My six year old daughter’s favourite colour is black. Her most treasured thing right now is a black balloon. She blows it up. Lets it go. Then squeals like a piglet and runs after the farting thing. And repeat. Again. And again. Living her best life, right?

I’ll never forget a time when she was just three and we were in our local shopping centre. We were approached by one of those photography studios that sell those family-photo-packages that usually cost a small fortune.

My three-year-old’s reaction was to instantly shy away and I knew why. She didn’t want a pink balloon but didn’t know how to say ‘No thanks’ without sounding ungrateful or off-ish. So instead, she took cover, right under my maxi dress and left me to start the negotiations…

I asked politely if there were any other colours? Nope. Only pink or blue came the reply (*eye roll) The woman was in fact very lovely and when encouraged, my daughter finally re-emerged from under my dress and ask, “Do you have black, please?” Looking confused, she offered a blue one to which my daughter then suggested “…brown?”  This entire exchange went on for a while as her confidence grew (Grey? Brown again? Silver?) until we finally settled on… pink. Gah! (And a family portrait session that cost us nearly £400! Yup, totally mugged!)

At first, I was a bit perplexed by her obsession with black but then a fashion PR friend pointed out the obvious.

And truth be told, at the time of this revelation, low and behold I was wearing my black biker jacket, black skinny jeans, black top, black buckle boots – you get the picture!

Mr Husband always stays close to the principles that our children are a reflection of their idols and if I am hers on the sartorial front, then I’ll take that, thank you very much, because when it comes to her attitude, she’s the mirror of her father. At six, she’s already empathetic, free spirited, unaffected and always kind. Many things go over her head that would have probably ‘got’ me as a kid. Children can be ‘cruel’, but so far, she doesn’t seem that bothered with the nonsense of  “We’ve got pretty flowers on our tops. You don’t, so you can’t sit with us,” crap. I hope it stays like this…

And then, there’s the fancy dress obsession. Dressing up is a big thing for her. She has a HUGE collection! Often to be found sat in a Sainsbury’s trolley as Spiderman whilst I do the food shop, or as Scooby Doo in the passenger seat of Daddy’s camper van (a real head turner in traffic haha!) Her very first invitation to a Disney Princess party – she wanted to go as a witch! Don’t get me wrong, she’s is a fan of Elsa and Anna even though we were actually quite late to the Frozen party. She has some princesses and mermaids in the mix too but it’s not long before she complains that she can’t throw herself about as much in a big skirt, fish train and tiara.

I’m proud that she’s comfortable in her denim dungarees and Nikes as much as her sequinned flying-ducks skirt from Boden – especially in a world where pink and glitter still reign supreme as the put-on colour/texture choice for young girls.

If your toddler son wants to wear nail polish then why the bloody hell not, I say. What’s that? Your daughter has just bypassed Barbie & Co. in the toy shop because all she wants for her birthday is a 99p bouncy egg ball (true story, we still have the egg!) Be happy and be who you want, right?

Oh sh*t! I have totally DIGRESSED people! SORRY! But now is not the time to debate nature vs nurture because folks, I’m here to talk about Halloween! *gets back on track

I guess for her, it’s that time of year when her favourite shade takes the spot light, she’s living the Scooby-Doo dream and when we go food shopping, Sainsbury’s is FULL of fancy dress and face masks – what is not to love?

We were lucky enough to be invited to Biscuiteers in Notting Hill last month by the Sainsbury’s kidswear team. I don’t think I’ve RSVP’d to an event quicker! As well as previewing  their new lines for AW17 we took part in a biscuit decorating work shop (badly mind you!) then browsed the rails of clothes and costumes. She was like a pig in poo for the latter!

Finally, she picked her favourite costume, it was between this zombie gothic bride – as pictured above – and the werewolf.  With sound now added to some of the costumes as a bonus feature, believe me, the struggle was real! But how lovely I thought, as I watched her little face light up as she popped on Dracula’s mask…

I hated Halloween when I was little. I was SO afraid, I still am a bit now. The first born definitely picked up on this and therefore isn’t a big fan either. But since having my daughter, things have changed. And I’ve learnt loads from this fearless little being. How to be brave and always daring to be different because in her wonderful mind, life really is one big fancy dress party and EVERYONE is invited.

Have a happy and safe Halloween everyone and below are my daughter’s top six spooky styles from Tu at Sainsbury’s.

What will you be dressing up as this year? I’m still undecided. Halloween seems to get bigger and better each year, right? I’d love to know what you’ve got planned and any costume suggestions and ideas, so do feel free to comment below.

As always, thank you for reading.

F.T.

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