I am sure that when my husband walks in he must think that I have spent hours in a wrestling ring, and to an extent he is probably right.
My once carefully applied makeup has been kissed or rubbed off by small chubby hands, my hair has been pulled on as I have adopted the role of ride on entertainment for my two sons or I have been so thoroughly soaked during the school run itself or during bath time. By the time I have dressed and fed our boys, coerced them in to getting out of the house on time for the school run, frog marched them to the school gates in biting winds and horizontal rain, returned home to play cars/trains/drums as requested by my toddler, cooked lunch, marched back to school to collect the big boy before returning home for CC time (cookie and catch up about our day), re-enacted scenes from Cars/Toy Story/Spiderman, provided ride on entertainment and had several tickle fights, I am not surprised that I look a little windswept by the end of it.
I have such good intentions when I start the day, have a shower and attempt to control my naturally wavy hair using brute force and straightening irons before carefully selecting a comfortable and warm outfit, plus coordinating accessories. Granted some mornings the shower is skipped in favour of a wash and I admit defeat and scrunch my tresses into curls to save a bit of time, and yes a long waterproof coat does cover a hoodie and weetabix splattered jeans on a bad day. However looking good makes me feel good so I make a conscious effort to look my best each day, even if that simply means a slick of lip gloss, and a sweep of mascara.
I think my image consciousness comes from not only being interested in fashion and wanting to make the most of my figure/face in my thirties, but also from the fact that I don't 'go' to a place of work. As a working at home mom, I am privileged to fit my writing business in around my children, however not dressing for and travelling to an office can leave me feeling feel less motivated as I could work in my PJ's all day and am less likely to push myself to develop new skills and succeed. Having battle Post Natal Depression following the birth of my second son, I like to dress well so that I feel more 'put together' and ready to face the world and as my house is filled with boys I also enjoy dressing in a more feminine manner whenever possible, adopting dresses and skirts over leggings and tights if the weather permits.
Please understand that I have nothing against moms who wear hoodies and slouchy jeans for the school run (although I draw the line at pulling a three quarter length coat and ugg boots over the top of your PJ's unless you seriously overslept!) if anything I applaud them for being so comfortable in their own skin to wear practical, comfortable clothing.
For me, fashion and a sense of style is part of my identity as a woman and it also boost my confidence, making a concerted effort helps me to feel more confident in all areas of my personal and professional life, from meeting new moms in the playground to writing website content for a new client.
The beauty of fashion nowadays is that it needn't cost the earth, and some of my greatest finds have been in charity shops across the UK. As a parent to a boy who thinks flinging his food and drink around at every meal time, I have quickly realised that nothing is safe from mischievous sticky fingers, therefore buying preowned clothes that cost less than a brand new item in Primark is far more preferable to scrubbing stains out of a favourite blouse that cost my whole wage packet. Furthermore, I am doing my bit for the environment by reusing and recycling in the process, and what's better than bagging a bargain whilst saving the world one clothing item at a time?
R
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