Thursday, April 21, 2011

small style :: when sweet small style grows up

i miss having a tiny girl to dress up. she was so girly too, in a uber-fun punky brewster kind of way. she loved skirts, she loved dresses, she loved shoes, and i thought she always would. these days jeans and a hoody are her standard uniform. stuff she can run and play and hang from the monkey bars in. she will be 8 (eight!!) next month so i suppose i shouldn't be surprised that she has such a strong opinion about what she wears. it just happened so fast, came so soon.


here are a few favorite girly frocks she (we) used to adore ::



esme 2008.

she wore this old navy skirt until it was so short that i finally snatched it from the dryer on laundry day and donated it. it was cute over bare legs in the summer and leggings in the winter.



esme in her handknit cupcake top 2008
she picked out the pattern and the yarn and mama put her needles to work and cranked out this little top for her. the fit was good for just a short time then it was passed on to another little girl. i knit her a new one in a larger size but she only wore the new top once or twice. she was totally over it *sigh*



super cute mendocino kindergarten graduation dress
i cut into my beloved heather ross mendocino mermaid fabric to make her this special dress for her kindergarten graduation. although she was head over heels in love with it she only wore it a few times for "dressy" outings. i have it tucked away in my sewing studio so i can repurpose it into something else - that is a discontinued print after all!


adorable knit circle skirt for family photos - 2010
i sewed her this circle skirt with a yoga waitband the evening before our family photo shoot last summer. the fabric is one of the michael miller knits that had just come out. it is very full and twirly - a feature that would have thrilled her just a couple years ago. it still fits her this year and she tells me she will wear it if i buy her little shorts to go underneath.


sweet skirt with ruffled side panels that i sewed last summer.
this photo was taken last weekend, the day we went to the opening of our saturday market. i about fell over when she emerged from her bedroom wearing a skirt (a ruffled mama-made skirt!!) i decided it was probably best to not make a big production over it but i did insist on taking several photos of her that afternoon.

so there you have it. we have traded small style for her style and i am little by little becoming okay with that.
growing big-but still little girl style - it's the jam friends!


i am linking up with mama loves papa today!



8 comments:

Jess said...

Aw! So cute. She's still every bit as adorable. <3

frugalmom said...

there is a kwik-sew pattern for shorts that I made for my girls to wear under skirts. it is two pieces and goes together in about 20 minutes. I can look up the pattern number if you're interested or you can take a tracing of her size.

erika~ the inspired mama said...

oh YES monique!! thanks a bunch, mama!
xo,
erika

Morgan said...

Oh, she is beautiful and so are her clothes! So special to have outfits hand made by her mama!

Thanks so much for participating! I love having you. Eight is definitely still small style! :)

Unknown said...

She is gorgeous!
I am going through a similar thing with my 7 year old. As much as I miss the days of dressing her, I am learning to enjoy sitting back and watching her develop her own style.
Sometimes I cringe and sometimes I hide a giggle, but I know that 'big' girl is loving every minute of it.

Stephanie Wilson she/her @babysteph said...

Oh, she is fabulous!!

Steph

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous graduation dress! The photo of your 2 together is beautiful...I adore their hair :) My big girls (8 1/2 and 7) both have their own (very different) opinions on style! love working with them to find clothes they <3! Tatum xx

Sascha said...

I made a simple A-line dress in the same fabric for my five year old. She's long grown out the dress (age 7 now) and I am keeping it to use the fabric. It's amazing. I can't see it not made into something else. I've done the same with other Heather Ross fabrics. Now it's to the point I'm scared to make anything from what is left of my stash.