by:

The gauntlet has been thrown. Or dropped. Or flung. Or slapped or traded or leveled or whatever it is that gauntlets are used to do. A gauntlet has been, well, whatevered, and a challenge has presented itself, and it, the challenge, has not been leveled against this Stay-At-Home Dad proper, but instead, against his daughter. Or rather, with how well his daughter is dressed (which, frankly, it must be admitted, is indeed a challenge against our Stay-At-Home Dad, as he is the one dressing the half-pint combatant in question, a combatant who, in all honesty, is hard-pressed to shove cheese or raspberries or pancake pieces in her own face, let alone dress herself).

It is fall. And dressing well in the fall is something of a point of honor amongst the fashion-minded. It has gotten colder, which allows for layers, which allows for more creativity in one’s (or one’s baby’s) wardrobe. And now that it’s fall, a challenge has been raised by someone who can only be described as a friendly-but-somewhat-antagonistic mother friend of this Stay-At-Home dad. The challenge at hand is a Baby Wardrobe Cute-Off.

Historically, this Stay-At-Home Dad has made an epic effort to make his little mobile human doll look like something befitting of her surname (which may not seem like much, but let it be known that the surname Duncan was first referenced in the common record in A.D. 572). Perhaps my desire to dress my daughter well is due to vanity or self-indulgence or self-ridiculousness, but many have noted that I posses a real knack for dressing my offspring to the socially relevant nines. She, my baby, is almost never mismatched. She, my baby, almost always looks put together. She, my baby, almost always looks like the little WASPlette that I adore.

But now, the Cute-Off.

So what we (the combatant and I) need is: a Judge (or, rather, a virtual judging committee, see: the Public at large). Here’s the plan: we (the combatants) will post our baby’s outfits online on some sort of communal blogging site, and then the literate and interested public will vote on who is best dressed on any given day.

The Stay-At-Home Dad must say: This seems like a something of trivial and frivolous pastime.

But the Stay-At-Home must also say this: You’re on, Megan. Let the voting commence. Baby wardrobe v. baby wardrobe.

This might even be a little fun.

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One Response to “Ask a New York Stay-At-Home Dad”

  1. Geoffrey S

    For a moment there, sir, I thought I was reading the ambling prose of a young James Joyce. That is one long sentence that concludes paragraph one.

    And for heaven’s sake: remove the Yankees cap.

    Fair Winds,

    Geoffrey

    Reply

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