All Dressed-Up and Nowhere To Go

Yesterday Buttercup decided she wanted to get into the dress-ups. I "hide" the dress-ups in the corner behind our big sofa-chair, in order to minimize their use. The few times a month Buttercup manages to remember the dress-ups existence, the blouses and skirts and purses and shoes and tiaras and scarves and belts and leotards get scattered all around the house. Buttercup is familiar with each item--most of which have been bestowed on her by adoring grandparents (thank you so much)--and she knows how to get the most out of her spoils. I have been quite shocked at some of the fashion statements she has made, such as wearing turtlenecks on her head for veils etc., but the best outfits have been the simplest.

Buttercup's statement of choice yesterday, and continuing on into today, has included a lime-green swimsuit/leotard with a picture of Tinkerbell on the front, with petal-like wispy thingies adorning her waste, and a serious wedgie thrown into the mix. She could have called it good from there, but she hadn't forgotten the most important of accessories--shoes. Her feet sported plastic red highheels with a picture of Snow White on the front, surrounded in mounds of fluff. Throughout the day if you listened carefully, you could hear the click, click, click of Buttercup's heels as she pranced around the house in her garb. She was hott, and she knew it. I'm telling you, the kid's confidence levels rose drastically when wearing said outfit.

As I watched her, I realized that this outfit on any adult would send an entirely different message--desperate, nuts, white-trash, and last-but-not-least: woman of the night. That's probably why we don't don these sort of get-ups. But children can and they do. They get away with so much more than we adults could possibly attempt (not that we would necessarily want to). For instance, what if we all wore onesies and sailor hats? Or had sponge-bob on our underwear? (I have actually seen grown-up underwear at Walmart with Spongebob, please tell me you refrain.)

I remember being about eight years old and wearing blood-red lipstick every day for a week (this must have happened during summer vacation, because I can't imagine my mother sending me out the door that way). I also frequently wore my mother's full-body slip and would don one of those thick, eighties-style headbands on top of my head like a crown. Often, when I was over six years old, I would wear my swimsuit and stuff it with socks to give myself a bosom. Now this was a little funny for my parents to witness, but keep in mind that it doesn't make it okay for adults! As a child I had no idea how ridiculous I looked; on the contrary, I felt beautiful and glamorous. My confidence soared when I expressed myself in this fashion. I am sure that my husband, friends, and family are all pleased that I do not continue to show my wild side in this avenue. That's why we take pictures, so we never have to dress up like that again and then we can embarrass ourselves at future family gatherings, wedding videos, and the like.

Do you have any funny stories about you or your children? Especially ones that are made hilarious in the context of adulthood?