Dressed by Aunty Natalie

I can not begin to entertain what life Edie might lead if she makes it to adulthood.  The world changes so quickly these days that she'll probably have a job that doesn't exist yet.  But if by some chance, she ends up attending a red carpet event, and some plasticy presenter with frighteningly white teeth shoves a microphone in her face and yells, "Edie!  Who are you wearing??", I know what she's likely to answer.
As an aside, I find that question beyond odd - who are you wearing?  It's like red carpet walkers are all livers-and-chianti, like Hannibal Lecter.  But I digress.  Edie, since the day she arrived on the earth (actually before that even) has had a wardrobe filled predominantly with items supplied by two people.  Logic would suggest one was me, but that's not actually the case.  I have had little need to provide any clothing for my child thanks to her two image consultants.  The first is my mother.  I suspect this is common - lots of people's mothers get excited about grandchildren and splurge on outfits that are many and varied.  My mother not only finds cute outfits for Edie but also crafts gorgeous items for her to mash banana into and roll in oats with.  The other provider of Edie's extensive wardrobe is my sister, Natalie.

Edie is not the first of my parent's grandchildren or my extended family's great-grandchildren.  She is preceded by two boys who happen to be two of the cutest and most entertaining children I know.  I know, this is nepotism in waiting I'm sure, but I think they're pretty cool.  These two, who are only a year or two older than Edie, have been lavished with family love and gifts since the minute they were born.  Many cardis, jerseys, blankets, and even the odd pair of dungarees have been knitted for these boys.  You should see the dungarees by the way.  They are so cool and you just know they're going to reappear in photos in years to come.  But Edie is the first girl.  This makes a difference.  A big difference.

I can confidently say that the family feelings of love and appreciation are no different between Edie and her two cousins.  I can also say that her tantrums and crying are just as annoying.  But where the sole difference lies is in her wardrobe.  There's just so much more scope when it comes to dressing little girls.  So until another girl grandchild or great grandchild comes along, Edie is the recipient of a vast array of stylish and interesting clothing.  Edie has more dresses than almost any other item.  And she has every accessory for every dress.

The items that get the most comment on a regular basis are those sent by my sister.  Natalie lives in the UK which has it's pros and cons.  Pros - the things she sends are unique.  Cons - well there are so many I hardly know where to start but I guess at the heart of all of them lie the biggie: my beloved sister, her fantastic husband (Fantastic Phil dontcha know), and her cheeky monkey child, live on the other side of the freakin' world.  She doesn't get to see Edie rocking her funky outfits chosen with impeccable style.   She doesn't get to see Edie's wee face when she opens her parcels.  She doesn't get to see Edie run through the house with glee, dragging whatever pretty item she picks from the collection (actually maybe that's a good thing.  Some of them are expensive).

I'm not writing this to make my sister feel bad or emotional about being so far away.  We already all know that it's not how we'd prefer it to be.  There are some pretty compelling reasons for her to be over there, and for us to be over here.  And I do love the easy access to fashion from the continent.  It's just that another Aunty Natalie parcel arrived today after I'd already discussed Caitlin Moran, Sherlock Holmes, potty training disasters, spectacles and many other of life's finer points with my sister earlier in the morning, I needed to tell you how cool she is.  And yes, the parcel held more fashion delights plus a new book that I read to Edie 3 times and then had to hide as she was crying out for more.  So I wanted to let Aunty Natalie know that Edie loves all her parcels and phone calls and even though she only gets to see her on Skype, she already knows what side her bread is buttered on and opens those parcels with relish.

So when the plasticy, big-toothed presenter shoves that microphone in Edie's face and asks her the Hannibal Lecter question, "Who are you wearing?", I'd be willing to bet she will smile winningly, look down the barrel of the camera and utter something like,
"This evening I'm dressed by Aunty Natalie".