My Preschooler Will Never Be a Fashion Star, and That’s Okay

I see these moms on Instagram, posting photos of their amazingly fashionable children. The girls wear chipper toddler turbans, fashion-forward onesies, and giant sunglasses. The boys all have on t-shirts with witty sayings, skinny jeans, and shoes with actual laces.

Meanwhile, my son wears his footie jammies out in public with velcro sandals. At noon.

The photos of the amazingly fashionable children enthrall me.  How do the parents convince these tiny models to put on the clothes? And to keep sunglasses on their faces for longer than two seconds? Mind. Blown.

I have tried to convince my son that the sweet vest and the leather bow tie are, in fact, “comfy and cool,” but he calls shenanigans on that nonsense every time. “They are NOT comfy. I want to wear my jammies.”  He’s probably right.  I can’t think of anything more comfy than the three pairs of baseball jammies he has on constant rotation.  

So, I give in. I let go of the fear of judgment, “She let her son out in that?”  Because, for all of the cute outfits he could be wearing, he’s doesn’t want to wear them.  Do I really care if my three-year-old dresses himself in a basketball t-shirt, fleece sweats, and cowboy boots? No, I don’t.

Plus, he looks amazingly adorable wearing those boots everywhere, unless he’s in the mood for velcro sandals.

So, why do I care? What do I want out of this?

I want the label “brand rep.” I want followers on Instagram. I want. I want. I want.

What I want does not matter to my son when he decides whether it’s worth it to put on shoes so that I’ll let him out of the stroller when we go for a walk.  My son could not possibly care less about witty t-shirts. He barely cares when his pants are inside out.  

I know. I can buy him the cuter clothes, banish the sweats from his dresser, and guide him to follow my inner hipster desires, but he really just wants to wear pants with pockets so he can carry rainbow rocks, snail shells, and the other trappings of the life of a preschool boy.

So, little dude, keep rocking that Iron Man shirt that’s two sizes two small, because you love it, and I want you to wear what you love.

Besides, maybe your sister will let me dress her...ooooh, are those baby leggings??!