My fashion sense isn’t great, I’m the first to admit. It’s gotten better, but it really isn’t great. I’d describe my style as: ooh-this-looks-comfy chic. It hasn't really been a problem for me - I dress up for work, I dress down for pretty much everything else. But since Alice came along it has become a problem. Let me explain.
I remember the first time I dressed Alice for a day out. It was April 29 and Megan had spent the night at a friend’s bachelorette party (it was also, coincidentally, the first time that I’ve looked after Alice overnight all by myself -- and it went great, and perhaps I need to consider a post on “I’m not ‘babysitting’… I’m looking after my child”. I digress. Sorry. Back to the clothing story).
Out of Alice’s clothing stash came two items I thought looked hella cute: one a white long top with birds on them, the second and a pair of dark shorts with brightly-coloured flowers. A pair of white socks completed the look. I was so pleased with myself I posted the pic on Instagram:
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| My first, and apparently poor attempt, at selecting a cute outfit for Alice |
But the first two comments - complete with laughing emojis - put me in my place swiftly.
“Clashing patterns there,” wrote Anne. Ouch.
Then stand-up comedian, and a pretty awesome dad, Tshepo Mogale weighed in: “I don’t know if you’re ready to be trusted with the full outfit yet.” Double-ouch.
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| Uuuuh...BURN |
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| I think I got this one right at least! |
I sought that help from mom, blogger and journalist Monique de Villiers. She’s got a beautiful daughter, Maddie, who always looks immaculate (you can check check them out on Instagram or at her blog).
I asked her for some tips for clueless dads like me. This is what she said:
Do's:
- Plan outfits ahead of time.
Make sure you have chosen exactly what you want to be dressing your little one in. From the pants to the T-shirt to the shoes and accessories. Chances are if you have your little one on the changing mat already half-naked and you are trying to reach for clothes while you still have one hand on their tummies to keep them from rolling off - you are going to panic and put a half thought out outfit on him or her. Layout the outfit before hand and know exactly what you are going to dress them in.
- Colour code/match:
Try and work on a one part pattern, one part plain colour rule of thumb. If you are going for a pair of printed pants - try and choose a plain onesie for example and always try and match up a colour from the print. So if the floral pair of pants have navy blue in them - then pair it with a plain navy blue babygrow or t-shirt.
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| Maddie on point! PICTURE: INSTAGRAM/MONIQUE DE VILLIERS |
- Accessorise!
Baby fashion is amazing at the moment and there is such awesome accessories we can use to style our little ones giving them that extra cute factor! One of my personal favourite accessories (other than shoes) is a bandana bib or baby snood. Often the baby label will create a pair of printed leggings or harems and sell the matching printed bandana bib or even headband which looks amazingly cute!
Dont's:
- Don't mix prints! (Matt: This was my mistake with that Ali pic earlier)
The number one rule is never to mix too many prints in one outfit! You don't want prints competing with each other. You want the print to stand out on its own and be the feature of the outfit and you want to work with the print rather than add competing elements to the piece. Rather add a statement printed tee with a text graphic to a pair of floral leggings or jeans to a printed jersey or babygrow.
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| Again, spot on. PICTURE: INSTAGRAM/MONIQUE DE VILLIERS |
- Make sure their clothing fits!
We often buy baby clothing in a size up as we like to stock up on clothing for when they outgrow their current clothing but often we are so excited to get them in their new clothes that they are miles to big and don't fit yet. Not only will your baby or toddler be more likely to be uncomfortable in the clothing gaping or falling off but they will look like they are drowning and not so cute in their snug fitting outfit.
- Make sure you know which items are for sleeping and which are for going out.
Don't dress your little one in his or her pajama onesies! Chances are your wife has a separate shelf in the cupboard for your baby's sleepwear and these are no-goes for special outings. You never want to miss an opportunity to dress up your baby to the nines in their cutest outfits!
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