RM Column - April 5 Sugar Plum Teenager

“Tell her she can get any clothes she wants for easter and I’ll pay for it,” Nanny told me. With instructions like that the Young Wan didn’t need to be told twice.

The plan was seeing as how she was off school for the week and was in with me in work, that when I had a meeting she would head off on a clothes hunt in town.

For most of the morning I felt like the parent of a toddler again, there were lots of ‘is it time yet’ a little reminder to the ‘are we there yet days?’.

At 4.30pm she burst back into the office gushing about finding the most perfect skirt ever.

“Oh it is soooo beautiful. I HAVE to have it. AND it is reduced from €50 to €25,” she told me.

I then asked what’s it like?

“Well it is red and black, kinda like a tutu, but not really. It comes down to here (points at her knee) and it is gorgeous. The woman in the shop said it is gorgeous on me too.”

Yeah cos people who try to sell you things never lie… How and ever off she went €25 in hand to buy the wonder skirt.

She came back, pulled it out of the bag to an audience of work colleagues whom she had all told about the item. They cooed appropriately as I went ‘that’s too short’.

It’s not a skirt at all it is a belt as they say, seriously. Oh and it is a tutu of the sugar plum fairy type, a short one. While it is certainly very pretty and cool it is still a belt.

So when I got back home she was trying it on in all its glory.

Now I have a rule which has been adapted from that fashion rule, the higher the skirt, the darker the tights.

Only mine is the higher the skirt, stick on some trousers. I am not talking about big mad trousers, I am talking about her Capri trousers which look beautiful under little skirts and mini-dresses.

You see I think she doesn’t move right in miniskirts, she forgets she is wearing one and can reveal more than decent.

She matched her skirt with her massive big hoodie sweatshirt, holey patterned tights, and her big boots.

She even managed to sit down and move about with the skirt on without revealing anything of concern.

Then I noticed the skirt was sitting longer on her than I thought. Trouble was she had pulled it down to her hips, and would not have any top that would sit right with a skirt pulled that far down.

So it would appear that even she didn’t want to wear it that short. So I think I might take a trip to buy some black net to lengthen the skirt and make it a decent length.

If I don’t I will just turn into an even bigger nag than I am already and I will not feel comfortable with her wearing it. As if that would be a change...