Laura got me thinking about my style (or lack thereof) and how important it actually is for moms to make sure to GET DRESSED every day, and not just in yoga pants and nursing tanks! And we all know ANMJ is all about finding your own personal mom style.
But this was really tough for me - what IS my own personal mom style? I like a LOT of things. I like a lot of trends, and I can't seem to commit to one look in particular...
Then I started to think about some of my favorite outfits, the ones I would wear ALL the time if I didn't think someone would notice...
Do you sense a theme? I realized I prefer how I look in skirts and dresses. And they're more comfortable for me - with my ever-fluctuating measurements, skirts and dresses are a whole lot more forgiving than the pants I'm either struggling to button or pulling up for the 10th time because they're too big...
Then I read Simcha Fisher's hilarious "Pants Pass" article and had to ask Andrew (because I already knew the answer), "Would you prefer it if I only wore dresses and skirts?"
I was right. He would. And could I blame him? After all, I'm always complaining about how pants don't fit me, and they're always falling down, and I'm just soooo uncomfortable!
So I'm going to challenge myself to an entirely pants-free July.
What does this mean?
1. No pants in public. Dresses and skirts only.
2. No pants at home unless I'm in my pajamas.
3. No pajamas outside (I've taken to gardening in my pajamas because I get so hot at night that I take my pants off to sleep anyway... TMI?)
4. If the kids are all dressed, I better be dressed too!
Am I the only one who gets the kids dressed and realizes that I'm still in my pajamas? I need to stop being the last one dressed...
5. Everything must be nursing-friendly, and specifically tandem-nursing-friendly, since there are still times when both twins need to nurse simultaneously.
I'm 7.5 months post-partum. My measurements are fairly stable at this point. And while I'm not particularly happy that my waist and chest are both 6 inches larger in circumference than my pre-baby days, I think it's time to figure out how to dress my body!
But this was really tough for me - what IS my own personal mom style? I like a LOT of things. I like a lot of trends, and I can't seem to commit to one look in particular...
Then I started to think about some of my favorite outfits, the ones I would wear ALL the time if I didn't think someone would notice...
Then I read Simcha Fisher's hilarious "Pants Pass" article and had to ask Andrew (because I already knew the answer), "Would you prefer it if I only wore dresses and skirts?"
I was right. He would. And could I blame him? After all, I'm always complaining about how pants don't fit me, and they're always falling down, and I'm just soooo uncomfortable!
So I'm going to challenge myself to an entirely pants-free July.
What does this mean?
1. No pants in public. Dresses and skirts only.
2. No pants at home unless I'm in my pajamas.
3. No pajamas outside (I've taken to gardening in my pajamas because I get so hot at night that I take my pants off to sleep anyway... TMI?)
4. If the kids are all dressed, I better be dressed too!
Am I the only one who gets the kids dressed and realizes that I'm still in my pajamas? I need to stop being the last one dressed...
5. Everything must be nursing-friendly, and specifically tandem-nursing-friendly, since there are still times when both twins need to nurse simultaneously.
I'm 7.5 months post-partum. My measurements are fairly stable at this point. And while I'm not particularly happy that my waist and chest are both 6 inches larger in circumference than my pre-baby days, I think it's time to figure out how to dress my body!
Stripes and polka dots - can I do that? I don't have all these exact items, but mine are similar...
Back in my skinny days, I could wear the low-slung pants and have zero pooch showing. Now with my extra padding, I need the camouflage that a high waist adds! Slouchy shirts really help hide the pooch, too. I love the half-tuck, since my shirt ends up getting untucked all day to nurse, so the half-tuck is an easy way to look intentional about my fashion!
Again, not the same items I own, but similar. I love my full skirts from eShakti (speaking of which, use my referral code ROSI55AS and you can take $40 off a purchase of $55 or more! SO worth it for an adorable skirt or dress!) and they're actually really comfortable to play with the kids in. Sandals are my default for home, but wedges are great for Mass or when I want to kick things up a notch, since they're comfy enough to babywear in, and easy to walk in.
The button-down shirts allow for easy nursing access, and I usually just throw on a scarf to nurse in public, it provides full coverage (I don't tandem-nurse in public - it's just too hard to stay covered with these wriggly babies!).
I hear a lot of people say they can't pull off the maxi dress trend. I just don't think that's true! I've seen TONS of different body types in maxi dresses, and everybody looks great! These are great for layering, because a lot of the time maxi dresses have thin straps or are too low-cut for me to be comfortable in. I love layering a button down, lace top, or maybe even a chambray shirt?
What do you think, does this work?
Because when I don't have a full-length mirror, I ask the internet for fashion advice!
I also LOVE the concept of this InfinityMOM Nursing Scarf
, an infinity scarf that turns into a nursing cover! 
It looks wiggle-proof, comes in tons of cute colors and prints, and is so fashionable!
I'm excited (and I KNOW Andrew's excited) to try this fashion experiment - anyone want to join me?
You don't have to go pants-free for the whole month, maybe just pick one or two days a week where you break out of the yoga-pants-and-nursing-tank mom uniform :) I'll be posting a link-up at the end of July, so let me know how you've upped your game!
Great post!
ReplyDeleteI've always liked dresses better than pants--I think they not only look better, but they're WAY more comfortable. But I've tried to go pants-free, and I keep gravitating back to jeans and capris.
I DO want to join you, and I just think I might...
And by the way, the maxi with the belted shirt totally works. You look adorable.
I know, I don't think it'll last forever, especially once it gets colder! My cropped pants are so convenient, even if they're a struggle to keep up :P
DeleteThis is a cool idea! I think once we arrive in WA, I will join you. Although I may end up wearing skirts in the car some of the days because they travel well. No promises until we get where we are going! Also, notes on my infinity nursing scarf: I still love it. It takes a leeeetle more finesse than the "lampshade" style nursing cover because it can be more revealing if you have to look down and get things sorted (like, for me, I have to use a shield, so it can be a little tricky). I wouldn't try it out of the house until you had tried it out at home to get the feel of it. Using it with older babies who are nursing champs shouldn't be a problem. Nursing is anything but natural for me and the period of painterriblepain lasts a while for me, so I'm glad I didn't try to use this earlier on in the game (my learning curve would have been steeper). Anyhow, that's my two cents: love it, glad I bought it, I LOVE what it adds to an outfit (detracts from the weight around my middle), but do find it's not quite as clumsy-proof as my other bebe au lait cover.
ReplyDeleteI really like the stripes and chambray and belt! I think I'm gonna have to keep my eyes peeled for belts!
This challenge looks like fun. I definitely have a confession to make...I'm actually one of those weird moms who doesn't like how I look in yoga pants at all and I've preferred wearing skirts since I was in middle school! I do wear pants sometimes (especially in the winter...so much easier to throw on maternity jeans than tights and a skirt) but where we live it's warm much of the year and I just love how good I feel about myself in a skirt or a dress! I definitely have a whole assortment of casual skirts and dresses - way more than pants - just because they make me feel good about myself! I totally think everyone else looks so cute in their pants and shorts but I feel best about my own fluctuating bod in my skirts and dresses! Also helps that every morning I don one my daughter tells me, "Mommy, you look like Cinderella!"
ReplyDeleteHeh, this reminds me of a story: my SIL always looks incredibly put together, and one night she and my bro were going out to a fancy dinner, and I guess she came downstairs in nice dress pants and a dressy top, jewelry, etc. My 5 year old niece looks up at her and says "Mom, you look terrible! Pants are not gorgeous!"
ReplyDeleteLol, she's a hoot.
Good luck! I just signed up with eShakti and used my welcome code to order a dress, but I might have to use yours for another one, or a skirt with POCKETS!
I love skirts! When we came back to the Church almost ten years ago, I wore skirts about 90% of the time for many years. I got away from wearing skirts about three years ago when I started losing the weight from boy #2 and #3 pregnancies and received hand me downs from several friends that were mostly pants and shorts. For the last several months I have been searching for more skirts to add to my wardrobe as my budget allows. It has been hard to find skirts that fit my body type though because I want to look presentable not frumpy. I have been thinking about writing a blog post about it. I am interested in joining you, but my warm weather skirt selection is smaller than my cold weather selection!
ReplyDeleteYou look great in all of your outfits!
I always feel much more feminine when I wear dresses and skirts. My husband has mentioned more than once that he prefers for me to wear skirts, so I rarely wear pants anymore, unless it's really chilly outside.
ReplyDeleteLove the outfits you've shown!
Don't think I'm ready to go a full month but have definitely decided to wear a skirt during the week and not just Sundays.
ReplyDeleteI find I'm either the first or the last one dressed depending on when I get into 'dress the kids' mode.
1. I am old, I am old, I will wear my trousers rolled.
ReplyDelete2. Because this summer is all about turning the pasture into a pumpkin patch, which also involves repainting the chicken coop so that it will be more roadside stand-ish, I will be wearing not just pants but grubby garden pants while at work. And then after work, because why change just to relax?
3. However, when I go into town, I generally throw on one of my old standby dresses.
This is really more of an issue for those of you who are young. Because so much of my life revolves around my garden and pumpkin patch, let me use this botanical metaphor. You are young flowers and bees cluster around you, attracted by your beauty. I, however, have had my babies and therefore no longer need to attract bees. Know what I mean, jelly bean?
I wear mostly skirts and dresses when I leave the house too. Once I became a SAHM and didn't have to worry about looking "business professional" everyday, I realized I only had to dress for myself (what makes me feel pretty) and for my husband (he prefers dresses/skirts anyway) so I do a lot of casual dresses + cardigans, or jean skirts/jersey skirts with a cute top. I do wear yoga pants around the house but get dressed almost every day to run errands and I feel really put together and less self conscious about my ever changing mom-body...pregnant, postpartum, nursing, skinny, repeat ;) haha. I also live in Ca where the weather is mild so even during winter I can do skirts/boots and never get cold. if I had to deal with snow it may be a different story! :) www.ljobrien.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI love the no pants challenge! I completely relate to the skirt and dress uniform being far more forgiving of the post-baby ever changing shape and waistline. I'm in!! Just got a few extra maxis and sundresses so very excited to give this a shot. Perhaps not everyday, but lots of days. Also comitting to getting out of my PJs every day. Getting dressed for the day definitely increases productivity! :)
ReplyDeleteOh, and I am in love with eShakti so will be checking out your code for sure! :)
DeleteI wrote a v. thoughtful comment and lost it. . . . Anyhoo, it went something like this: LOVE your outfits, and thanks for the shout-out! I'm wearing a skort about 2/3 of the time this summer; does that count?
ReplyDeleteI was so confused as to how you could wear skirts when you're with the kids because I always have to change as soon as we're back from Mass. Then I remembered that we don't play with them the same way and it all made so much more sense. Wrestling and doing airplane rides in a maxi skirt is less than desirable, I think.
ReplyDeleteMy normal mom uniform usually actually is one of 4 skirts I've picked up from REI over the years that are comfy enough for me to sleep in (not that that happens...) and a tank top or comfy t-shirt. When it's hot I don't want to wear pants because they just make it worse, and in winter I'll wander around the house in leggings until it's time to go somewhere and then I'll just throw a skirt on so I don't actually have to change.
ReplyDeleteI love leggings so much... I'll have to figure out how to make this style work for winter, since so many of my dresses and skirts are summer fabrics!
DeleteOK Miss Rosie you have convinced me. I am in. July is no pants month. I will do my very best. I gotta say I do love the whole maxi dress craze. Love it!
ReplyDeleteYou are awesome! Now I just have to come up with some hilarious and yet tasteful "No Pants" button :P
DeleteI admire you so. And, now that you mention it, I also am WAY more comfortable in skirts or dresses! I'll have to ask my hubby what he thinks, but somehow I have a hunch as to what his response will be ;) Thanks for the challenge!!!
ReplyDeleteChiming into say, I also feel way more comfortable in skirts and dresses! I try to stick to them all summer long, but I just can't do it in the winter. I am expecting our second right now and only picked out maternity skirts and dresses, which has been great so far. I can't get maternity jeans to stay up for the life of me!
ReplyDeleteMaternity pants are designed to fall down. They should make maternity suspenders. I stared at my reflection (in jeans and a t-shirt) and realized that my clothes choices were making me depressed, and that I felt prettier in skirts and dresses. So I went thrift shopping and then switched. Since then I've had twins, and although I've recently bought my first pair of jeans in two years, I vastly prefer skirts and dresses now. They're much kinder to my not-snapped-back-into-shape body.
ReplyDeleteI live in Canada, and skirts are completely possibly year round with leggings, long coat, and good boots.
Seriously, maybe that's why maternity rompers have been making a comeback? Well, I've seen like 2 ever... But there's just no winning - under the belly falls down, over the belly is ridiculously uncomfortable!
DeleteI'll join you! But it will be easy for me since I don't wear pants ever...except for bed sometimes, oh, and horseback riding. I do wear gauchos or culottes, but for about seven years, I've been pants-less! (I like saying that; makes me sound much more exciting than I am.)
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the challenge. I'll be curious to hear how your month goes.
What a fun idea!! I have been wearing skirts a lot lately, because I don't like how I fit in shorts, and it is too hot here in the sunny South to wear jeans all summer! I picked up several new-to-me skirts at Goodwill and I feel much more comfortable and much more feminine wearing skirts!
ReplyDeleteA question - how do you nurse in a dress that isn't specifically a nursing dress?? I practically haven't worn a dress in 8 years because I am always nursing someone!
Wrap dresses, faux-wrap dresses, shirt dresses, and dresses with stretchy neck lines/deep V-necks work for nursing (strapless dresses would work too but I don't wear them!), albeit not always discretely. With those dresses I always either layer a shirt on top or use a scarf/cover to avoid overexposure!
DeleteI love this! The first time I bought pants was when my third was 3 weeks old. Man, do I feel stupid now. I did not wear pants before kids or during pregnancy (even in South Bend winters!) and now I decide to go for pants. Makes no sense and makes me feel huge.
ReplyDeleteI also have a hard time getting dressed in the morning because I know my kids will get me all sorts of dirty.
Anyway, I am so up for the challenge. I don't wear pants often at all but I do lounge in PJs most every day!
It's so impossible to find pants that actually fit! I don't understand why the silhouette of women's pants has to be the way it is... Men can just order by waist size and inseam!
DeleteAnd I have a hard time getting dressed too, but I'm trying to buy clothes that either don't show dirt as easily or wash easily. That definitely helps!
I love this idea! And I think, so far I have been pants-free in July anyway! (Except for my workout clothes. Which I only wear for working out.). I love skirts, and I feel more "me" in them... If that doesn't sound too crazy. ;-) can't wait to see mo of what you wear! You have a great style!
ReplyDeleteI gave up pants several years ago and am so glad I did! I also love eshakti--I've gotten so many great finds there, especially since I decided to dress 1940s style full time sometime last year. I have a full cambray skirt from them that gets a lot of play during the summer around here.
ReplyDeleteGo for it! I've got four kids five and under and never had trouble with my skirts or dresses being in the way. It's all a matter of mind, I think. I hiked a mountain in Central Asia and a 26 mile Scottish "walking" trail in a long skirt--I can mother in one. :)
I've actually been wondering how I could do things like hiking in skirts - clearly it's possible if you can do it!
DeleteThis post made me really think:
ReplyDeleteMike and I just had a convo about what he would think about me doing this. I was really surprised to hear that he leans to the side of not liking the idea. Interesting conversation it sparked :)
Either way, I think I am going to try to wear more skirts - I just like the idea!
I'm late to this game, but I still want to play. Except for running- I do not run in skirts. I have tried it and it feels like I'm trying too hard to make a running "outfit." Bleh.
ReplyDeleteYour mom up there, with the J. Alfred Prufrock? She is the coolest. I have major mom envy. :-)
I like the striped dress with the chambray shirt. Really, I like everything you wear!
I would feel like a little bit too much of a Real Housewife if I wore a running skirt, too (even though I'm not a runner) so I totally understand!
DeleteAnd you should totally adopt my mom! I bet she would LOVE to help you guys wrangle the kids during Mass since she just stopped singing with the choir.
Ok, this is too funny! I am trying to improve my mommy style so I was googling blog posts about styling a chambray button up with a dress/belt because I also very much prefer how I look in skirts and dresses over pants. Your post came up and I clicked and started reading. As I scrolled to the end I saw a picture of MY product - an InfinityMOM nursing scarf! It's a small, small world. ; ) I absolutely love your post about mom style! I look forward to reading more!
ReplyDeleteNo way! That scarf is totally on my wish list - one of these days I'll be able to justify it. What a brilliant idea!
DeleteI love this idea - its just SO easy to be lazy and wear the same old thing without considering style etc - which frankly gives skirt wearing SAHM's a bad name.
ReplyDeleteI hope I can draw inspiration from your look !