When I was a young professional, I repeatedly heard the adage, “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” Right now, I’m a stay-at-home mom — I’m already in the job I want and love. But I believe that mantra still applies to me.
While I do not believe mothers need to be constantly under a “dress to impress” rule, like this over-the-top Boston Globe article suggests, I believe that to play the part, you should look the part. In this case, I’m an adult who also is a mom.
I want to look like I have it (semi) together, even if I’m on my last clean pair of jeans, the preschooler has copped an attitude about every single thing that day, and the toddler has dumped three loads of folded laundry on the ground and sprinkled baby powder all over the bathroom floor all before 9 a.m. But if I look sloppy, I feel sloppy.
My 3-year-old fights me on getting dressed every. damn. day. By the end of the battle, it’s all I can do to still drag us out of the house some days. But I look at getting myself dressed and put together as setting an example for her.
If I insist that she dress in clean clothes versus her grubby nightgown with breakfast down the front of it, I should also dress like a functioning person in society. If I make her sit still for five minutes while I brush out her shoulder-length hair and pull it into a cute ponytail or braid, I should also run a brush through my hair and take a couple of minutes to style it.
I strive to set a good example for my daughters in every facet of my life. This includes wearing pajamas to bed, not to the supermarket.
Just because getting my children ready for the day can rival Simone Biles’ floor routine, it doesn’t have to be this way for me to get myself ready to take on the world. I will often at least think the night before about what I’m going to wear so that in the morning, it takes me approximately 26 seconds to get it out and put my outfit on. When it’s time for me to put on a little mascara or if I want to straighten my hair, my favorite trick is to put both girls in the crib with a book for 10 minutes. They roll around in there, giggling and piling on each other like puppies. They have fun with each other, and I know they are enclosed safely in one spot for a few minutes while I finish putting myself together.
Perhaps from this post, you imagine me a stodgy Stepford-type mother who proclaims, “On Wednesdays we wear pink!” I promise you this is not the case. You will most often find me in a pair of my favorite jeans and a simple top from the Loft. My hair is in a (brushed) ponytail more often than I would like, and I have dark circles under my eyes that the best concealer in the world hardly touches.
Though some are decidedly opposed to “Reinventing the Suburban Mom,” my takeaway is that we moms should take the time to help ourselves feel good about ourselves. I feel my best with a pair of well-fitting jeans, a cute top, and 10 minutes to do my hair and makeup. It makes me feel a teensy bit in control of myself and (cheesy alert!) my destiny of the day. Because if I feel pulled together, I think I might actually be pulled together. But don’t worry — my crazy girls will probably prove me wrong!
