What Does Mom Look Like?
Note: This post contains affiliate links.What does “Mom” look like to you?If you read a lot of parenting magazines, you might think Mom is supposed to be tall and lean, probably blonde, always smiling.If you watch much TV or many movies, you might think she always has perfectly coordinated outfits with nice accessories, gorgeous makeup and hair. She wears heels and skinny jeans and never has spit up or toddler food smears on her shirt.If you read a lot of Hip Mama magazine, maybe Mom has sleeve tattoos and short, spiky hair.In my town, many of the moms I run into are over 35 and dress pretty casual, but are mostly really fit. Possibly that’s because I mostly see them at the gym and the yoga studio?[tweet "I don’t look like any of those images of mom. Do you?"]Really, I never did. And I don't really want to.Before I had Bean, I had a corporate career, and I spent a good portion of my budget on nice clothes, which looked great on me.But since silk blouses and high heeled boots don’t go well with nursing babies and I no longer had an office to go to, all those clothes got boxed up and put away while I was pregnant. What was left wasn’t very pretty.For the next two years I wore loose jeans and yoga pants with knit shirts that were easy to nurse in. I was comfortable, but it wasn’t a flattering look for me. Somewhere along the way, I convinced myself that as a mom, I didn’t need to put energy into my look. Why bother? My kid didn’t care and I hardly went anywhere anyway, right?A couple of months ago I took a good look at myself in the mirror and realized I really didn’t like what I saw. I didn’t like how my clothes fit. I was wearing my hair in a medium-length cut that I didn’t like and wasn’t flattering, and I no longer wore any of the scarves or necklaces that had once been so much a part of my signature style. I felt bland and boring, and not at all attractive.This wasn’t how I wanted the world to see me, and it wasn’t how I wanted to feel.[tweet "I wanted to feel like me again."]It was time to pay attention to how I looked, how people saw me, and how I felt in my clothes.The first thing I did was get my hair cut back to the pixie that I wore years ago and loved for its no-stress good looks. I spent some time thinking about the style I wanted to cultivate and made a board on Pinterest reflecting that. Then I cleared out my closet (roughly following the Project 333 challenge guidelines) to only the things that fit well and I felt good in. I went shopping at the thrift store to round out what what I didn’t have and wanted to try.It is working. I feel prettier, sexier, more fun. I actually enjoy getting dressed in the morning and putting together an outfit, not just finding throwing on is clean and comfortable. I’m even wearing jewelry again.It feels so good.Have you reached a turning point in the way you look? Maybe you are frustrated by what you see in the mirror, or tired and uninspired by everything in your closet. Maybe your body has changed so much since pregnancy that the clothes you love just no longer fit and you haven’t got around to replacing them.What do you want Mom to look like, when that mom is you?Need some inspiration?
- Kelley Rae Robert’s Wear Your Joy Project.
- My Curvy And Colorful Mama style board on Pinterest.
- Project 333 and the Dress With Less microcourse from Courtney Carver, if you want to simplify your closet.
- This week’s Bundle Of The Week ebook bundle is all about Mom Style, from hair to clothes to skin.
- Every Day Mom Style Pinterest board.