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I’m not a shopper. Shopping is so not my thing. I don’t love the mall. If I drive to the city or travel somewhere new, I am unlikely to ever just stroll about looking for the nearest boutique. It’s just not me. But even I have to buy clothes every so often. I need outfits for business events, blogging conferences, and meetups. I can’t wear the same ole clothes, can I?
Now my teen is another story, when we were in Southern California a couple of summers ago, she had four things she wanted to do:
- Get a tea at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf — of course, only found in California
- Eat at In-n-Out Burger
- Eat at Del Taco
- Shop
We crossed the first three items off her list in the first couple of days, but the fourth was a bit of a head scratcher. Where would we find the stores she was looking for? We had a rental car, but we were short on time. I kept asking my teen if there was a specific place in SoCal that she wanted to shop, but she was noncommittal. I kept looking for stores on our travels, but came up empty. But a fashionista will always find a way to shop. One day, my teen spotted a clothing store as we were cruising around Hollywood on a double decker bus tour. She pointed out the shop and begged us to stop. I looked at her and asked “Is this the store you are looking for?” Yep, that was the store she had researched online before our trip. How could I thwart a fashionista’s quest? We hopped off the bus to get a Pink’s Hot Dog and while we were there she browsed a vintage clothing store. Score! Where there’s a will there is most definitely a way.
My teen striking a pose outside a vintage clothing store in Hollywood
I’m not a fashionista. I don’t even play one on TV. Far from it. But my teens are most certainly fashionistas. Even my younger teen won’t leave the house without at least matching her purse to her shoes. Me? I wear the same four pairs of shoes on a rotating schedule…practically all my shoes are black so that my shoes match everything. Really, I should have titled this post…A Nonfashionista Mom Births Fashionistas…News at 11!
I stopped shopping with my girls when both were tweens. I noticed on our shopping trips that both my daughters stopped asking whether I liked a shirt or a bikini. My answer was always a noncommittal, but reassuring “I like it if you like it.” Soon my older daughter encouraged me to grab a latte and an easy chair at Starbucks, while she strolled the mall with the younger teen. I think her exact words were “Mommy, you stay here…I’ve got this!” And just like that my presence was not required on the mall shopping expeditions. Well, except when my teens were ready to checkout!
You would think that my girls would dress casually at some point, wouldn’t you? Like at an amusement park. But you would be wrong. On the same trip to SoCal, both teens wore color-coordinated and fashion forward t-shirts and shorts to DisneyLand. On any given day these girls are wearing Hollister tees, sun dresses, bangles, and even makeup!
- Stylin’
While I’m limited on fashion sense and advice, I am a font of knowledge about all things laundry. Not that my teens ever ask me questions about laundry…unless doing laundry as part of their chores. So my laundry knowledge is begging for an audience. My somewhat off-the-wall “claim to fame” is that in my 20-plus years of laundering clothes, I have had few mishaps. In fact, I can count the mishaps on one hand:
- I washed a new pink shirt with many pairs of @DadKnowsBetter‘s underwear and let’s just say he wasted no time buying new underwear.
- I washed and then dried a fine wool sweater of my daughter’s, which resulted in the sweater body shrinking to doll size and the sweater arms elongating to octopus length. My teen was not amused.
- In college, I had a Sting concert t-short stolen from the dryer. O.K. that’s not a laundry mishap exactly, but I really liked that t-shirt.
Fashion forward…even on the last day of the trip
I can definitely have a lively discussion about laundry and detergent and what works and what doesn’t. And occasionally I even find someone to talk to! Best tip I could give someone about laundry is don’t skimp. Don’t buy the bargain brand because it is cheap. Go with a tried and true brand. For me, I stick with Tide, especially Tide Total Care. I shop at Costco and Tide is always available. So is Downy and Bounce. I recently heard about a new Downy — Downy Infusions lavender Serenity — and Bounce Outdoor Fresh Dryer Sheets. I liked that I could participate in this DailyBuzz Moms Tastemaker program but continue to use trusted brands, like Tide, Downy, and Bounce. My wash looks the way I like it AND smells good too!
