I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Carter’s. I received a complimentary gift card to facilitate my review and thank me for my participation. Cute children and opinions are all mine.

My girls are nothing if not fearless fashionistas. While their momma is perfectly content in a solid rotation of v-neck tees, jeans, and TOMS that smell like they’ve been worn all summer, these children of mine treat getting dressed in the morning as a ceremony for the super fabulous.
There is combing through closets. There are accessories. There is lipstick application and ballerina-like twirls in front of the mirror. I’m not allowed to touch their hair, but aside from that, getting dressed is a sacred ritual that is not to be messed with.
Ellie has even started quietly creeping out of bed like the bite-sized ninja she is and dressing herself fully (lipgloss, armful of bracelets and all) before shaking me awake and asking in her best Valley girl voice if she looks beautiful—where does a four-year old pick up a Valley girl lilt in the first place?!
As summer vacation rolls to an end, I started thinking about what this fashion obsession would mean for the school year. There is no way these opinionated ladies o’ mine will go from the absolute freedom of summer to a rigid wardrobe without a battle. It’s already been made clear that there will be no makeup and there will most certainly be daily hair brushing by mom. But the whole picking out their outfits and forcing them into submission thing? It’s not really worth the struggle for me.
These girls already see getting dressed as expressions of who they are. As long as it’s appropriate, why take that away from them?