5 Reasons Moms Need Fashion

You had a terrible night.  The baby was up at all hours.  This morning, your toddler had a hissy fit about wearing socks AGAIN, and you had to scramble to get the baby to Grandma’s house and the toddler to pre-school, while being on top of your game for the big presentation at your Business Referral Group meeting.  You’re tempted to throw your hair into a ponytail and grab the first thing you see in your closet. This is exactly one of those times when you must tell yourself that Moms need fashion!

For busy Moms, fashion is often an afterthought.  But, as Editor of Project Motherhood NYC, I’m gonna make a case that fashion is something we as moms NEED. (Sounds like a bit of hyperbole, but I mean it!)

5 Reasons Moms Need Fashion

1. Fake it till you make it (Or, let fashion do the job when you think you can’t!)

How to pull yourself together when you as a Mom feel like crap?!  By dressing exactly like you don’t feel!  You grab the foxiest outfit in your closet; you take the little bit of extra time for a trendy updo; and you go directly into your “5 minutes to a gorgeous face” make-up routine.  Yes, you have to rush more, but your efforts will be worth it.  No one but you knows it’s all an act to hide your exhaustion. And by using your fashion sense to look how you WANT to feel, you will be way closer to achieving it!

2. Be a Fashion Role Model to your kids

Everyone talks about how star athletes and bigtime movie stars are role models for our kids. But that is totally minimal compared to the influence and power that you as a mother have on your children.  You have a captive audience, so show your kids what’s up. Be the example by showing your children that the way they present themselves to the world affects how the world views them.

Yes, grades do count and creating the latest App will help a person gain respect in life.  But really, does dirty hair EVER help?  Does wearing totally inappropriate clothes give you anything other than a false perception to overcome? When you rock your fashion pride for them, your kids will be proud you are The Awesome Mom, and they will eventually catch on and follow your lead.

3. Feel good about yourself

But wait. Those first 2 reasons are all about the OUTSIDE WORLD.  What about YOU?! Don’t even tell me you’ve given up on yourself or your life is on the back burner while you are raising kids. If that’s the case, my dear, you OWE it to yourself to go on a shopping trip.  You don’t have to break the bank, since there’s lots of current fashion that’s easy on a family’s budget. Places like Target, H&M, or Forever 21 will help you put together some fresh looks. (Or contact Allison for some styling sessions!)

I guarantee you’ll feel better about yourself wearing clothes your love. If you already have a good solid closet to turn to, you know a perfect new dress (or cute new workout clothes) can be a spirit lifter for a mom who so often addresses the needs of others instead of her own. If you don’t take pride in yourself, who will?

4. Have your own identity outside of “Mom”

Don’t know about you, but I cringed every single time I heard the phrase “Soccer Mom” when my kids were growing up. There was NO PART of me that identified with that insulting label. To me, “Soccer Moms” represented the diminishing thought that  mothers who drove their kids around don’t have a life or  mind of their own.  Nope, I didn’t see myself as a stereotype created to put me (or you!) in a convenient box for marketing or social agendas.

Fashion gave me a way out of those labels.  Yes, I drove kids hither and yon, almost every day of the week – even to soccer games.  But I dressed to feel good in my own personal style – and never once bought an outfit while thinking, “Oh, this sweatshirt will be great for looking like a MOM!”  Actually, I raised two kids without ever wearing a pair of mom jeans or a man-cut T-shirt, or a single pair of running shoes unless I was…um…running.

5. Make a fashion statement

Fashion can be a statement, too. It’s not just about your appearance.  Fashion is art.  Fashion is beauty. Fashion represents innovation, design, and an industry that creates many jobs.  Women emulate the styles they see on TV Awards Shows and wear them abundantly in less expensive versions, thus expanding the industry.

So, remember, just because you like clothes and you love to shop, it doesn’t mean you’re shallow or a mere “clothes horse” or a selfish mom.  In fact, many in the fashion world are striving for “green” or “sustainable” fabrics, or are standing up for the rights of workers who make clothes for us from faraway places or for local designers and manufacturers right in your own backyard.  You have a voice whenever you buy clothes, for yourself AND your kids– it’s kind of like your vote.  That edgy fake fur coat that you wear to a black tie event is actually a statement to the world you make about your attitude about animal fur.  And leaving that dress that is too sexy for a 5 year old on the store rack is a statement, too.

So, wear your clothes with thought, pride, dignity and yes, a bit of whimsy at times, and know that fashion can be very, very positive for you while making a difference for the world your kids grow up in.

So yes, lovely Mamas, I officially declare that Moms need fashion, and shopping is for your betterment, in more ways than one – actually, FIVE ways! So, Happy Shopping! (You’re welcome!)

What’s YOUR reason why moms need fashion?

Fashionably yours,

Deborah