Living with the Fashion Police

Caution: This post contains some exaggerations. You may or may not experience this in your own home...YET!

When your kids are little, you can wear anything and they'll give you a compliment. In fact, sometimes you can look ridiculous, wearing your oldest, grossest outfit, and they'll say something sweet about it.


And then they grow. And they get opinions. And they notice that people outside the house tend to dress a little nicer than mommy and the compliments become more rare. Now you only hear a compliment if you're truly dressed up. In my case, it's usually accompanied by a look of shock, like, Oh I forgot mom could look like a real person!

So, I know just exactly how my husband felt this past Sunday. I mean, don't we all go into our closets at times and struggle to find something to wear? There are plenty of clothes, but will they pass the test? If you have teenagers, then you know what test I'm talking about. If you don't, then someday you will. This little post will help you to be more prepared for your future!

Here's the test: Will you get a thumbs up or an eye roll from the teenage fashion police? No notice at all means you're probably safe to go out in public. And receiving an unsolicited compliment from a teen is considered a fashion coup. I've been to known to bask in the afterglow of such a rare occurrence for days!

Anyway, back to my husband's dilemma. Steve doesn't like to get rid of anything. He tends to hold onto clothing until I go through and say things like, you have ten pairs of tan shorts, can we get them down to three? So there are some clothes he should have parted ways with long ago. But, he also hates to shop...you can imagine his pain. In the interest of spreading the love around, he decided to choose some pants and a dress shirt that had seen better days.

First he asked our oldest if his outfit looked okay. She told him it went out of style ten years ago. Not being one to take an obvious hint, he then he asked our second oldest. This child doesn't like to deliver bad news, so he told his dad to ask me. Another child flat out told him it was ugly and another one laughed. I'm telling you, you have to have a strong sense of self to run the fashion gauntlet in our house. Getting down the hallway and through the kitchen can be your death. Needless to say, that outfit and some of its cousins are sitting in the Goodwill bag this morning!


This needs to be the litmus test for all men's clothing in our house: If our sixteen year old son hasn't asked to borrow it, Steve probably needs to rethink owning it! That boy can sniff out a new shirt a mile away and be wearing it the next day. Even it is mixed in with clothes from ten years ago!

Of course, it's easy to make fun of Dad, but believe me I've experienced the thumbs down many times. Trust me it's not for the faint of heart. Being told my outfit is "a khaki mess" springs to mind! It seriously makes you question how you managed to get dressed before these fashionistas arrived. I have been known to wear something all day and then change before the kids arrive home from school just to avoid the looks!

Lucky for us, we have three more kids coming up through the ranks. They might still be giving us a pass now, but they'll pull no punches later. I have a feeling many more pieces of clothing will be making their way into the Goodwill bag!

What's it like in your house? Are you still able to dress without judgement from your offspring? Do you turn to your kids for fashion advice, too?



29 comments:

  1. I love your sense of humor! I will admit...I was the fashion police when I was a teenager too. Now my mom dresses nicer than I do! :)

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    1. Haha! I'm sure she would be flattered you think that!

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  2. Good stuff, Marie!!
    My three little ones tell me I"m pretty a lot, but I know that that's because they're young and still adore me ;0) I'm not looking forward to my two girls telling me how out of style I am in 10 years, lol.
    Thanks again for the smiles. Love your posts!
    Have a great weekend,
    Suzanne

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    1. Yes, enjoy it while you can, Suzanne! The kids force us to stay somewhat current though! :)

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  3. I love alone & I'm single so I have no one to tell me if my clothes look at. I occasionally ask the chinchilla if I look at and sometimes ( lately, until last week when I went shopping) he would run & hide. He doesn't like giving bad news either I guess. I've got 3 goodwill bags I need to take this weekend. Happy Thursday.

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    1. That's funny, Leslie! No one, not even the dog, wants to be the bearer of bad news!

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  4. Well, I live in a house of men, and two of them could care less what anyone is wearing! My sixteen year old is actually pretty fashionable, but at this point it's all about him, so I'm not sure he even notices what I wear. My sister has a daughter that comments daily about her wardrobe!

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    1. Not commenting just means you're doing fine, Lana! They'd let you know if you were embarrassing! I've seen your fashion posts and they're cute ;)

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  5. That's funny! I can totally see it. I've been asking my young boys, for quite some time, which shoes they like better with an outfit :).

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    1. Haha! That's your secret then! They do a good job :)

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  6. Hilarious! And I've written a post on this very same topic. My daughters are extremely harsh and have refused to be seen out with me on several occasions. Fortunately, this can work to your advantage and the check for lunch works out a lot cheaper! Now that they're both at university, I sometimes borrow clothes and accessories from them, this makes both daughters extremely cross.
    Sadly, you are going to have to endure the wrath of the fashion police for many more years to come.

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    1. I hadn't thought about the borrowing while they're away. Funny how it makes them upset if you borrow, but they probably wouldn't think twice about borrowing from you! I'd like to see what you're wearing when they refuse to go out with you! :)

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  7. Oh I was 100% the fashion police when I was a teenager. My mom dressed way older than her age, and still dresses the same; it's just now she's 15 years older and finally age appropriate.
    My hubby doesn't get rid of much either, but when he does look out! Things will go flying!
    Thanks for linking up at the Shine Blog Hop!

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  8. Lol this is awesome! At least you have kids to let you know when an outfit needs to hit the donation bags :) My kids always know when we're going somewhere that isn't walmart because I actually get ready and put on my "lip stuff". In fact, sometimes my three year old will say to me, "mommy, put your lip paint on, we're going now" lol!

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  9. Aw I'm still in the "berry pretty mummy" stage I hope my boys just stop noticing to be honest! :-)

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  10. My kids are very kind ... they could say a lot more than they do!

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  11. this makes me laugh, I too have teems and am at home to the fashion police. Dressing for parents evening is way more stressful than a night out with friends! #MagicMoments

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  12. HAHA! Geez they're a tough crowd. Brutal delivery but hey, it made for a hilarious post!

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  13. Very funny! I have this all to come as mine are still small, however the jibes are coming through when it comes to playing music. My old 90s vs One Direction. According to my 6yo there is no contest, so what will she be like as a teen?! Thnx for the heads up!

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  14. Hey! I was just out browsing some new blogs and came across yours from the Wake up Wednesday hop! So glad I found your blog :) I'm excited to be following along via Bloglovin

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  15. Ahhh bless this made me chuckle but its so true as i remember me and my siblings doing it to my mother and my two are still little and giving compliments but I know it won't be too long before I hear it. It will be my time too. Although my two year old tells me he thinks I beautiful, he tells me in the same sentence to go brush my hair it looks messy. lol Thanks for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme

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  16. The good news at our house is that the kids are all raised and out of the house. Plus, I had all boys and really, they were no help for me and figured their dad was a hopeless mess and didn't bother to try to change him (I should take a lesson from them!) I have been known to call my daughter-in-law for fashion advice but imagine my shock when one day she called me! Loved your story.

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  17. Such an upbeat, funny post!
    Really good job with the writing of it.

    In our family parents and children go to each other for advice….we're very honest and sometimes I think we might need to lie a little, haha.
    It's been this way for years; don't worry, you're not the only one!

    -Rashae

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  18. What a funny and cute post. I too have the fashion police at home but mine are boys ages 9 & 7. I've gotten the phrase "Mom are you really going to wear THAT today?" Thank goodness for the 3 year old who still has a compliment for his mommy. Stopping by from Turn it up Tuesday, Thank you for partying with us!

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  19. So funny and true!!! Thanks for sharing on the Thursday Blog Hop! Happy 4th!

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