Fashionably Flat

At one point while I was pregnant/trying to get pregnant/ not even considering getting pregnant I was at work and one of the wives of the guys who work out in the field came in to discuss benefits or something with HR. I had met this woman a handful of times before and always enjoyed her. She was very presentable and just pretty put together (and of course nice). But not this time. She had a child a couple of months before and I guess like some moms, she just stopped caring about herself as much and started focusing more and more on her child. Totally understandable... to some degree.

As any non-mother would, I totally judged her. I remember wondering "how can you go out in public in a wind suit? I didn't realize they still MADE them! a friend of mine wore one of those to our Halloween party as a JOKE! Did you even BOTHER to brush your hair??". I of course felt bad, but still... she was in need of a Stacy and Clinton smack to the face.

I made a 'vow' at that moment that I would never be "that mom". I did not want to lose my sense of identity. I did not want to embarrass my husband (well - with the way I look)... and eventually my kids. I did not want to stop caring.

To help with this, I decided after Jude was born (or maybe while I was pregnant) to do a good clean sweep of my closet. I goodwill-ed anything that I was even mildly unhappy with. We all have those items that we wear because all the good stuff is clean - well, I got rid of most of it. I had so little I felt nice in while I was pregnant, that I was ready to start feeling 'pretty' again. When I got down to my pre-baby weight I then treated myself to a nice little shopping spree. I picked up new jeans, some sweaters, shirts, and shoes. It was nice to be able to invest a little time (and money) into things for ME (and a few things for Ryan) after nearly 9 months of buying for baby.

Which brings me to: Shoes. They were always my weak point when getting dressed. That's not to say I'm some super trendy woman - but in relation to the rest of my sense of fashion... they were sub-par. So, I made it a point to leave room in my budget for some cute every day shoes. I walked away with a collection of ballet flats that I adore and have since worn them almost non-stop. I love them. They're so cute and nice little touch to any outfit.

Unfortunately though, they are killer on your feet/legs/back. There's obviously very little to no support. I complained once to Ryan that my feet hurt and he looked at me like I was crazy, b/c it was obviously my fault. But I still can't help it. I still wear them regularly and probably will continue to.

Again, this is not to say I'm a fashion goo-roo who is so much more trendy than any of her friends... but I'm just patting myself on the back for not falling victim to the mom fashion trap of waking up, throwing on sweats and bumming around the house all day (which would be totally possible since I'm not working!). I'm only wearing jeans and a nice shirt, but it makes me feel good to that on more than one occasion I've been asked what I was so 'dressed up' for while just sitting around the house (dressed up included nice pants, a sweater and shoes - not 'dressy' at all really)

This is what I had to recover from...

Question: What fashion trends have you/do you fall victim to? If you're a mom, do you often feel you're in that mom-fashion-trap? Lots of parents say their kids dress better than they do, is that your case?