When I was pregnant with Romeo I threw out almost all of my clothes. I had shortly before been a mature (read that as 20-something) university student and was very comfortable and confident in my jeans and tight pink tee. I kid you not. That was what I felt good in. Jeans and tees are brilliant throw on and run to uni clothes and this usually translated into my everyday life for ease of thinking outside of 4 crazy years of study where I completed 4 degrees. I nearly died, I kid you not. I think my jeans saved me from the imploding translating externally.
Thus jeans were my friend and then I got worried. Really worried. Can a mother wear jeans? Shouldn't she wear matching sweaters and cardigans with slacks or something. You know what I mean right? The beige slacks with a matching sweater set in the colour of salmon(?) with sensible but still foot-in-fashion ballet flats.
So along crept pregnancy fat and the whole notion of being a mother....and my conundrum of what to wear. WHAT. TO. WEAR????
What does being a mother mean in terms of clothing and dressing yourself when you have a child?
Seriously, this passed through my mind and still does. I didn't think jeans and a tee were parent material (pun intended). I was afraid that I'd be the mutton dressed as lamb when I turned 60 and was still dragging on jeans and a tight tee. Pink no doubt. Pink no less!
So, I donned fairly acceptable mother maternity jeans and pants and gained another person and a whole new body. Ugh. Oh and lest we forget Ewww. This is not right.
Of course, Romeo's birth was a disaster and the experience just so sad that I had very limited thought about clothing other than that it wouldn't hurt his tiny delicate premmie self and I could sit comfortably for hours on end comforting small, hurt child.
Once we were home I donned the proverbial post-baby attire of trackies and t-shirt and sweatshirt. Yes, I did. The place I swore I would never journey to had just become my permanent holiday destination. I justified the long weekend break with the fact these were top athletic brand clothing items and thus I was wearing them in order to prepare to exercise - not because I wanted to be comfortable. I was mentally preparing for the time I would get back into shape, teaching my young boy the importance of health and fitness. What a RUSE! Kidding no-one, not even myself. Big, Fat LIAR.
It wasn't simply about dressing as a parent but dressing as a different person, with a different body, who felt different in every way. Who felt like she was drowning in life itself.
I continued to drag on my maternity jeans and pants.
Oh and I wore skirts. So often and in public that my family looked at me like 'we thought we knew you, but we just don't know who you are anymore. You strange-person-wearing-skirts-weirdo'.
I had only worn skirts if they were covering jeans or pants in the period where this might have been a short-lived fashion that I subscribed to occasionally. Maybe.
Then as my life metamorphosed along with my body in parenthood, so too did my ideas about fashion and body-image and life.
I went through phases of subscribing to what others said was in fashion. Sometimes I subscribed to what I liked and felt good in.
I currently am in a very different place. Where pants are my main stay but so too are skirts and dresses, equally as much.
I wear what I like, what I understand suits my body, what I feel is timeless, classic, chic even. I subscribe to me style. And that makes me feel good and confident and I hope that translates in my appearance. Though I feel no concern for how others view my style.
My question is : what pants does a 30-something year old woman wear?
I subscribe to the black business-but-casual-ish slacks that have dress-me-up or dress-me-casual avenues to walk down. Sometimes I wear black slacks with pretty sweaters and ballet flats and sometimes with something like a heavy crocheted hooded cardigan and my echo light casual sport shoe. I like both but that doesn't mean these are right, or good, or happy, or something special.
It's spring and I feel that I have to search out camel-coloured slacks or beige-ish ones.
and I find these:
and think yes, I could feel happy in these.
or these:
and then I think, yes. Beige pants are okay for Spring and then everything in my world of style and fashion freak-outs is okay...
for another 5 minutes.
Loulabel off to relish those 5 minutes of fashion freak-outs-over for at least 1 of those 5 minutes.
What are your ideas on pants/slacks/jeans/trousers? Do you prefer them to skirt or dresses? How has your perception of personal fashion changed? Flick me a message, Loulabel loves to hear what you have to say!
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