Recently, my Norah-girl had a comment regarding an outfit I had chosen to wear. A comment that has stuck with me. Remember that whole, "my love language is words" bit ... I'm glad that I also have a sense of humor!
This occurred a few months ago, just when the weather started to cool and my wardrobe began that funky transition from shorts to pants. I had purchase two pairs of sporty-looking capri pants that I thought would be comfy and adequately stylish. I'm certain that they would have been tossed by Stacy & Clinton ... but I wasn't going for high-fashion ... I just wanted clothes to wear. :)
One pair was black and the other was gray. Kinda that sweatshirt gray with a little bit of white in it. I wore the black pants first without any comments from anyone, good or bad. I was pleased. The drawstring waist was comfy. They had pockets for chapstick and tissues. And they might have even have been a tad bit flattering. Okey-dokey! I mean ... how much can you ask from your pants?!?
Then a few days later, I wore the gray pair. I had a dark blue shirt on top that I had worn a hundred times before and I had a necklace on that matched the shirt. Comfy, but cute ... or so I thought. As I walked out of my room, Norah greeted me with, "Oh. Are you wearing that? Ummm ... I guess it's ... uh, casual and uh ... sporty?" With a perplexed little smile on her face and perhaps a little look of concern in her eyes, she shrugged her shoulders, looked at me sympathetically and headed downstairs. I was frozen in place. Dissed by my daughter!! :)
She didn't say it to be mean, in fact, she seemed to be trying very hard to make her words not quite so critical. She simply was giving a few words of direction to her (apparently) fashion-challenged mom! I thought about going right back in my room and changing, but instead I sighed and followed her down to the kitchen. She didn't say another word and I managed to get through the day without any additional comments regarding my wardrobe choice. But ... I was a bit more intentional about wearing my gray capris on home-days ... when casual and sporty was the look I was going for! Emphasis on "casual".
This bit of fashion advice came from my (then) seven year old daughter and the kicker was that she was probably right! The black pants were more flattering because dark colors are better at camouflaging. The gray was definitely not as good at shielding the world from my lower-body flaws. :) Also, Norah is very conscientious about what she wears and expects the same from those around her ... which is not a bad thing. She likes her clothing colors to match and she likes her outfits to look nice ... something a few other young people in our home seem to have trouble with. No names ... you can spot them when they walk in the room! The point is that my little fashionista does have a good eye for clothes and she is picky about what she wears. I little lesson I could take with me!
Sometimes, as a stay-at-home mom, I forget that's important that I take care of how I look. It may seem at times that it really doesn't matter what I wear, seeing as 98% of my life is spent within these four walls. But it does matter.
It matters to my husband that I take care of myself. I think that Brett is pleased that the woman that meets him at the door at the end of a long day isn't in her pajama bottoms. And that my clothes are clean. And I don't smell. :)
It matters to my kids that I take care of myself. I think my kids notice when I get myself together in the morning and when I send them off to school in my sloppies. There is a comfort to them in my being "put together" ... a sense of security and rightness with the world.
It matters to me that I take care of myself. I have "better self-esteem" days when I feel good about how I look. When I have a bad hair day (week) or feel like my clothes are fitting funky or feel like a grunge-monster, it affects how I view myself and how I think others view me. (Although truth be told ... rarely is there anyone around to "view me"! It's all in my head!)
Of course there are days that we have slower mornings and we lounge a bit. Or maybe it's a super-productive morning and I don't change out of my work-out clothes until noon because I'm vacuuming and cleaning and .... well ... not dusting or ironing ... but other busy stuff! :) But, my goal has to be to get dressed and spruced eventually. At least by the time Brett gets home. (I had a crazy-busy day a few weeks ago that I literally ran upstairs and changed, misted and fluffed just as Brett was pulling in the drive! Whew! Just made it!)
Don't confuse me with a clothing horse ... I don't have a vast wardrobe. But I have, over the last two years, tried to only have clothes hanging in my closet and folded in my dresser drawers that are flattering. Of course, that is a full-time job right there! What is flattering?!? Now that I am leaving the baby-carrying stage of life, I figure eventually I will find my actual body size and be able to dress the body I have ended up with ... four kids later. But seeing as I can't wait forever for that to happen, I have to find flattering now.
I do enjoy watching "What Not To Wear" and they have some great fashion tips that I have been amazed to find that work.
Five little tips that actually do help me to find flattering clothes and feel a little better about how I look ... on a day to day basis. Because even though today is laundry day ... I can still wear pearls and feel pretty!
Here are a few pictures of my Fashionista ... headed off to school for Gooney Bird Greene Day. No. She doesn't usually dress like this. In fact, I was surprised she was willing to get so goofy ... she's typically so much more classy!
This occurred a few months ago, just when the weather started to cool and my wardrobe began that funky transition from shorts to pants. I had purchase two pairs of sporty-looking capri pants that I thought would be comfy and adequately stylish. I'm certain that they would have been tossed by Stacy & Clinton ... but I wasn't going for high-fashion ... I just wanted clothes to wear. :)
One pair was black and the other was gray. Kinda that sweatshirt gray with a little bit of white in it. I wore the black pants first without any comments from anyone, good or bad. I was pleased. The drawstring waist was comfy. They had pockets for chapstick and tissues. And they might have even have been a tad bit flattering. Okey-dokey! I mean ... how much can you ask from your pants?!?
Then a few days later, I wore the gray pair. I had a dark blue shirt on top that I had worn a hundred times before and I had a necklace on that matched the shirt. Comfy, but cute ... or so I thought. As I walked out of my room, Norah greeted me with, "Oh. Are you wearing that? Ummm ... I guess it's ... uh, casual and uh ... sporty?" With a perplexed little smile on her face and perhaps a little look of concern in her eyes, she shrugged her shoulders, looked at me sympathetically and headed downstairs. I was frozen in place. Dissed by my daughter!! :)
She didn't say it to be mean, in fact, she seemed to be trying very hard to make her words not quite so critical. She simply was giving a few words of direction to her (apparently) fashion-challenged mom! I thought about going right back in my room and changing, but instead I sighed and followed her down to the kitchen. She didn't say another word and I managed to get through the day without any additional comments regarding my wardrobe choice. But ... I was a bit more intentional about wearing my gray capris on home-days ... when casual and sporty was the look I was going for! Emphasis on "casual".
This bit of fashion advice came from my (then) seven year old daughter and the kicker was that she was probably right! The black pants were more flattering because dark colors are better at camouflaging. The gray was definitely not as good at shielding the world from my lower-body flaws. :) Also, Norah is very conscientious about what she wears and expects the same from those around her ... which is not a bad thing. She likes her clothing colors to match and she likes her outfits to look nice ... something a few other young people in our home seem to have trouble with. No names ... you can spot them when they walk in the room! The point is that my little fashionista does have a good eye for clothes and she is picky about what she wears. I little lesson I could take with me!
Sometimes, as a stay-at-home mom, I forget that's important that I take care of how I look. It may seem at times that it really doesn't matter what I wear, seeing as 98% of my life is spent within these four walls. But it does matter.
It matters to my husband that I take care of myself. I think that Brett is pleased that the woman that meets him at the door at the end of a long day isn't in her pajama bottoms. And that my clothes are clean. And I don't smell. :)
It matters to my kids that I take care of myself. I think my kids notice when I get myself together in the morning and when I send them off to school in my sloppies. There is a comfort to them in my being "put together" ... a sense of security and rightness with the world.
It matters to me that I take care of myself. I have "better self-esteem" days when I feel good about how I look. When I have a bad hair day (week) or feel like my clothes are fitting funky or feel like a grunge-monster, it affects how I view myself and how I think others view me. (Although truth be told ... rarely is there anyone around to "view me"! It's all in my head!)
Of course there are days that we have slower mornings and we lounge a bit. Or maybe it's a super-productive morning and I don't change out of my work-out clothes until noon because I'm vacuuming and cleaning and .... well ... not dusting or ironing ... but other busy stuff! :) But, my goal has to be to get dressed and spruced eventually. At least by the time Brett gets home. (I had a crazy-busy day a few weeks ago that I literally ran upstairs and changed, misted and fluffed just as Brett was pulling in the drive! Whew! Just made it!)
Don't confuse me with a clothing horse ... I don't have a vast wardrobe. But I have, over the last two years, tried to only have clothes hanging in my closet and folded in my dresser drawers that are flattering. Of course, that is a full-time job right there! What is flattering?!? Now that I am leaving the baby-carrying stage of life, I figure eventually I will find my actual body size and be able to dress the body I have ended up with ... four kids later. But seeing as I can't wait forever for that to happen, I have to find flattering now.
I do enjoy watching "What Not To Wear" and they have some great fashion tips that I have been amazed to find that work.
- V-neck lines do make you look thinner and a little taller. I love both of those attributes!
- Shirts and dresses that have a band of fabric higher up around the ribcage take about 10 pounds off your figure. I don't know about you, but I have 10 pounds to spare!
- Straight legged dark jeans/pants make you look thinner and taller. Again ... thinner and taller ... good!
- Color is a good thing. I used to wear a lot of sage. A lot. Now I wear red, purple, green. Yeah!
- A little bling around the neck draws attention to that flattering part of our bodies and away from ... well ... the other. I don't thing that there is a mathematical equation here. Huge Bling does not equal Tiny Hiney ... sorry.
Five little tips that actually do help me to find flattering clothes and feel a little better about how I look ... on a day to day basis. Because even though today is laundry day ... I can still wear pearls and feel pretty!
Here are a few pictures of my Fashionista ... headed off to school for Gooney Bird Greene Day. No. She doesn't usually dress like this. In fact, I was surprised she was willing to get so goofy ... she's typically so much more classy!
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| The pipe-cleaners in the hair really made the look! |
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| Oh yeah ... that's better! |
I know how you feel... I am glad that my Mom shops for me for Christmas each year and buys me new clothes that are cute and fashionable! I've thought about taking lessons from others...(whose fashion sense I admire) :-D
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard for me change my perspective from vanity to just taking care of myself. And yet so important! :)
ReplyDelete