Dear Children Clothing Designers....

I have a love-hate relationship with you.
Do any of you actually have children yourselves?
Have you ever tried to dress a child in some of the things you create?
Why must you pull me in with your cute prints and must have styles?
I might have been fooled once by your tricks. You cannot fool me twice. I am far too practical of a mother to buy an adorable shirt or perfect pair of jeans without examining it's functionality closely.
You frustrate me!
Sincerely,
This fashion forward and pissed off MOM!

I can imagine I am not the only mother who has bought an article of clothing, brought it home, washed it and then attempted to dress your little wriggle worm in it. You fidget with zippers and try to figure why there is a button on a pair of pants that does absolutely nothing. You then proceed to curse the brand who manufactured it. You don't dare tell your spouse that you've wasted more money on clothing that your child 'had' to have. Not to mention the pricey hair colour you'll need to buy for yourself in order to cover the new grey hairs you've gained from the exhausting ten minute dressing session.

M may only be 2 but I've gained enough experience with dressing her that I can quickly look at a shirt or pants or shoes and tell whether or not it's practical. As a mom, time is of the essence. The more time you spend on a simple task such as getting them dressed in the morning or bundled up to head outdoors, the less time you'll have for other things. Such as the most sacred, 'Me' time.

I recently stumbled upon this issue while shopping for winter boots for M. Within the first 10 seconds of pulling on the pom pom that was attached to the zipper on the boots I knew I was in trouble. The pom pom broke off and the the zipper just wouldn't zip! My patience, as well as M's, was coming to an end. In the end I settled for my second choice. A velcro design that went on and off smoothly and something M could easily learn to put on and fasten up herself. Both options were from the same clothing line, Joe Fresh, and at the same price point. I liked both pairs equally but one would cause me to have chest pains and the other wouldn't. I think the decision was a no brainer.

As much as I love shopping for M and love fashion, I will never sacrifice practicality for anything! Ok that's a lie, a girls gotta have a great pair of 5 inch heels.

XO
Amber