Motherhood is a constant education – child rearing, communication, self-reflection, and fashion. (Gasp). Did she just drop the F-bomb? Fashion in motherhood can be a cruel joke, especially if like me, you do not have an extra twelve hands around to assist you. To keep motherhood haute and easy I have surveyed some of my most fashionable moms to provide their best fashion hacks.
F is for Fashion
Not frustration. Motherhood changes everything. New angles and curves pop up. Free time is blown to bits; scattered moments here and there. However, with the obstacle course of new life comes mental, physical, and emotional agility that moms are known powerhouses for. Fashion in motherhood is about confidence. Confidence in what is trending in your life, closet, and budget, whether that is your wallet or clock. One of the easiest fashion hacks, wear something because it makes you feel better, confident, and beautiful.
Start Small
What kept Leeann Cerritto, from Love Leeann, feeling and looking fabulous with her three babies, “[I] pulled my hair back and put on some lipstick, it made everything better.” Another series of easy fashion hacks – mascara, lipstick, perfume, or polish your toes. You will feel better and pick up a new habit.
Diana Stoler, of Actually Chic, also suggests, “Don’t give up on heels!” Wearing cute heels and dressing up once in a while is important to maintaining your mental physique of not-just-a-mom.
Sarah Colombo, from The Hudson Edit adds her go-to fashion hack, “We are blessed to be moms in an age where sneakers are so fashion embraced. Skip running shoes and put on an edgy pair of kicks while you bop around.”
Haute Mess
Last winter, home renovations brought construction workers, power tools, and dust into our third floor. My closet became a refuge for clothing. Heaps of clothing from 4-T to 42 piled up to the window’s edge. I evicted the mess as soon as renovations were complete.
Hanging shirts organized by color. Dresses hung by season. Folded clothes organized by season and type – workout clothes, jeans, then shirts organized as casual or dressy. The method to my madness was led by my life. I work on the boundaries of fashion and the business world. As a jewelry designer I dress trendier, edgier, and wear more colorful outfits.
However with the Rivertowns Chamber, I tone the fashion down with pencil skirts, slacks, and more black. Diana agrees that organizing by season is an easy place to start. “As a mom, time is limited and knowing what you have and where, is imperative.”
When to Splurge
Diana says, “Know where to invest first. Focus on investing in classics and work the trendy items around the classics.” Classics, Diana recommends on her blog Actually Chic, are staples like a blazer, little black dress, trousers, jeans, and a good classic watch. As well as a nice pair of flats for every season. I would include a good, large handbag to hide work/life items like an iPad, folders, baby wipes, chargers, etc.
And for my working moms, a chic over-the-shoulder clutch that holds business cards, a phone, and car key – no one wants to maneuver a handbag while networking. Sarah from The Hudson Edit also agrees, “A fabulous handbag will pull together almost anything. Invest in one with a thicker skin that can survive a few knocks, and banish any kid’s items. This is your bag. Delegate kid’s items to a fabric tote.”