And so it began. A few weeks before school started (when the evil Retail Empire decided it was fine time to start rolling out the Halloween candy and what not), Isabella had begun thinking about her costume. She decided against being Cinderella again this year (of course she would...she had worn the costume that I had bought in May of 2008 at the Bibbibidi Bobbidi Boutique in WDW at LEAST 1/2 a dozen times...I think she figured that it more than made up for the $60+ that I paid for it!!!) and so the search began.
We had looked at several different websites, several different stores and came up with a few ideas, but in the end she decided that she would stick with being a Disney princess. However this time, she did not want the beautiful gown that Belle wore. She didn't like the Princess Jasmine costume, nor did she want to wear the Sleeping Beauty dress. No way. Why go with that, when she can dress as a mermaid. That's right! She wants to dress up as Ariel from the Little Mermaid. In coming to this decision, it was decided that a trip to the Disney Store was necessary in order to closer inspect my 6 year old's decision.
Now normally I try not to criticize her choices and I always like for her to express herself and be able to choose things for herself, but I would be lying if I said that I liked this costume. I find nothing "Ariel" about this bright purple and green tube dress with matching shoes. In fact, the ONLY thing that I liked about this costume (aside from the matching shoes and that's only because they light up) is the price tag. That's right people, I said it. Now normally, this dress is close to $50, but because we're getting closer to Halloween, I was able to get it for under $30...however then you factor in the cost of the shoes and the wand and I ended up paying just slightly under the original cost of the costume itself. Still not a bad deal!
So, upon our return home from the costume shopping trip on Saturday, I had her try on the costume (which she did in the store, but OVER her clothing as they don't have fitting rooms in said Disney Store), and it was then that I noticed that the costume is EXTREMELY impractical. Not only is it made of a stretchy, scratchy, metallic looking fabric, but it looks difficult to walk in from the tulle "fin" skirt at the bottom near the feet/ankles. If Isabella doesn't complain about the fact that she can barely walk because of slim the lower part of the costume is, then she'll be complaining about the fact that she's stepping on the tulle bottom! Oy vay!
I asked her several times if it was what she wanted, however I was careful so not to make her feel like I was second guessing her decision. She said she liked her costume and that was that. She went to bed and all was well. But that was short lived.
Sunday morning was quiet and we were heading out to see Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3d when Bella made a startling decision. She wanted a different costume. What??? So after the double feature, we went back to the mall (Ariel costume in hand) to look for an exchange. We looked at the different princess costumes, debated over shoes, accessories, toyed with the idea of going as Tinkerbell or one of the other fairies before she came to a decision. She wanted to stick with the Ariel costume. I can't say that I wasn't disappointed or even a bit annoyed at having wasted over 35 minutes looking at the same costumes we had gone through the day before, but she had made up her mind and that was that. I did make it clear to her that going forward, there would be no more changing of minds. She had her costume and that was what she was wearing. She smiled and told me that she happy with her choice.
Honestly, I'm glad she's happy with her choice. The important thing is that it was her choice. While I may still make the majority of decisions for her (clothing, shoes, after school programs, etc), I like that I give her the ability to make her own from time to time. I may not love the costume, but I love her. If the costume makes her happy, then I will smile and take pictures and not say a word...I'll just make sure to scrapbook the photos and be sure to show them to her many many years from now...like when HER daughter picks out a strange costume!
And now the search is on for Anthony's costume. This should be relatively easy so long as I find one that I like. I guess I should be thankful that he doesn't speak yet and won't be disagreeing with me!!!
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