Thursday, October 14, 2010

Shopping buddies and cargo pants

When Lesley-Anne was very young, I used to day dream about the day when the two of us can going shopping together, share clothes and beauty tips, etc. Well, she's now come of age and we do wear the same size shoes but that's where it stops.

Somewhere along the way, I managed to raise a girl with zero interest in her appearance. Asking her to go shopping for clothes or shoes is like asking her to go to the dentist. Once, I forced her to come shopping with me as she desperately needed some new shoes. She trailed along reluctantly and every pair I pointed to, she would merely glance at it and reply primly, "no thank you." After about a half hour, I grumbled in a huff, "What's the use of having a daughter if you can't go shopping with her?" Yes, I know it's a silly comment. Bahhh.

Up to about aged 7 or 8, Lesley-Anne still wore pretty dresses and cutesy hair pins, like most little girls. But these days, she's by and large a t-shirt and jeans gal. True to her personality, her idea of fashion is something that helps her blend in, not stand out, which means her clothes tend to be either in dark or dull hues. How to raid her wardrobe when her clothes are more conservative than mine?

Recently I brought her for a hair cut and the hairdresser suggested that she do a rebonding to tame her thick and unruly hair. In my mind, any other teenage girl would leap at the chance but no, Lesley-Anne was having none of it. There we were, the mum encouraging a frivolous beauty treatment and the daughter stubbornly putting her foot down. Someone should have put a box around the scene and asked "what's wrong with this picture?" Even the hairdresser was amused.

In contrast, Andre loves clothes and shoes. Even though at home, he rotates among his oldest, tattiest and most comfortable t-shirts, when he goes out, he dresses to impress (meaning stand out). His favourite colour is fire engine red - the brighter, the better. If he has to blind passers-by in the process, so be it. We like it cos he's easy to spot in a crowd, haha.

On one of my rare shopping trips with Lesley-Anne, I bought her a pair of cargo pants from Uniqlo. We love the kids' clothes there as they're comfortable and very reasonably priced. When Andre saw the purchase, he immediately held it against himself and said to me hopefully, "I think I can wear it."

In the end, I had to return to the store to get another pair for him. As it turns out, I found that I could fit into the largest kid's size so I bought one for myself too. At just $9.90 a pop, why not? Here we are, the three of us, in our Uniqlo cargo pants (there was a bright orange that Andre would have loved but they didn't have his size so he had to settle for khaki, which he consoled himself by saying it would go well with all his bright tees).

So for now, I'm adjusting my mindset. If I can't go shopping with my daughter, I'll just have to go with my son.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have mixed feelings when I read this post. Hopefully one day I would get to go shopping with my daughters when they grow up. Share our clothes, shoes, bags and even beauty products. But if both my gals are like LA, then I would have no others to fall upon. At least you still have Andre!

monlim said...

Well, I'm still hoping things will change as L-A grows older. I remember being more interested in books than clothes too, at her age. I think I was even worse than her, sometimes I even went out in mismatched clothes! So there's hope yet :)

Hopeful said...

Funny you should post this. I find it amusing that one of my dds should take after me (not vain, not interested in shopping) and one "fashion queen". I often wonder whether FQ will end up bringing me shopping and being my dress consultant.

Hopeful

Anonymous said...

Hey Mon, actually alot of savings you know to have kids like that.

My child is not interested in her appearance either but she would leave it entirely to me to "dictate" for now. Since young, when we went out to shop, she would rather spend time exploring the shop and would say, "Mummy, anything you choose I will like!" :P Initially I was afraid of her being reliant and not know how to dress. However, later I realise that she truly believes in my taste and even if she knows, she would rather let me do it as she is more keen in other things.

So like you, I think I will be shopping alone in time to come...LOL

qx

Anonymous said...

hehe, I was just like LA when I was young, and my ds1 is just like Andre now. Fortunately for ds, SIL loves shopping and keeps him well stocked with nice shirts and pants. He would coordinate his own clothes and insists on wearing proper buttoned shirts - no T-shirts for shopping centers! No sandals with shirts, only proper shoes and socks! I am forced to up my dressing standard when I go out with him, lest I am mistaken for his maid, LOL. He loves bright red and orange too! Maybe it's an extrovert thing.

Iris

monlim said...

Hopeful & QX: Maybe we should be thankful that we're not raising ditzes :P

Iris: Aiyoh, that sounds exactly like Andre! Sometimes he'll even look critically at what I'm wearing (sloppy t-shirt and berms) and say, "You're wearing THAT to go out?" LOL!

Lilian said...

OMG LA is such a ballerina!!! Look at how her feet are pointed :)

monlim said...

Lilian: Yes I know!! It's habit now, I tell her she walks like a duck :P

Lilian said...

No no, it's a good thing. Cos it trains her to have good posture. Should have sent Brian for ballet classes LOL!, slouch so much.

monlim said...

Hahaha, I would love to see that!! *Imagining Brian and L-A doing demi-plies together*

Anonymous said...

Mon, my P5 is exactly the same!! She used to use pretty dresses but since P4, not any more, only T-shirts and jeans. She used to like those spaghetti strap cami, but now all her T-shirts are with sleeves.

Chris

monlim said...

Chris: Maybe it's just the teenage phase and being self-conscious. Hopefully they'll loosen up in time!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...