Toddler Takeover: This Is What Happened When The Kids Dressed Us

Sofia and Kaya let their kids play stylist for a while!

Kaya

My kids have an opinion on most things – including what I should wear (yup even the boys are keen to pick things out every now and then) and very sweetly tell me when they think something looks nice (usually my pyjamas). So when boredom struck one afternoon during the summer holidays, I suggested that we raid grannys wardrobe (my suitcase didn’t have enough going on) and that they pick out the outfits they think I should wear more often. It took some convincing – but they quickly got stuck in and we had a hilarious hour of fashion mishaps and silliness – the perfect mini indoor activity when you’re scraping the ideas barrel!

Outfit number 1. A sequin skirt ‘because it looks pretty like a mermaid and we want you to look like an animal’ (?!), paired with a pair of much-too-big black heels, a sparkly wool jacket and neon pink sweater. And about a million necklaces, which I was then instructed to remove until the four favourites were left. The boys were incredibly opinionated about it all – the skirt was ‘too long’, but the necklaces were perfect and made me look ‘like a princess’ and someone they’d ‘love to cuddle’. Cute!

By now, both boys were getting into the swing of things and had begun planning outfit no. 2, starting with a black evening skirt a la 1980 because ‘Upsy Daisy wears one like that’ (for those of you who don’t know, this is a character in a very silly children’s programme). They paired that with some leopard print flats to help me ‘camouflage in a jungle’ (the animal theme was coming out again). 3 year old Arthur chose a fake fur gillet that reminded him of ‘a sheep’ and then a debate about whether or not the shoes were good finished with a decision to switch for pink slingbacks. And then the accessorising part, which they seemed to enjoy most – hanging ‘treasure’ around my neck and seeking out a ‘dinosaur tooth’ necklace plus one with ‘magic powers’. They stood back to admire their work and told me that I looked ‘kind of weird’, so again one piece of jewellery was removed and all was right again.

This outfit also came with instructions as to how I should stand (the exact pose was demonstrated by 5 year old Felix), walk (like a t-rex) and talk (like a robot). We had a really good laugh, embraced a lot of silliness and killed an hour of boredom but by now, picking out my outfits was getting tiring and there was something my mini stylists decided they’d rather do, so we called it a day. Next time, will let my 2 year old daughter have a go!

Sofia

The morning that I let the boys loose on my wardrobe, I was expecting a crazy mayhem of them ripping clothes and each other apart for hours. Instead Adam, my eldest, told his younger brother Edward that he wasn’t allowed in on the action and took charge of the entire styling session (which, by the way, was over in about 20 seconds). Edward was only allowed to nod, ooh and ahh which probably isn’t too far off how these things usually happen I’d think…

Although I can’t say Adam’s sense of style was on point, it was all done with a determination that would put most celebrity stylists to shame:

– You will wear this jacket with these pants. NOO! No sweater!

– Shoes… I like orange. Here you go.

So, what did my toddler look consist of? I bring you mama’s 2015 toddler look.

From top to bottom:

– A black vintage Leonard jacket with floral prints made for my grandmother in Paris in the 1950s. It was originally made to match a ball gown in the same pattern. (style points for going straight for the vintage pieces)

– Underneath the jacket? Nothing… As cool as that might seem on a catwalk I decided to slip on a nude undergarment. All to keep in spirit with the stylist’s intentions without risk of getting arrested.

– The wonderfully baggy cotton pants have been a favourite on hot Dubai summer days that I picked up at the RIPE market last spring. Not sure who sold them at the time, they just looked real comfy.

– Shoes. My personal stylist likes orange (that was at least the only explanation I got) and this particular orange footwear is a pair of the Stella McCartney for Adidas collection I picked up a couple of years ago when I lived in Singapore. Comfy, not too hot and definitely more stylish than a pair of sneakers.

My Outfit:

The 2015 Toddler Style Statement is all about patterns. What do you mean they have to match? We said patterns. Oh and orange. That is important. Why? Because my stylist likes orange!