When Your Little Girl Grows Up- Choosing Patterns and Fabric to Ease the Transition

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Well, the inevitable has happened.  My daughter has decided to grow up.  She is no longer that cute little girl running around in ruffles and lace.  Sure, she will still wear dresses, but she gravitates more towards shirts and pants now.  Although it’s hard to give up those frilly patterns, this transition has opened the door to a whole new style of patterns that I would have never even considered before.

So, how do you transition into a more mature look, while still keeping things age appropriate and fun?  That’s the part I’m struggling with right now, and I’m sure I’m not alone.  There are a few things that have helped on this journey.

First, let your daughter have some input.  I mean, you wouldn’t want someone else picking out all your clothes without having a say, would you?  For this outfit, I gave her some choices of styles, and ultimately, she went with a peplum top.  This one is the Amy Peplum Blouse from Lily Bird Studios.  Honestly, I think she made an awesome choice!  The peplum still has a nod to a ruffle, so it makes me happy, and it has a shape that makes my girl happy.  

Think your daughter might like this pattern? Get 20% off through Wednesday, February 3rd with code PRAMY20 HERE, and Lily Bird newsletter subscribers always get an extra 10% off on orders (sign up on left sidebar of LBS site). 

For the caplet, I used the free Juliette’s Capelet from Simple Life Pattern Co. (Free with $6 purchase, code available in the SLPCO group also don't miss the big birthday sale.)  Since we live in San Diego, the weather rarely dips below 60 degrees during the day, so we don’t really wear a lot of sweaters and we don’t even own jackets!  I added a layer of fleece into the cape so it will actually keep her warm.  Since it is reversible, she is able to choose what side she wants to wear it on.  As a bonus, she thinks she is a wizard when she wears it and she tries to cast spells on me.  Aren’t 1st graders fun!?!

Next, be mindful of your fabric choice.  You can have the perfect pattern picked out, but if you use a print that is way too juvenile or young, it sort of defeats the purpose of transitioning to a more mature look.  A big thank you goes to Pat Bravo at Art Gallery Fabric for this amazing fabric from her new Dare line.  I was able to incorporate some pink into both the shirt and the capelette, while not making it look super frilly and girly.  I am seriously loving those amazing dots!!  I love playing around with fabric and mixing prints, so a shirt like this, that has layers, is perfect for doing that.

Finally, it is OK to incorporate some store bought items.  I used to make my daughter all those pants that have ruffles at the hem and they would always come home from school with holes in the knees.  I finally gave up and just do store bought bottoms now.  She is all about skinny jeans at the moment, so I can just stock up on them and toss them when they get holes.  The funny thing is that when I was taking photos for this, she was messing around on the big tree and put a nice hole in these pants too!  

Do you have any other tips to share on how to transition to a more mature wardrobe for your kids? Share them in the comments, or chat with us in our Facebook Group!