My Kids Have Style

Today my kids were really lookin' good.

It was a day to have fixed hair for Zoran. He's very particular about his hair. Some days this means he doesn't want me to touch it. Even combing it is a huge battle. Other days he has a particular style in mind and wants it combed exactly to his specifications with the appropriate amount of product. He has always been a little OCD and this area is no exception.

Today he took quite a long time to get it fixed himself. I'm not exactly sure what he was doing in the bathroom for so long, but I'm pretty sure he used his shampoo as a sort of gel. He asked me if it looked just like some X-man guy (and of course I said yes although I had no idea who he was talking about), so that must have been his model.
























When Azia got home from school today, I realized this is what she had been wearing all day. A very cool stripped orange tank top over her long-sleeved shirt and her blue & grey plaid pants. I hadn't noticed this morning when she left with a sweatshirt over all the layers.

And I'm sure this look was very deliberate. She already takes 15 minutes or so every morning to pick out her outfits. Sometimes she'll take a few of my suggestions, but not often. Last year I picked out her outfits for her every morning and like 90% of the time she'd wear it. At the beginning of this year I'd still pick out clothes for her and then about half the time she'd come out wearing something else. Now, sometimes she'll let me pick out which jacket she'll wear or actually put on the shoes I grab for her if she's running late, but even that's unusual. She tolerates my suggestions to some degree, but it pretty clear I don't understand much about her style. She's very fond of layering, especially in the winter. She often has 2-3 shirts on. Skirts over jeans are also one of her signature looks. That one is probably partly my fault. She used to think it was weird but she'd always want to wear skirts when it was freezing outside, so we'd compromise and were something under them. She also likes scarves and stylish boots (with sunglasses and her fitted trench coat this is her "movie star" look). I really never know what to expect when she comes out of the bathroom in the morning.

And then there's Israel. If Zoran's OCD in his dressing, Israel's got some sort of manic depressive tendencies. It's all out or nothing. Either he'll spend the evening before picking out his outfit, ironing his tuxedo, shinning his shoes or completely assemling an Indian Jones look from what he can find in his closet OR he doesn't rememeber to get dressed at all and tries to leave in whatever he slept in. On these days he needs repetive prompting to brush his hair and teeth. If he does get dressed, it's likely to be in stinky, wrinkly, dirty T-shirts and sweats he found on his floor. I'm continously urging him to move away from the hobo look.