My six-year-old pairs slim fitting Justin Bieber t-shirts with flouncy skirts and wildly patterned tights. My three-year-old wears only dresses, the fancier the better. Even my 22-month-old has a distinct sense of style – she demands comfy zippered sleepers day and night. Me? I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to clothing.
The problem is two-fold. First, I’ve been baby-making for seven years. I’ve gone from 135lbs to 215 lbs and now hover about 20 lbs above my goal weight. I’ve been buying clothing for seven years to either accommodate a growing belly, or hide a not-shrinking-rapidly-enough belly.
Second, I’m cheap. I hate wasting money, and therefore don’t like to risk dropping a chunk of cash on a shirt my kids might ruin with their sticky fingers or I might shrink or grow out of a month or two after purchase.
So I pick up shirts here, jeans there, for $6, $15, $45, $70. Some $5 shirts get 20 to 30 wears before they’re done, while a few $70 blazers or dresses are worn just once. There’s no plan to my spending and certainly no style!
One of my favourite authors and bloggers is Meagan Francis of The Happiest Mom. She recently posted about creating your ‘mom uniform’ – building a wardrobe based around a few pulled-together looks.
Then I found a great article right here on Yummy Mummy Club to help me cull my current wardrobe, and I started browsing websites and blogs (I spent a lot of time on http://www.aintnomomjeans.com) to get an idea of what ‘looks’ would look good on me. I’ve narrowed it down, and I’m excited to have a purpose to my clothing shopping as I head to San Francisco this week for a conference (with a little outlet shopping thrown in).
I’m hoping that by creating a real sense of cohesion in my wardrobe, I’ll save money in the long run!
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