I don't know if every parent does it, but my mom did and Ricky's mom did.
What, you ask?
They saved a few outfits that we wore growing up and have now passed them on to us.
What does a person do with baby and kid clothes from 25+ years ago?
Me?
I dress my kids up in them. You betcha. I pulled out the little blue romper outfit that Ricky wore when he was a baby and I put it on Emanuel. It's a good thing I decided to do this when I did, because it was a tight fit on him and wouldn't have fit had I waited any longer. He definitely looked adorable in the outfit.
My mom gave me several dresses that I wore when I was a toddler, a sweater with matching hat (that my grandma knit) and a pair of cowboy boots that I wore. The clothes are all too big for Elena still, but you can bet that once they fit her I will be dressing her up in them and taking pictures.
The cowboy boots fit Elena now. She loves to wear them. She can put them on herself (usually the wrong foot) and I think she especially loves the way they sound when she walks on a hard surface. I will be sad when they don't fit her, because she loves them so much.
So as I was dressing my kids up in our old, musty baby clothes I got to thinking. "What clothes should I keep for them to dress their kids up in some day?" (as if everyone dresses their kids up in old baby clothes!).
I have most of Elena's baby clothes still so I probably ought to pull something aside.
But what?
What was it about these outfits that our mother's decided they should be the ones to be saved?
Handmade? (Yes, in the case of my matching sweater and hat)
Cute? (Cowboy boots...oh yes!)
I'm not sure what I want to set aside at this point (maybe something that was a favorite of mine?).
What do you think? What makes an article of clothing worthy of being shoved in a box for 20+ years, only to be pulled out and given to the child who wore them that many years ago?
My son has a shirt that his father and uncles wore as toddlers. We took a picture of him in it when he finally fit it and sent it to his grandparents. They thought we were sending them a picture of their oldest son! That being said, I love previously loved clothes. Some little toddler was loved and cuddled in the exact same shorts and shirt and little shoes and little diapers my son wears every day, and that's something special (even if they aren't sentimental hand-me-downs from family).
ReplyDeleteIt's funny you posted this. I was thinking I should throw away my white coat from PA school. Then I thought I should keep it, b/c future kids, or nieces/nephews might like to play with it someday for dress up. Play doctor maybe? I hate to store things I don't need though. But I will likely keep it.
ReplyDeleteYou better keep anything auntie makes them ;)
Wilma - I'm totally late to the party on this post! But it's so funny you bring this up. My mom is not sentimental in any way... but the one thing she kept was a few of my baby outfits. Most of them were hand knit - sweater/hat/booties, sweater and bloomers combo, etc. - but my favorite thing she saved was a hooded shawl that I wore from baby through toddlerhood. No sleeves (Aaron has been loving it!) and it'll be easy for Amita to put on herself when she gets a little bit older. Not sure yet what I'm going to keep from Amita's current stash... but I feel like I've got to hold on to a few things to surprise her with someday!
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