Why Daddy is not Allowed to Dress Athena
Posted on September 20, 2005 Posted by John Scalzi 27 Comments
Any questions?
Actually, though, today Athena’s school is something called "Clash Day," in which all the children are encouraged to dress in clashing clothes. Also, the school intercom is playing selections from Sandinista! all day long. Okay, not so much with that last part. But the first part of that statement is certainly true. So she’s supposed to dressed this way, honest.
Be that as it may, I can’t say I was entirely pleased to overhear the following conversation yesterday:
Athena: Tomorrow is clash Day at school. We’re supposed to wear clothes that don’t match.
Krissy: We’ll have daddy dress you, then, sweetheart.
Look, I understand my role is to be the befuddled sitcom dad. But that’s not to say I don’t have style.
Oh, shut up. I do.
I assume there’s a good reason Athena even has a pair of purple pants, right, John?
Well, yes. They’re part of a lovely purple ensemble. Remember that you can wear purple when you’re six, or sixty.
Amateur :-)
Seriously, everything’s in lovely solid colors. Now, if there were some paisleys, floral prints, stripes, and maybe polka dots in the colors you have there (plus maybe bright yellow and neon green), that would clash.
And it would be exactly how my four-year-old dresses herself, given the chance :-)
“Seriously, everything’s in lovely solid colors. Now, if there were some paisleys, floral prints, stripes, and maybe polka dots in the colors you have there (plus maybe bright yellow and neon green), that would clash.”
I want people to see the colors cloashing. I don’t want their eyeballs to explode.
I’m afraid I have to agree with Bruce – otherwise, you’re discriminating against the colour-blind, and I’m sure you don’t want to do that.
read this to my husband – who was frequently guilty of it back in the day when our kids were small enough to be dressed by someone else – he could only say “sad but true” but I do have to second all the other comments – without missmatched patterns you’re a mere piker!
If she’s supposed to dress like that, why does she look unhappy?
I don’t know, John. I remember “preppy” girls dressing just like that in 1984 or so. If the jacket was pink, it would be perfect!
Is the school issuing protective eyewear?
I don’t get it. Is something wrong with that outfit?
John, if you want scary — I see nothing clashy or wrong about that outfit. But my firstborn lived in neon-colored jogging suits with shorts on top of them from toddlerhood until third or fourth grade, and now as an adult he wears all orange (he says when he gets to the interview stage of applying to medical school he’ll change — but I have high hopes that the hurricane relief work he’s doing will destroy his orange wardrobe so that when he gets back we can redo it from scratch)
Wow, that expression on her face is priceless. “I love Daddy. I’m not going to say anything to hurt his feelings. But Oh My God, half of my genes come from him. I am doomed.”
Anyway, isn’t lime green the new pink?
I’ve seen that outfit worn to weddings in Fall River.
I kind of like it.
It’s OK, John – paying for her therapy down the road will be your payback.
Seriously, though, my wife has a fine solution for this sort of thing – my older daughter’s wardrobe is almost entirely pink (her favorite colour). The joke – I’m not the medically colourblind one in the family.
The *really* scary thing is that I have a Columbia Sportswear ski jacket in my closet from the early 1990s that is exactly those three colors: purple, red, and teal.
Yeah, so, what’s the problem? She looks fine to me. (Perhaps I won’t be allowed to dress any future Burns children?)
I think you were onto something with that “sandanista” comment. An “I am Joe Strummer” sandwich board would have been simultaneously more tacky, and better.
London Calling.
They want their purple pants back.
Well. . .the outfit might actually work in an Easter parade somewhere in the Southwest. Then again, I wear purple with green, so who am I to judge?
Wait, that just looks like how I used to dress every day when I was that age…
I’ve worn worse.
Way back when, I had a scarlet jumpsuit with thin yellow and blue and white stripes running down it. Jumpsuits themselves are bad enough (they really do make you look fat), but that thing was so gaudy it was a traffic hazard.
And the -really- scary thing was… it wasn’t store-bought. I picked out the fabric and pattern myself, cut out the pieces, and made it! (With some help from my mother. That wasn’t the only Horrible Thing my mom did raising me, but it was certainly up there.)
When Hilde and I started going together, one of the first things she did was get me to give that jumpsuit to her father. (No, she -didn’t- like her father. How did you know?)
My favourite part is that right below the sentences where you defend your sense of style there is a picture of you as a pirate from the previous post. Man, nothing says ‘I’ve got style’ more than a pirate ;)
When I was growing up,everything was stripe’s solid corduroy’s, jeans, and were most likely hand-me-downs,with patches optional. She has clean cloths, she looks clean,and well fed,and is darn lucky to have both.And she must be loved, who would hate their child enough to dress them like that ?
My name is Athena also and my daddy isn’t allowed to dress me either. Cause he is a jerk and im a big big girl know.
My name is Athena also and my daddy isn’t allowed to dress me either. Cause he is a jerk and im a big big girl know.
i think she looks cute and also if you are yougner it doesnt matter what you are wearing!!! ahhhhhh holy