Four Easy Steps to Fashion Chic

I will admit that I let myself go when my daughter was first born. And it still takes effort for me to dress in anything but sweat pants, tees or jeans even now that she is a year old.

It can be hard to motivate myself to look good, or at least presentable when I spend the majority of my day at home and inside. But I have a number of motivators to get gussied up when I am going out. As the person behind torontoshopoholic.com I don't want people to think "wow she's the Toronto shopholic? Why would I read her website?"

I will admit that sometimes my sense of style is better in theory than in practice—still I want to at least try and look the part. Plus, everyone should agree that when you look good you feel better about yourself.

Here are my tips to look good as a stay at home mom especially when you leave the house:

As Canadians, we wear coats and jackets most of the year. And easy way to hide that less than presentable tee (is that spit up?) you are wearing is under a fabulous coat. Look for something tailored and that flatters your shape. And make sure you have something appropriate for all seasons not just winter. Get a trench for spring and even something waterproof that is grown up and sophisticated instead of that slicker that matches your toddler.

I used to wear heels at work everyday. Now I am not sure if I remember how to walk in them. Instead I have invested in some tall flat or semi flat boots. These are easy to pull on with jeans and look more polished than well pretty much anything else I have casual-wise. I am also planning on finding a fun pair of sneakers. I want something with cool colour combinations that doesn't scream white tennis shoes. Also in my arsenal of flats are—well—more flats! Ballet flats and flat versions of pointy pumps are great for dressing up jeans, or to go with dresses. All of these options allow me to walk in comfort and chase after my toddler.

Just because you are leaving the house doesn't mean you are getting all glammed up does it? On the flip side the day for lowriders is long gone. And sweats at the grocery store says "I give up," not stylish mom. All this means is you have to invest some time trying on jeans (or your pant of choice) to get your best fit. I recently blogged about my experience trying to find an alternative to all the skinny jeans that are in the stores. And I found a great trouser jean to rotate in with my straight legged jeans I tuck into boots.

I find I can wear a simple combo of jeans and a sweater but depending how I accessorize that outfit it can go from classic to edgy fairly quickly. Instead of wearing delicate gold chains which little grabby hands can pull and break get some fun chunky jewelry that you don't mind moving from your neck to your child's. My daughter loves playing dress up already! I have also ditched the hoops for studs as my ears couldn't handle the pulling! Studs can also run the extremes from classic pearls and diamonds to something more edgy like pointy metal studs. Unless you are ok with your expensive jewelry being ruined, now is the time to play with inexpensive costume jewelry.

These are my tricks to making simple outfits look even better without spending much time getting dressed. Going out for a walk or to the grocery store doesn't require full makeup and a fancy party dress, but you don't have to head out looking like you just rolled out of bed (even if you did!).

I would love to hear your tricks for looking great even though you spend most of your day trying to interpret toddler speak or figuring out what that new cry means!

Four Easy Steps to Fashion Chic

Look Good, Feel Better