My daughter never cared much about dressing up dolls, paper or otherwise. We went through an early phase with Barbies and their "sweeties," little Kelly dolls. She had a collection of Madame Alexanders on shelves in her room. And, since she was a middle-class child of the early aughts, we had lots and lots of American Girls and even more of their outfits.
But, acquisition is one thing (one thing that my daughter has always been quite good at). Actually playing, dressing and undressing, is another.
I, on the other hand, loved dolls. Especially paper dolls. I had a vast collection of Betsy McCalls (a new one arrived in my mother's magazine every month). They went to "boarding school" in a long shoebox and each lived in her own "room," a plain white envelope that contained each Betsy, her two outfits plus various possessions I cut out of my grandmother's Sears and Spiegel catalogs each summer.
In keeping with my true packrat (I prefer "archivist") ways, I still have them. My daughter has never shown any interest whatsoever. Not. One. Iota.
For a while, having a baby girl was sort of like having a wonderful, living, breathing paper doll. She was a little on the small size when she was born (probably all that booze and all those cigarettes while I was pregnant ... kidding!). So, the first couple of weeks, she wore preemie pajamas and onesies donated by the generous mother of twin boys. They were blue and green and since my daughter was rather hair-challenged (try completely bald), the young lady was constantly mistaken for a young gentlemen. Soon enough though, she grew some hair and grew into the countless pink ensembles various friends and family had showered us with from the moment they heard "It's a girl." I was fortunate that she wasn't much of a blurper. Her clothes stayed crisp and clean and sweet and p-i-n-k.
Once she had a mind of her own, she took the pinkness even further. There were about two years of preschool when she would only wear pink and she would only wear dresses. Basically, if I was at Marshalls or the Gap or the Children's Place or pretty much anywhere and I saw a pink dress on sale, I bought it. She paired these feminine frocks with red sparkle Mary Janes (think Dorothy after she landed in Oz) from Target. They only sold them during the holidays so I tended to buy up a good stock in her current size and a size or two up. (All that glitter made them particularly scuffable.)
There was a brief period in elementary school when she wanted horses on all her clothes (you'd be amazed how many My Little Pony options there are). Then, as if all that dressing up was just a dream, it was over.
Don't get me wrong, my now teenage daughter still puts a lot of thought and effort (and my money) into her wardrobe. It's just that, at this point, I have very little say about it. There also seems to be an aversion to anything that's new looking ... well ... new. Tee shirts are pre-faded; jeans are pre-ripped. I had a bit of luck on the sale page of Urban Outfitter's website last Christmas. But, most of the time, I let her make clothing decisions for herself.
Nevertheless, I think she and I would agree that a new site launched to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Clueless could make the whole dressing up (or down) thing a lot more fun. If you remember that iconic movie, Cher Horowitz (the ditzy and adorable Alicia Silverstone) had a special closet interface that allowed her to mix and match outfits until she found the perfect fit. It was kind of Betsy McCall meets Steve Jobs. Today, a company called Metail has created a virtual fitting room called "CherWears." You put in your height, weight (you'll need to convert it to "stone"), select a head and start trying on. There are outfiits inspired by the movie's main characters, as well as categories called Glamour, Stand Out and Wedding.
Cherwears is a great way for teens (and, let's face it, moms) to try some wardrobe additions in a no-risk way. And, as I sit at my desk — with deadlines looming — it's also proving to be fun.
Almost as fun as my Betsy McCalls.
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After my teenage daughter left for school this morning, I went on my usual walk.
I wore thermal leggings under my yoga pants, a quilted lining in my ski parka, fleece gloves and hat, plus two scarves — one around my neck, one tied tightly over my mouth and nose.
It was 12-degrees, and even though the air was crisp and clear and the frozen harbor sparkled, my walk ... well ... it pretty much sucked.
Here in New England, winter is the perfect season to ski and skate and snowshoe. If you're so inclined. Myself? I'd rather be reclined. Temperatures dropping mean couches beckoning.
Winter is the perfect season for an on-demand film festival.
Sadly, video stores are few and far between these days. But, thanks to the combined magic of Fios, Netflix and Amazon Prime, I can pretty much find any movie I want. And, with my daughter's competition season still a few months away we do sometimes find ourselves together in front of the TV. Recently we watched Love Actually (for about the three thousandth time).
For future film festival reference (ours and yours), here are some of Hollywood's best teen girl titles.
Mean Girls
Pre-lunatic Lindsay Lohan is terrific in this inside look at high school politics and popularity. It was written by and co-stars the brilliant Tina Fey, so you can count on it being smart and funny.
The Hunger Games and Divergent
I'll list these together, because they're cinematic soulmates. Dystopian drama wouldn't be my thing if I weren't always looking for common ground with my own teen. And how can any feminist argue when the heroines are so heroic?
Easy A
With The Scarlet Letter as her inspiration, a fairly straight and literate young woman makes a name for herself (and amasses a wallet-ful of gift cards) pretending to be the school's raciest adulteress.
Juno
Funky teen finds out she's with child (thanks to single coupling with the world's nerdiest boyfriend) and decides to go through with the pregnancy and put the baby up for adoption. A movie pro-choicers and pro-lifers can agree on!
High School Musical
Okay, this title may be better suited for tweens, but the singing and dancing (and singing and dancing and then some more singing and dancing) is so adorable. It predates (and outglees) Glee.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
This one's a little long and a little preachy at points, but the collection of denim-clad besties is diverse (well, not racially, of course; they're all white, white, white). Their quirky personalities and love for each other are endearing.
Clueless
"Okay, so you’re probably going, “Is this like a Noxzema commercial or what?” But seriously, Cher actually has a way normal life for a teenage girl. As if! And besides, a watch doesn't really go with her outfit."
Sixteen Candles
This one my daughter didn't dig so much, but I think 16-year old Samantha's birthday was as "Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad" as any day Alexander ever had. Brutal bridesmaid dress, public panty humiliation. Bad but pretty funny.
Bend it Like Beckham
'Love this cross-culture girl-power story with Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley and Jonathan Rhys Meyers (pre his stint on The Tudors). There aren't enough movies about girls and sports and this one is a winner on so many levels.
Dirty Dancing
My husband complains that this is always on, and it does seem to enjoy a fairly heavy cable rotation. I probably know it by heart (and we may even have the DVD somewhere), but I still have to stop and watch. No one puts Baby in a corner!
Grease
There were pretty much no teens in this classic teen movie from the late 70s. (I remember thinking 'They all look so old.' Now, of course, they look pretty young. And so it goes, right?) Regardless, it's still just so fun!
Actually, they're all so fun. Pass the microwave popcorn. (And if I've missed any, please post your favorite in the comments.)
If you enjoyed this post, I invite you to order a copy of Lovin' the Alien at www.lovinthealien.com.
