I remember needing to go to the grocery one day and waiting on her to get ready FOREVER only to have her four year old self appear in red and white leggings (with gold sparkles!), a big, green hoodie, a fat yellow belt, about 354765 necklaces, half her hair pinned back with every barrette she owned, the other half in a gazillion little pigtails, humongous sunglasses and cowboy boots – exclaiming ‘I’m ready! Let’s go!’ So we went. The cashier took a look at her and said something to effect of her being adorable, to which the daughter replied ‘I do not appreciate your condescension!’ The cashier handled it like a star and just giggle a bit and said ‘you’re right, but you DO look fabulous’.

I like to think it all means that we fashionistas breed precocious children

I read a Tori Spelling profile recently in In Touch or something (classy!) and she was like, “My son loves trucks- my husband bonds with him over them, whereas my daughter loves shoes! She’s so girly!” even though her daughter was basically a baby, like a year old. I think it’s a mistake to categorize this sort of behavior as innately feminine- it is just playtime/dressup and is more encouraged in girls, who are always getting told stuff like, “You look so pretty!” and “You’re a princess!” Plus they see other women and imitate them. I think if we encouraged little boys to do the same sort of stuff, they would love it too- it’s just already so gendered right away!

My interest in clothing has everything to do with my mother’s long history of flea markets and dragging home Victorian dresses and tapestries and whatnot. Sometimes I wonder if I’d be wearing Sketchers and an oversized sweatshirt right now if I had just grown up with my dad!

I don’t know a lot about kids other than my 18 month old son, but he pretty much likes to do what he sees me doing, including (this one time) stomping around and yelling (and then grinning at me for approval) after seeing me yell at my husband about something dumb.
He sees me reading a lot, so he is always flipping through his books (and any magazines and catalogues I have lying around) and he likes to sit in my lap and type on my computer.

And style-wise, I like to dress Bert up like a wee old man. He will wear anything without a fuss — even wee neckscarves — except hats.

i am soooo lucky to have had one of the most stylish ladies on the planet for a mother. i can only hope that her style resonates through me.