My daughter is five and a half, and she definitely has her own clothing style. She loves anything pink, anything purple, and anything with Hello Kitty on it!   Because she loves to mix and match, I buy separates that coordinate rather than specific outfits that have to match.  I buy her patterned tops and solid bottoms, and since she pretty much only wants pink and purple, everything usually matches pretty well.

If we’re just hanging around the house, I don’t care if her tops and bottoms match. She can put on a pink flowered shirt and purple shorts and that’s fine. But if we’re planning to go somewhere, I usually suggest she try a different outfit and she usually agrees. If she insists on wearing what she has on though, I don’t fight her, because who really cares if a little girl is wearing slightly mismatched clothes?

With Kindergarten starting soon (gulp),  I’m thinking ahead to buying school clothes. I’ve been browsing the racks at Penney’s, Walmart, and Target, getting an idea of what’s in style this season. Fortunately for me and Kaitlyn, it looks like separates are easy to find, and there’s plenty of pink and purple.  In fact, JCPenney has a line called “Okie Dokie Mix and Match” which is tops, leggings and something they call “scooters’ which I think are what I call “skorts” – and the best part is if you buy three pieces, they are only $7.00 each!

So, I’m thinking that for about $60 or so, I can buy Kaitlyn six tops and three bottoms that will mix and match, and that will get her through Fall! Score!  And the pieces are super cute, too.

The other reason I buy Kaitlyn separates rather than outfits is because she’s a bigger size on the top than on the bottom! She needs a size 6 in tops, but is barely a size 5 on the bottom. I can’t buy her clothes online for that reason either, because I have to try everything on her first because just because a tag says 5 doesn’t mean it will fit like a 5.

So I’ll take Kaitlyn clothes shopping and I’ll let her show me what she likes. We’ll look for pink and purple and Hello Kitty, and pieces that mix and match.  I think it will be a whole lot of fun!

disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and jcpenney blogging program, for a gift card worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.