For a long list of reasons, I always longed for a daughter. Among this long list of reasons – between longing for a gender partner and also wanting an ally and friend for life, and generally seeing her as an extension of myself really – was the deep desire to play dress up!  All the frilly dresses and headbands, and all the pretty shoes just had to be bought! But fate would have it that I landed up with a daughter who loved doing cartwheels and living in tights, and I had to make peace with forcing her to wear fancies on special occasions only.

Now that I have a teen on the loose, things are a little bit different. While my daughter still loves wearing tights and hoodies on the best of days; she’s also a lot more eager to dress up when we venture out. She’s developed a keen eye for style without being a complete slave to trends and has a unique way of making things her own. The only problem is, now that she’s outgrown the kiddies section, we’re both shopping the same rails in the ladies department; so the big question I constantly  find myself asking is how do we both embrace current trends without having a wardrobe clash!? And what do we do when we like the same things?

It’s simple – Sometimes I close my eyes, give out a little whimper, and just let her have it…’cos mom’s are selfless like that. Other times I’m unwavering and I’ll take first preference and buy whatever the heck I want. A lot of the time the goddamn things just look better on her because my body has morphed into something that restricts my fashion desires so I live out my fashion dreams vicariously through her. And sometimes we find things that ticks all the boxes for each of us and suits our own unique style perfectly. So far we’ve pretty much made it work without any arguments!

Anyway, this post is for all the Momma and Me outfits I never got to live out when my daughter was younger. It’s proof that even if you have a teenager (or an annoying mom) shopping the same stores as you, you don’t have to come out looking like fraternal twins. It showcases how you can incorporate a similar print and trend in a way that’s unique and age appropriate to you both. And is evidence that having a teenage daughter, doesn’t  signal the end of looking remotely trendy and stylish.

About this look : Here, we’ve both embraced the current plaid trend in different ways. Me, with a plaid Boyfriend blazer paired with a jeans, plain black tee and classic black heels (but look equally great with sneakers as well); and she has done so with an ankle length plaid print trouser paired with a simple white tee, leather jacket (claimed from my wardrobe) and an ankle boot.  Clearly a family that knows how to plaid together, stays together!

Photographs by Quanita E Photography

Thanks for reading!

Peace,

NAMU 🙂