Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Sugar Or Spice

Little girls are sugar and spice - and supposedly all things nice.

I'd beg to differ of course. But some folks - my surprisingly retro mom in particular - feel that girls are really as mentioned in the oft-quoted rhyme, and they should be dressed apropos in sugar and spice. Making them all look like pretty lil pastel cupcakes in ribbons and curls.

Ugh.

Me, I like them in bold colours and straight lines.

Carmen Speaks!
God, my clothes are so last season!

Don't get me wrong. I like the frills and fuss but just not for my niece Chatty Carmen. Though she's surprisingly hugely feminine, she's not your usual frou frou girl. All stern, angular lines rather than chubby sweetness. Honestly, she's far more Audrey Hepburn than Doris Day. Far more Baby Gap than Somerset Bay.

A single plain bow rather than a dozen of patterned frills with lace eyelets.

My mother disagrees.

So you can imagine the fun we had shopping for clothes with Carmen. :) Stereotypical as hell I know... I mean the whole gay uncle going clothes-shopping with the niece? But come on, which self-avowed homosexual doesn't love the idea of playing dress up? But it was certainly a Pretty Woman makeover day for Carmen as she strolled into one store to another, emerging with heaps of shopping bags.

A surprise that despite her seemingly fierce Tyra Banks demeanour behind closed doors, Carmen turned out to be quite a timid soul in public. No preening over the mirror throwing pouts at the adoring. No prancing around the dressing room for the audience to gawk. It was quite a task getting her to even step out of the changing room. I do hope my own painful bashfulnness wasn't catching.

In the end true to our tastes, my mom got her a pretty princess pink frock full of buttons and bows with matching glittery heels - while I got her a plain ( but undeniably chic ) navy blue A-line dress in bold red patterned prints with a matching ribboned headband. Very Gossip Girl prep-girl chic.

Her pre-school classmates are soooo gonna die. Possibly drown themselves in their blah out-of-season Baby Reject costumes when they see her kiddie couture.

Day out!
OMG! Can you see that? Can you say fashion disaster?

I know. I'm such a monstrous uncle.

I'll have you know I didn't go stir-crazy and pierce her ears. You should only suffer so much for fashion. I did contemplate getting her a temporary tattoo though.

Even tossed in a hoodie for Rambling Raoul since he was such a crib-rockin great sport. Good looks, a gentle disposition and a willingness to shop. The ladies are so gonna swoon over him.

12 comments:

nakedwriter said...

The picture of the half naked man groping young uns is disturbing. Reminds me of a cuti cuti Malaysia ad gone wrong! Or a Kiki Lala ad hitting below the belt!

Token Asian said...

Sawasdee ka, Dr. Paul. Surfed in via Shigeki's blog and parked in your archives quite a while yesterday, especially in the BBB "is he or isn't he" sections. I have my own version of BBB that has driven me crazy for the last 8 months, but in the end, I'm still happy to have him as a friend...we haven't had "the talk" yet, as I'm very careful not to overstep boundaries, although I tease him when the cute waiters throw things our way because of his good looks and charm (^_~) Love your blog!

Elisha said...

hi, your niece is super cute =) no fashion disaster there, i think you cant really go wrong dressing up children =) they can pretty much pull off anything! and get away with murder as well =p hugs!

adrien said...

i love the top you showed me today at zara kids. not forgetting the handbag! she could be a miniature Chanel in those black and white emsemble.

Anonymous said...

Children's clothes nowadays are so adorable! You must have had a lot of fun choosing it all.

Juzzie said...

ur niece is uber cute and adorable.

love kids. but dont want one so far.. hehehe

Melvin Mah said...

Children's clothes are so adorable nowadays!!!! Especially DKNY kids...damn it. WIsh I could fit into it...lolxx

Anonymous said...

Carmen must have been so happy at the end of the day. I can't remember any of my uncle taking me out for a shopping spree when I was younger.

But wait, is that Diether Ocampo in the pic?

Glog said...

I have an annoying sister whose name is near to Carmen except hers is the china apek version...

I wanna dress her for her ball too... I couldn't agree more we gay guys love to play dress up!

Say, what do u think about a nice black dress with her hair tied up?
Looks good on any gurl right?

Crosses fingers...

Jason said...

Child's garment are sooo fashionable nowadays. My friend kept on ranting how cute and chic those clothes were when we passed by those shops in Pavilion yesterday.

Zyklon22 said...

Kids nowadays... Imagine all those brands now venturing into kids clothes. Gap? My time it was pasar malam clothes LOL

savante said...

Kiki Lala Ad. Muahahaha. You are close. It's from a kids couture club, naked writer.

YIkes. Watch your step with the guy, token asian!

MY niece does look like the pic, raising mercury :P

She does. And the sheer simplicity of the white frock with the black ribbon! So early Chanel, adrien!

I am shocked you're the one saying this, dan.

She is, juz. Why don't you want one?

Yikes. Why would you want to fit into a kiddie costume, m5lvin. I like MEN.

Rent, not sure. Is that him?

So what is the cina apek version of carmen, glog? Kar man?

They are so damned chic, jason. i am jealous.

Well now we even have Zara kids, zyklon.

paul