tests to make sure. In Houston. And here’s exactly what happened, and I promise it relates to fashion. The scrub suit kind of fashion.

As it turns out, you have to put on scrubs to have this certain test. Okay, no problem. And I must look really chubby or something because the nurse brings me like a really big set. What.In.The.World? Anyway, this column isn’t about Jenny Craig, it’s about fashion. So I proceed with complying with the rules and change into my ever fashionable, Army-green scrub suit. Looking good, I might add, as Army green is my signature color. The nurse comes for me and as we are walking down the hall, I have my briefcase and my purse and my water bottle (it’s very good for you to drink at least 80 ounces a day) and my phone and a bag with my regular clothes in it. I’m standing in line at the CT Department and all of a sudden, Isaac, my nurse from South Africa with the loveliest smile and cutest accent, says to me (in South African accent) “Mrs. Foust, your pants are down by your ankles.” What.In.The.World? There I am… in the CT Department at MD Anderson, trying to look busy and important, standing in line with my “pants on the ground, pants on the ground” in my underwear.

I can’t believe I’m committing this story to paper, but readers, even those of us who are all the rage in fashion have slip-ups. I guess that’s what we could call this. Or is it a slip-down? How do you not feel your pants falling? I know that’s what everyone in the BayouLife community is thinking and I don’t have an answer.

I just know a few minutes later Isaac came in to tell me what to expect from my test, and asked me before he left, “Mrs. Foust, do you have any questions?” I was like “Isaac, for crying out loud, you’ve seen me in my underwear, could we at least be on a first-name basis?” I can’t believe I’m telling underwear stories in my column… I hope Cassie doesn’t fire me… but friends, we have lived through a pandemic together so surely we can talk about underwear.

It’s not like I did it on purpose and streaked through the hospital. And underwear are technically a fashion item, even when it’s my most recent fashion faux pas… but readers, I have many, many more stories. Do we have time for another story, because this column really should be about the latest fashion trends for kids or how to match your hair bow to your shoes, but I don’t really know those answers either. 

I knew I should have interviewed Lori but I didn’t so I am left to my own stories and experiences. Which usually gets me in some sort of way that embarrasses my family. But the truth is, even though I don’t study it like I do cooking, and I don’t know that much about it, but shouldn’t fashion be a reflection of who you are as a person? And what does it say about our children? Do we let them be who they are with their sense of fashion?

It might come as a surprise to you, but there was a window of time when I did have my own style. It was years ago, in my much younger years, but I had every color of boat shoes they made, including yellow! And I wore dresses with shoulder pads that made me look like a linebacker, but hey, everyone else did, too. But that season of my life passed and I became a mother and suddenly, my focus shifted. Honestly, though, that’s just an excuse because I have lots of friends who dress beautifully and really look great in their clothes… so why don’t I as well?

Then I get to thinking about my kids and their sense of style and as a parent, have I let them cultivate their own or did I impose mine on them. Gosh I hope not! My son is a “dude” and his wardrobe is usually centered around gym shorts and a great pair of sneakers, although, he does clean up really well when he has to. My daughter on the other hand, is quite the fashion conscious one. I love watching what she puts together and how she directs me with her wardrobe input “Mom, please change your shoes. Now.”

It’s fun to watch her study the trends and at the same time, wear what feels good for her, and more importantly, what makes her feel good about herself. When I had this thought, it got me to thinking, everyone’s sense of style should be just that… what makes them feel good about themselves. Because that’s going to look different for every single person we know. If black pants make me feel skinnier, then I should wear them. If yellow boat shoes make me feel goo, then I should go for it.

Just kidding, my daughter would tell me good-bye and go live with another family. It’s interesting, however, watching the trends cycle back in and how the fashion world just embraces it. And then it makes its way to social media and then it becomes “a thing.” 

Such as mom jeans and shoulder pads, they are all cycling back and we are hostage to those trends, even if we look like we play for the Green Bay Packers. Recently, with my medical journey, my medicine has me not feeling like myself… on the outside. So when I starting putting the words together for this column and writing my outline, the thought that kept moving around in my head was everyone, starting with our children and moving all the way up to our grandparents, should wear the clothes that make them feel good about themselves. If it’s not “in style” or if it is matters not… what matters is how we feel when we put those joggers on to start our day. 

Our kids should have those options…even when we want them in smocked dresses and bows bigger than their heads. Allowing them to have that sort of liberty to dress in “their way” is healthy, as long as they don’t look like a pole dancer at the Mirage. Can I say that in this column? Of course I can, I have already talked about underwear. Their style should be a reflection of who they are… my son never put much emphasis on clothes, but my daughter on the other hand does.

Either way, I am happy for them to make those decisions based on their likes and dislikes. And maybe, just maybe your daughter will comb through a Rubbermaid of clothes I saved for her, snatch up a silk skirt and say, “Mom, you were quite a dresser. I can’t wait to wear this skirt.” There’s the proof that I was in fact a fashion plate… and who knows, with the help of my good friends, it may not be too late for me to be one again.

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.