Research published in Reuters Health found that children who learn to express themselves are more likely to have good social and emotional skills. Expressing yourself doesn’t have to be verbal though – clothes can be an excellent way for your child to express themselves and start to show their personality. Through fashion and dress up, you can encourage them to discover more about themselves and let their personality shine out into the world. Some children will happily wear the same three shirts over and again, without ever exploring what else may be in the drawer. Some children, on the other hand, enjoy different outfits, and will become extremely excited about a new pair of shoes. What is certain, however, is that every child is different – they all have their own sense of style and taste, and this needs to be encouraged.
Abandon gender stereotypes
The first rule of fashion is this: boys don’t have to wear blue and girls don’t have to wear pink. Glitter doesn’t have to be exclusively reserved for a party. These old-fashioned gender stereotypes should be abandoned completely. Gender-fluid clothing can be worn by anyone, and it does not restrict the wearer. The top fashion designers are now creating streetwear that is durable, stylish, and suited to all genders, so why do we have to restrict children to ‘boy’s clothes’ and ‘girls clothes’? Instead, it is far more fashion-forward to just consider them to be ‘children’s clothes’.
Let them design their own clothes
There is no better way to express yourself than through art. Designing your own clothes is where art and fashion meet. Children will love to be able to create their own t-shirts, using slogans, colors and illustrations to reflect their personality. You can use t-shirt pens, paints, and even simple linocut prints to create patterns and prints that your children will be proud of. Tie-dye is another great way of letting your kids customize their existing clothing, using a range of bright colors to personalize their wardrobe. You can do this in a bucket, or in your washing machine. Using an app such as The Matboard or Vogue Runway is another great way of helping your child design their own clothes. They can learn about fabrics and styles, and have great fun at the same time.
Do some dress up
Fashion doesn’t have to be serious, and neither should a child’s wardrobe be. Rather than dressing up in superhero or princess costumes though, you can spark your child’s imagination, and encourage them to dress as people from different places, or people with different professions. Bring a little steampunk into their lives, and pair a long dress outfit with goggles and a Victorian top hat. Spend the day dressed as a country vet that is ready to look after their animal patients. Put together an outfit for a biologist from the planet Mars. You certainly don’t have to conform to brand names and cartoon characters. Take your child to the thrift store, and let them raid the shelves for the perfect outfit to travel to Antarctica with Shackleton in. Make dress up mean something more than replicating what’s on TV.
Clothes for children are a wonderful way for them to express themselves. Encourage your children to have fun with fashion, and steer them away from gender stereotypes so they can truly be themselves.