DressYourDaddy.com

From Anne(The Daughter)

First of all, I would like to explain the purpose of DressYourDaddy.com- to save dads and daughters (or sons) everywhere from having to go through what my dad and i have gone through the past seventeen years. Something as simple as clothes can divide a teenager and his/ her father. For many teenagers, appearance is very important and the failure to adhere to that standard can eaily result in embarrassament. Dads- this is not only for your daughter’s benefit, but also for your own. Dressing appropriately is different from dressing well and most daughters only request the minimum, which takes little to no effort. Everyone has experienced embarrassment, but few dads seem to understand that when they dress badly it may embarrass their children, thus affecting their relationships. In my case, I did not want to be seen with my dad in public, more specifically I didn’t want anyone I knew to see me with him. I remember my dad telling me that I was just being superficial, but I honestly believe that it is more than shallow thinking. Whether one likes it or not, appearance serves as the first impression and I want people to have a positive first impression of my father since everyone doesn’t have a chance to base their opinions on his easy-going, humerous personality. I want them to see him as a well respected business man, not just a goofty 48- year old man who doesn’t care how he looks. Appearance can also reveal how humans view themselves- Dressing well can give an impression of self respect and confidence whereas dressing poorly can give the impression of carelessness and laziness.

For instance- you want to hire a new lawyer to your law firm. The two most qualified applicants walk in dress very differently. The first is wearing a nicely pressed suit and tie, is cleanly shaven and is wearing new dress shoes. The other shows up in a faded collared shirt and faded pants that do not fit and to top off the outfit, he is wearing faded shoes. Which one would you hire? The one who looks and dresses like he is qualified, most likely, because he physically looks more professional.

Clothing is important and can affect more than just your realtionships with your teenage children – so explore our website, check out the blogs, and learn something new about how to dress to impress. After all, it can only make things better – ask my dad! I bet he would say that it has improved our relationship and has given us something to work on together. Recently, I even heard him say he felt good about purchasing a nice pair of pants and that his new clothes made him feel better about himself – all of this coming from someone who couldn’t have cared less how he looked, as long as his clothes didn’t cost too much – and they don’t have to!

From Billy(The Daddy)

The first thing I would like to say to you (Anne) about my dress is that I am sorry I was not more respectful of your feelings. It has been a long time since I was your age and I had forgotten that at your age I was also very sensitive about how my parents looked and acted and was easily embarrassed by what they did or did not do. Secondly, I want to tell you that you are more important to me than anything else in this world and that I am extremely proud of you!

I agree that appearance can be a reflection of how someone feels about themselves. I would like you to really think about that and have some compassion about what my dress said about my state of mind. I had so much going on in my life that my appearance was the least of my worries. I only wish that I could have seen how it was affecting our relationship, but please realize I was unable to make that connection.

I thought of DressYourDaddy.com while racking my brain for a way to repair our relationship. I was feeling panicky as I realized that you will be a senior in high school next year and that you would soon be going away to college. You are so important to me and I could not bear the though of you leaving with our relationship so strained.

I know this may sound corny, but many years ago I heard someone say that having a child is like having a large part of your heart walking around in another person’s body. I have never forgotten this because it is so true. You are a part of me. I want you to know that I will always be there for you.

I would like DressYourDaddy.com to be a project that we can enjoy working on together. Our visions of this website/blog are probably very different and that is fine. It will give us a chance to collaborate and to be respectful of each others thoughts and feelings.

My vision is that DressYourDaddy.com can serve as a vehicle for not only you and I to get closer, but also to help other fathers and daughters that are suffering from strained relationships. I hope that we can learn that by working together in a loving and respectful manner we can product something we can be proud of and something that is much greater than we could have produced working alone.

Love,

Daddy