A couple of months ago BuzzFeed creator “Wine Mom” posted a video letting her two toddlers pick out her outfits for a week.
A lot of people would think this is the craziest thing to do. These tiny humans can barely feed themselves, let alone coordinate colors and outfits together nicely. However, I found her video really interesting and decided that I wanted to see what the toddlers in my life could do if given such a challenge — so I did.
As a 23-year-old college student I don’t have any children of my own, but my best friend’s 5-year-old was perfect and totally willing to dress me up for a week. We took a different approach to this, since we live in different towns, so on the Sunday night before the new semester started we FaceTimed and she took full control of my closet. We went through every bit of my clothing and within the next hour she had six days’ worth of outfits picked out for me.
Looking at the pile of clothing on my floor, I wasn’t too scared for most of the week ahead of me. Surprisingly enough, this 5-year-old has style. Having seen her own outfit from a few days before I was sure I’d look like a clown all week. I was very presently surprised.
Monday
Monday was by far one of the best days. I was excited to start off strong. She picked out my favorite Beatles shirt and some black pants with a red cardigan. I looked nice! The downfall of the outfits was the shoes, my blue and grey tennis shoes, and the dark brown tank top. I didn’t get any weird looks or any comments on this one, so I count Monday as a success.
Tuesday
This day was very…patterned. Both my shirt and my cardigan had stripes on them, luckily going in the same direction. I hadn’t worn either of them in so long that I had forgotten how much I liked them (separately, of course). I’m going to have to wear them again now because I really do love both pieces.
Wednesday
WEDNESDAY WAS THE BEST DAY EVER. I loved my jeans. I loved my jacket. I loved my shoes. I loved my shirt. I LOVED IT ALL. The only piece of the outfit that I haven’t worn on a semi-regular basis in the past year was my shirt. I’ve had this gray and black striped baby doll shirt since I was 17 years old and I had forgotten how much I loved it. Because of how I looked that day, I had a renewed sense of spontaneity and optimism. Even though I wasn’t feeling well on Wednesday, I ended the day with a smile on my face.
Thursday
I was a little worried about Thursday. This child had decided to PUT ME IN A DRESS. I loved the dress and the sweater she matched with it, but it didn’t fit as well as it used to and I just wanted happy for the entire day.
Friday
NOPE. I was done. Nothing matched and I was kinda miserable all day, but I stuck it out and smiled my way through it. I got weird looks and had to explain myself a few times, but oh my it was a mess. This is what I was expecting all week long. This was the crazy I signed up for.
Saturday
It was finally here, the end. And it was a nice neutral ending. I matched, I was comfortable, and I was warm. I ended feeling content and totally determined never to do this again.
I learned a lot during this week. I learned that I need to venture outside of my comfort zone more often, because change can be surprisingly good. I learned that I have way more options than I actually take advantage of. And finally, I learned that trusting another person with anything that can alter your daily routine can be scary, but totally worth it. Everyday I thought of this kid and that automatically put a smile on my face. Knowing she had a hand in my day made me happy. This may seem like a crazy choice to make, but everyone should make it. Have fun, live a little, and trust the kids in your life. They pay attention and know more than you think they might.
