In Brief:
Todd Pinsky was shopping for his wife at a tony boutique when he noticed the saleswoman eyeing him and his daughter, Emma, then 3, with disdain. "Emma looked like a bag lady," says the Santa Cruz, CA, dad. "The woman said, 'Well, I guess we know who dressed her.'" Actually, Emma -- whose favorite outfit at the time was a polka-dot skirt and a plaid shirt -- had dressed herself. It's reasonable to require shoes in restaurants and warm clothing in midwinter, but arguing over whether your child can wear mismatched socks to school is just a waste of energy. Tell your child that you'll choose which category is appropriate, but that she's free to wear whatever she wants within that particular group.
