Ask a child’s opinion about what he or she would like to wear back to school and the answer is likely to be, “Anything, as long as it’s not too neat.”
Or too dressy, says Arielle Leonard, 10, who does want to impress her teacher on the first day of school, but not too much.
Fewer markets–women’s wear excluded–have diversified as much as children’s wear. The fashionable Little Princess pinafores and tailored Lord Fauntleroy knickers coexist with sporty Chicago Bulls sweats and rugged Gap denims. Not to mention clothes that are just a little too grown up yet manage to catch some child’s fancy. Sometimes parents just have to say no.
For fall, the most hard-to-please child–or adult–will be placated. The solution is simple. Arielle, who prefers skirts and sweaters for school, says she and her mother shop through the store, asking each other, “Do you think this would be nice?” Or, “What about this?” as they pull the clothes out for the vote.
In the end, “we sort of compromise,” says Arielle. A lesson learned, a lesson earned.
