Back To School Nostalgia

Working in retail there is always something going on. Right now it is considered the “back to school” season. Parents, guardians, teachers, and kids are getting their supplies as well as new clothes for the school year.

While I was working the other day, there were plenty of kids trying on clothes. Many of them were very excited about finding a first day of school outfit. One of my coworkers, she is still in school, was explaining how nearly everyone dresses up on the first day and then they tend to slowly stop doing so as the year goes on.

I remember dressing up for picture day. In high school, that was before the year was officially in session. I don’t recall dressing up for the first day of school. Then again, each year I think I was into something else.

[Freshman year I was more gothic style with the Tripp pants and Marilyn Manson shirts. Sophomore year, I was more tshirt, jeans, and a baggy jacket. Junior year I was more into the “how much skin can I get away with showing” crowd. Senior year I was very into “Harajuku style” with hot pink hair and neon colored clothes.]

Regardless of what style I was into, I remember going back to school shopping. Unlike most people, I really liked school. I sort of felt like it was my career at the time and with that I needed to have organized supplies and an adequate wardrobe.

Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money. We didn’t always get the most fashionable things or the coolest looking notebooks. Though, we never were deprived either. We had what we needed. Our back to school shopping was done with a layaway program either at Walmart or Kmart. I don’t ever remember actually trying clothes on though.

I remember one year, I think I was going into middle school. We had done the layaway thing, but when we went to pick it up they had lost our order. I remember my sister and I were so upset because we were so excited about certain things we had picked out. If I remember right, we wound up finding things all over again.

Watching all these kids now, getting excited about their new clothes and trying to make their first impressions, had me nostalgic for back to school shopping. The closest I can get to reliving that excitement is shopping for my kids.

Pickle is starting kindergarten this year. He has his own “style” that he likes, but I am trying to show him how to piece together outfits. He would rather wear gym shorts all day everyday. Which is fine, but I guess I just like to see him in something a little nicer sometimes. So, I did some shopping to restock both kids closets for the fall season.

I wound up getting Pickle some pants while they were on clearance from Target since I knew he didn’t have any to fit his always growing legs. We also got all the supplies that were listed for classroom donations and his backpack. I was a bit antsy to get more clothes so I wound up doing 2 online orders. One through Old Navy and one through Kohls. We got all of our orders this past week and it reminded me of how excited I was organizing my new stuff as a kid.

I went through all of their current clothes, to get the stuff that doesn’t fit out. Since I have been letting Pickle dress himself I have forgotten what all he actually has. I was surprised to find he had more than I thought. Add in the new stuff and he is more than set.

Poppy on the other hand, well, I am a bit more obsessed with her wardrobe. She’s 18 months, but wearing 3T clothes. Which I am okay with because the toddler clothes are more my style than the cutesie clothes with baby animals on them. I wound up getting her a new wardrobe as well for the Fall season. Right now it is fun for me because she really doesn’t care what she wears. Though, she did pick out a shirt with horses on it. She’s also a lover of shoes.

Perhaps I am crazy to be excited about the clothes my kids wear, but that’s okay; I am fine with being crazy. I know clothes are materialistic and shouldn’t matter, but in a way they do. Clothes can dictate your self esteem and I for one would hope my children’s are adequate. One thing I didn’t always have was self esteem and a lot of it was because of the clothes I had. Though at the same time, I am thankful to have clothes at all.

Anyway, this post is a bit jumpy, like my thoughts. All in all, it was fun to sort relive my excitement of back to school shopping.

I still can’t believe Pickle is starting Kindergarten!!

Until next time,

Jenn