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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Obsession: Back to School Clothes

So tomorrow my life ends. My little baby girl will become a kindergartener. 


All summer I thought to myself, I won't cry. There's nothing to cry about. She's always been social and independent. She's gone to preschool for two years now. This isn't any different. 


But then I got one of those automated calls from her new school's principal. It was a simple reminder that tomorrow was the first day of school.


And I bawled giant, sloppy, snotty tears of heartbreak. 


So if an automated phone call can bring that on, I'm fearing full-blown hysterics tomorrow. They may need to call my mom to come pick me up. 


I actually heard a story of that happening once to a lovely Jewish secretary at Larry's office. Tomorrow may complete my own transition to an insane Jewish mother. I get all verklempt just thinking about it. 


Obviously I've been in denial in the past couple weeks. But with all the shopping to do as a distraction, who could blame me?


The cute outfits (and the important education of my oldest child) are the only things getting me out of bed at 6 a.m. I'm telling you I don't get up that early for anything. It's a good thing I went into labor at night with my two kids because if my water had broken at 6 a.m., I may have just grabbed a towel, wrapped it around myself and went back to sleep until a decent hour.


But shopping for Maya will always be my saving grace in life. Because I love me a cute get-up. It will clear away all the cobwebs and the sorrow. 'Til there's none. 


Here are a few of the key pieces I put together for my darling Bean. 


Clothes




The school day jumper from Brooklyn designer Dressing Em. It cost a small fortune but I was really disappointed that Maya's school won't have uniforms so I decided to make this jumper a part-time uniform. The plan is that she will wear it once a week. You can dress it up or down and she loves it. Especially since she prefers to only wear dresses or skirts these days.





Two more play dresses from Hanna Andersson and Tea Collection. They are easy and simple but sturdy enough to hold up to intense kinder play.




I made a special trip to Mission Viejo to check out the Zara Kids there. I'm in love with Zara but am not yet twiggy enough to wear their clothes myself. This jumper had me at the word "pinafore." 






For the days I can talk her out of dresses and skirts, it will be an outfit like this. Of course, I can't get enough of navy stripes so this sweater from Old Navy was perfect. And, on a trip to Fashion Island, I floated on a cloud into the Peek, Aren't You Curious store and found a FRIDA KAHLO t-shirt!!!! The back reads, "Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?" LOVE. And, of course, the obligatory Gap skinny jeans


Shoes


To go with the school day jumper and all my daydreams of having a little French girl, I got these red maryjanes from Garvalin. Apparently, they are magic shoes that will massage her feet and shit. I just think they are pretty.




Maya picked these shoes out of the line-up at Nordstrom before I even noticed them. They were perfect, stylish and functional with a hint of sparkle. It's not often that we agree on something so I think these Converse are pretty special. 


Accessories





There aren't many accessories appropriate for the school yard (no hats or jewelry) but I think these knee-high socks and sparkly polka-dot tights from Crewcuts were made with me Maya in mind. 


Hope everyone is enjoying back to school shopping as much as I am! 


I'd also love your input on the new site design! I'm excited about makeover. :-)

2 comments:

January Dawn said...

LOVE your new look Michelle! I thought I had the wrong site at first and was all like "But wow, this is a cute page!" And it's for the clothes that I wish I had a girl - super adorable outfits.

Arlene said...

Love the retro look of your site! Right up my alley. Those cute clothes make our uniform seem seriously dull! I guess there's always free dress days for me to shop for. By the way, I fully support your investment in the jumper!