Toddler Fashion

Sounds screwy, and I know there are more important things in life, but I pay close attention to what my children wear. If we are just home on a Saturday morning lounging and reading books then sweats and tees are ok. But for school I prefer to dress them in comfortable, casual but decent-looking clothes. There is a method to my madness. Allow me to explain.

My mother may not have had tons of money and resources but she always made sure we had a few new outfits and new shoes. I never had to wear hand-me-down shoes. Most of my clothing came from a cousin or sister but the shoes were always new. Mostly because we beat the heck out of them since we only had two pairs, one for church and one for school. Play? Well, barefoot, mostly. I never really wore sneakers. And, if I did get a pair, I shared them with my brother for soccer and they were a size bigger than I needed so we could wear them longer. And they were always ordered from the SEARS catalog, along with our clothing, toys, electronics, you name it. I used to love going with my mom to the catalog store and getting the slip from the lady and then walking up and down the aisles looking for G-14 , A-6 or the large stuff in aisle J. There were usually four or five of us running around, Dad browsing scratch-and-dent for a couch or washer (we went through washers like Kleenex). It was a family event.

I was never at the height of fashion but I was dressed ok. Clean clothes, few stains, tears if they were in style. I never tried to be fancy. Darling doesn't try to be fancy, either. He does like to buy nice clothes for work to look his part (Associate Director, thankyouverymuch). He grew up dirt-poor, thrice-divorced parents, wore the same five "98 Hot Hits" tee shirts to school every day and kids teased him for it. So we try to make sure the boys are presentable and clean on a budget.

It may seem silly to some to dress the boys the way we do. I scour the consignment stores and thrift stores for GAP, Children's Place, Ralph Lauren and any European clothes I can find. Usually I get everything for under five dollars and in new or next-to-new condition. I do the same for me. I get Ralph Lauren Saturday on E-bay. And everything else I can't find in consignment I get at Old Navy or Target. Members of my family would never DREAM in putting their children in used clothing, but I can get my kids fully outfitted (minus shoes and socks, I always buy those new, unless I find a pair in GOOD condition) at a consignment store for $75 or less, including church clothes and a coat, when I can find them.

Why does it matter that I dress my kids this way when their peers are wearing sweats and tee shirts to school? I believe in dressing for success. Collared shirts and pants or jeans are more presentable. Gym pants are ok with sneakers on gym day but that is it. Not that I am always at the height of fashion.

My main purpose for doing this is because I feel that if I can dress my kids more "typically" then they will be treated as such. I worked with children with special needs in the past and sometimes their parents sent them in to school dressed for bed, in tattered clothes, in clothes that were ill-fitting or outdated. It shouldn't matter what they wear but I feel they were treated differently as a result. I also felt that their parents could have cared less what they wore since they were the "retarded kid" or the "autistic kid" and everyone expected them to have lower status anyway. I dress my kids in play clothes but they are always clean and neat. And if they get horrible stains or tears I do not allow them to wear them again. I do not want anyone looking at my child and thinking less of them or me because of the way they dress.

It may sound superficial and materialistic but I do not care. The reasoning behind it is clear and simple. I just want them to be treated fairly and not singled out. Dressing them like "special kids" will only add yet another stigma to them, you know?

Ok, go ahead and leave me comments and tell me how crazy I am for this...