Big C modeling a cravat at the Newell K. Whitney Store in Kirtland, Ohio.
It has happened. My tweenager has crossed that threshold from being totally fine with his mom picking out and buying all of his clothes to having a say in what he's wearing.
It all started a few weeks ago when the weather got warmer and Big C started wearing some of his clothes from the early fall of last year. Everything was too short or too tight or just small in weird ways. Shirts, pants, shorts - all of it ill-fitting and wrong. I suggested that maybe I should buy him some new clothes, to which he said, "No, mom, that's okay."
I was confused. Did he want to wear highwaters and tight t-shirts? Did he not care that his shorts were a bit snug on the bum side? I had to investigate further.
It turns out that "No, mom" really means please don't buy me any more button down polos from The Gap or sports t-shirts from Target or Old Navy.
What "No, mom" means is I want to fit in and wear what everyone else is wearing, but I'm embarassed that I'll hurt your feelings by telling you that you've been dressing me like an elementary schooler for the past six months.
What "No, mom" means is that Big C is wanting to up his coolness factor by caring about fashion just enough to nonchalantly give a few pointers to his mom on name brands (gasp!) and styles that are currently acceptable with the middle school crowd: namely, that boys wear a lot of Under Armor brand shirts and basketball shorts or that anything from Aeropostale would be "cool".
Wow. I am really out of it.
We sat down at the Aeropostale website and found some t-shirts at decent sale prices. He is also now the proud owner multiple pairs of basketball shorts, which when paired with a t-shirt make him look like - well - like he's going to play basketball. He is well on his way to looking cooler.
In my mind, however, he's been cool all along. It doesn't take clothes. It just takes being a great kid. And Big C has got that down!
