Clothes allowance

When I look at my youngest daughter I wished that I had a parent like me!

Yes, my youngest daughter is now a tall willowy and pretty young lady with long 'brown' hair (dyed, of course) with her own fashion taste. Quite unlike her older sister who dresses simply, this youngest girl of mine has quite good taste in clothes. Back in those days when I was a teenager our 'boutique' was the fashion magazine and there was no such thing as following the trend of the season. A few months before Chinese New Year my mother will take us to a close cousin of ours who happen to be an expert tailor for our 'fittings'. We will be given fashion magazines to peruse. I used to 'ooh' and 'aah' at the lovely designs and wish that I could have all of them but my mother allowed us only 2 or 3 per year. If we like a particular dress we would point them out to my cousin. Our measurements will  then be taken and viola, before the festive season we will get to wear our chosen dresses right out from the pages of a fashion magazine! This was not so bad considering that before we got to choose from the 'boutique' my mother used to get my cousin to make us all dresses of the same design and at times the younger ones had to wear hand-me-downs!

My daughter will probably call those dresses of that day and age very 'auntie' yet to us they were special because we chose them and the design was probably the only one of its kind. Today's fashion is so different from our time. My daughter wears trendy jeans, fashionable tops, billowy dresses with jackets made of soft fabrics that drape around her slim frame. If I were to suggest that she go to a dressmaker like I did at her age, I can just visualize the horror on her face. She will probably tell me that the cost will be more expensive and that it would be cheaper for her to visit her favorite shops at Pavillion or Times Square for the latest fashion.

That's why today I had to part with some money for her yearly clothes allowance. I guess it is much easier to shop for clothes given the no. of shopping complex in town and the megasales every now and then.

Posted by Mummy