stay at home mom style: loungewear

This week's series is meant to be an encouragement to moms - whatever their age, size, style, and personality. Not all of my opinions or the opinions of others that I share in my posts are going to frost everyone's cupcake, but I hope at least that you can take something positive away from them. I'm interested in these topics because I think caring for myself is one way to show love to my husband and is a good example for my daughters. It's my prayer that, in this, I would glorify God and seek to be a blessing to others. If you don't really give a hoot for talk about clothes, this week's posts may not be for you. But, if you're a mom at home, thinking a change in the right direction might be nice, read on Sista :)




Do y'all watch Stacy and Clinton? Believe it or not, we don't have cable television, but I love to pick up a few episodes of What Not To Wear when we visit my in-laws in Wisconsin (my poor mother-in-law... do you hate that show, Susan?). They can get awfully snarky, I agree, but in the end, they always make such a hugely positive impact on the men and women they try to help.

Well - if you watch - then you know that Stacy and Clinton have some pretty strong opinions about loungewear. Clinton goes as far as to say that no one needs sneakers in their closets ;) Running shoes for running? Sure. But, he totally puts the nix on sneakers for regular wear. And hoodies? Oh, don't get him started on hoodies! His bane.

I did own a hoodie - once. And, really, I never felt cute in it. It was even hot pink.

Anyway... loungewear. There are about a bazillion legit style blogs that slam yoga pants and all other athletic gear like there's no tomorrow. One site went as far as to say that yoga pants in public were like the grown up equivalent of teenagers wearing their pajama pants in Target. I don't wear yoga pants, but my sister does - at 6' tall and Slender City, she can carry them off. I can't. After thinking about it for a little while, I think that's kind of the bottom line with loungewear. You really, really have to be honest about what does and does not work for your body type.

I think that's the main beef Stacy & Clinton and all of the bloggers that agree with them have concerning athletic pants as daywear. Generally speaking, yoga pants are not very flattering.

There are, of course, moms that we see really rockin' the yoga pants. They show up at the grocery store with these teeny, trim little bodies and they make us think yoga pants will look that cute on us.

Maybe you're someone who can really rock the yoga pants. Like this gal...



Or this gal...



Yeah. Sure thing.

Actually, if you look like either of these ladies, you might as well stop reading this right now. You can wear absolutely anything you want. Bless you. Goodbye.

But, ladies who still continue to read, we need to remember that very, very few women are really going to rock the yoga pants in real life. If we're wearing yoga pants, it probably means we're also wearing a baggy tee or one of our husband's sweatshirts.

I can honestly tell you that I looked exactly like that nearly every day after the birth of almost all of my children. Postpartum is killer. Who gives a flying fig about layering shirts and wearing stylish shoes when you're functioning on 3 hours sleep, nursing every 2 hours, and caring for two preschoolers? I hear ya. I hear ya. And I'm not going to tell you that it's horrible if you wear your yoga pants and your pink tee when life is hard. Maybe skipping the Irish sweatshirt is a good idea, but there's a time and a place for yoga pants. And a tee in a nice color is good to have around.

Amen? Amen.

After Little Dude I pretty much lived in black pants like these...

And a black tee shirt like this...



Four children in six years. 'Nough said, right?


But... and here we get to the point of the post. How many paragraphs later? Sorry - I'm squeezing this in during naptime ;) The point of this post: We will all have days where the yoga pants and pink long-sleeved tee are all we're going to realistically manage, but there are other options that are just as easy and nearly as comfortable that will make us feel much, much better.

Notice I said "nearly" as comfortable. I'm not sure I can compete with the comfort of what basically feels like pajamas, though. And, besides being easy and comfortable, these options are easily ten times more stylish and will make you feel infinitely better about your appearance. That totally makes them worth it!

The easy part comes with a little planning, but it does come. Right now, I get dressed every morning just as quickly as I did when I wore those athletic pants and a tee. Sure, my jeans are a little tighter around my middle than the stretchy waist band would be, but I feel a million times better about how I look in the clothes I'm wearing today. I'm not going to get into jeans in this post - this is supposed to be about loungewear - so here are some great finds from the lovely internet and the baby beginnings of a PLAN.

• Consider opting out of yogas, athletic pants, and androgynous sweatshirts/tees altogether.
• Also, consider a sandal or comfortable flat instead of tennis shoes everyday.
• If you can't give up your yogas, learn how to style 'em up - no football team tee shirts or relics from your husband's college rugby days!
• If you can't give up your sneakers, make sure they're super cute - pretty much everyone I read agreed that running shoes are for exercising, but fashionable sneakers could look stylish while keep the casual vibe going. Target has good options for good prices.
• If possible (really, only if possible), consider spending more on a few pieces that really up the style quotient.

For those of you who really are interested in ditching the Ohio State sweatshirt and Adidas look, but still want to keep a high degree of lounge-ability, check out these awesome links below! These are some GREAT ideas for how to replace those gym clothes with choices that make you look & feel fantastic.

Wardobe 911's post on lounge wear/active wear has a complete outfit photo to show how comfort really can be stylish and 100% female.

Shana at Ain't No Mom Jeans (one of my new fave blogs to waste time reading when I should be folding laundry) has several wonderful examples of very comfy and very stylish ensembles for moms. Her post focuses on travel postpartum, but the tips are great for all of us!

Sam works late on Monday nights - hmm... I may just have to play around and make up a few comfy & casual looks of my own ;) Have great evening, everyone!