Life and Times of the Fireflies: Flair For Fashion

One needs only to peep into popular retail stores to know that dressing little girls can be lots of fun! But when Saafiyah was younger, dressing up wasn't fun at all. She would gladly trade in a frilly dress for a pair of tights and sneakers and forego any fancy hairstyle, staying true to her natural curls. Saafiyah was a tomboy and completely missed the dressing up as a princess phase. Dresses were a hindrance that got in the way of climbing trees, navigating the jungle gym and doing cartwheels!

Eid day was a compromise....Early morning she would wear the customary pretty dress, only to have a brand new set of tights waiting once the formal greeting was done! This was my daughter and I accepted that my hopes of living out my fashionable dreams vicariously through her, would never come to be...

But somewhere down the line, something changed. At some point she started dressing up more and more in my clothes and heels. Adding a dash of lipstick and then progressing to mascara. At some she started Googling outfits and shoes and her favourite Disney Channel characters. At some point my tomboy daughter emerged from the room wearing winged eyeliner ( I kid you not ) and rosy cheeks.... and starting to surface was a budding Fashionista!

The tomboy Saafiyah is still very much there...she has not traded in her sneakers just yet. But there is also another side of her starting to emerge. A girly side that wants to go shopping and do her hair. A side of her that knows the trends and what not to wear. That knew about midi rings and Lush stores way before me!! A girl that's wanting to spend more time with her Mom...

She has started to embrace fashion at a rather awkward age though...stores just don't seem to cater for this age, Tweens. Especially not for the type that have a clear idea of what they want to wear!! As a result, I had this skirt made (It also has pockets which I didn't get to capture in a pic). Here are some pics of what we put together for Eid...