Out With The Old, In With The Old?

Style Shout Out to Isaac Mizrahi for designing a timeless v neck sweater and my daughter for her style savvy!

With 7 For All Mankind Jeans
Christian Louboutin Shoes & JCrew Pearls

We like to start the New Year in our house by cleaning out the closets and getting organized.  We separate things into stuff we are keeping, stuff we are donating, and stuff that is going in the trash.  My husband and I have included our daughter in this process since she was three years old as a way to teach her about helping others, staying organized and not holding on to things you don't use anymore.

My daughter especially enjoys when we get to my closet.  It's funny because while most kids like to play "dress up" she has always had more fun taking my clothes and creating new outfits.  She calls it "shopping my closet" and I call it fascinating.  She's 8 and she just gets style.

My daughter and I were having fun until I  tossed a striped v neck sweater on to the donation pile and I heard,  "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

I turned to see the horrified look on my daughter's face as she said, "Are you serious Mom? You're giving this away.  It's an Isaac Mizrahi."  So I replied,  "I know but I've had it for a few years.  It's from Target."

My daughter's expression was priceless, "I don't care if it's from Target or from Neimans, an Isaac Mizrahi is an Isaac Mizrahi.  This sweater is not "hanging by a thread."  She was paraphrasing Isaac's catch phrase from The Fashion Show.  My daughter took the sweater and said,  "You always wear it  with a white tee.  Give me a minute."

With Stuart Weitzman ballet flats
JCrew Pearls & AG Jeans

So there I sat watching my 8 year old as if she was working on a jigsaw puzzle,  confidently grabbing pieces that would go together... some skinny AG Jeans,  Stuart Weitzman tall boots, and a chunky multi-strand J Crew pearl necklace.

"See, just throw on your short leather jacket and so cute," she said.   And it was totally cute and totally current.  "This is like something Bobbie Thomas would show Moms to wear on the Today Show.  Am I right?" she asked.  And trying on the outfit I realized she was right.  Then she said, "It would look totally good with your  7 Jeans, ballet flats or  heels and your military jacket for a different look."  Who could argue with that?

So, this year our get organized day wasn't so much about "out with the old, in with the new"...as much as it was about "out with the old, in with the old!"  Quite a few items still ended up in the donation pile  but I haven't been so quick to fill up those empty hangers.  I am letting my fashion-savvy daughter use her style sense to create some new looks from pieces I've had for a while.  I feel like I'm doing my part to help the environment by recycling my closet.

Thanks to my daughter for a fun day and some fun new looks, and to Isaac Mizrahi for that great v neck sweater that caused me to re-think "out with the old"!