Fashion Life Hacks Every Mom Should Follow
As a mom of four, I’m always searching life hacks to make my life easier, especially morning routines. My mornings consist of waking up before my alarm goes off, not by choice. If we lived on a farm, my kids would wake up the roosters. My google search history is probably 50%, “life hacks for early risers.” When their feet touch the ground, the chaos begins.
It starts with someone closing the door. At first I thought it was sweet, until I realized they purposely didn’t want to wake me up so they can get into mischief. Fifteen minutes later, my door flies open, and I feel like I have the swat team by my bed. Whether they are fighting over an iPad, someone saying a bad word, calling each other stupid, or telling on someone for eating Oreos at 5 am, I’m refereeing a full-blown wrestling match before the sun comes up. Forget the perfect cup of coffee, sitting on the couch watching the Today show. If I’m lucky I’ll get through the morning without my coffee being knocked over in what feels like a game of dodgeball, with my coffee mug as the target.
How does this play into fashion and why it’s one of my favorite life hacks?
If your morning starts like mine, you may feel mentally exhausted before your day even starts theirs a pretty high chance you will stay in pajamas all day. As tempting and comfy as this may sound, I can’t surrender my love for fashion and I know how easy this could turn into a habit. This post explains in more detail, but the simple answer is not to lose my own identity as a mom.
I have always loved fashion. I started wearing heels (ten times bigger, of course) from the time I could walk. My first word was the color of my grandmother’s lipstick. (Persian Melon by Revlon, one of my favorites) Sacrificing a big part of who I used to be would take a toll on my mental health. It’s not a coincidence that the days I work from home in my pajamas are the days that don’t end well.
Using Fashion as a mindset.
Call me crazy, but knowing I have a cute outfit on compares to a mid-afternoon Starbucks run. Putting time and effort into your appearance can boost your self-confidence. Think about all the different styles of clothing, including job industry uniforms. We associate uniforms with specific characteristics. When you see someone wearing a white lab coat, we assume they are a medical professional. If you take it a step further, some may even perceive the person as being more intelligent. When someone is wearing workout clothes, we associate with the gym, health, and fitness. Let’s say you’re at Starbucks and someone walks in wearing their pajamas. They look like they rolled over and walked into Starbucks, bed head and all. If you’re like me, you’re thankful you aren’t the only one. But, if your dressed for work, motivated and ready to go, you may associate that person with a negative quality. This is a perfect example of the power of the mind and the law of attraction. How you think is how you view yourself and who you align with.
I’ve tried planning my outfits every Sunday, the night before, and own every style app there is. The times I did plan in advance, either my schedule changed, or I wasn’t in the mood to wear that particular outfit. Same with meal prep. So, back to square one, choosing my outfits every morning. Morning chaos isn’t going to change; for a while, at least. So what changes?
Life hacks Dress for success
Think about working out. A motivation hack is to put on your workout clothes. Why? Because gym clothes can transform your mood and put you in the right mindset to workout. When kids pretend to be a doctor, superhero, princess, chef, or ninja turtle, they play the role. Some adults enjoy a little role play. R rated, but the same concept (wink wink). It’s a mindset. When my five-year-old puts on that Flash costume, he believes he can run faster than lightning. Using fashion is one of the best life hacks I’ve found to this day.
Start dressing for what type of mindset you want or need for the day
Ask yourself, how do I want to feel today? What mindset do I need for a successful day? What style will create those feelings and mindset?
Summer is my favorite season. Many experiences go on in the summer, and each makes me feel a certain way. Being at a winery is one. Warm summer breeze, sitting on a grassy hilltop, makes me feel so many things in the middle of nature, making me feel, go with the flow, feminine, flirty, and grounded. These feelings make me think of a flowy maxi dress, gladiator sandals, and a pair of round sunglasses that would be in line to create that feeling. Even without winery plans, it still works. Make sense?
Here’s a more complicated scenario—the beach. Unfortunately, I don’t live by a beach, but the beach is my happy place. Virtual reality glasses are in my near future, but I’ll stick to replicating that feeling for now. You may be thinking, how in the heck do I do that? Let me explain using my aha moment.
When I’m on the beach, I can feel the sun shining down, the sound of crashing waves, and soft sand between my toes. Writing these words brings me peace, love, and happiness. Being in a bathing suit, a backward hat, cut off shorts, and a pair of sunglasses, watching my boys play is pure bliss.
Even if we did live at the beach, our summers consist of sports, sports and more sports. During one of those games, it was super windy. I put on my hat, backward of course, and it brought the memory and feeling of being on the beach. Now, whenever I need a beach day vibe, I throw on a pair of cut off shorts, sunglasses, and hat. I can even add in some beachy waves, compliments of bumble and bumble, sea salt-infused spray.
Life Hacks: Dress for your own success
A part of self-care is taking care of your outer appearance, which is you should not confuse with “vanity.” That’s a whole other topic that I spoke about in this post. When you choose your outfit based on how it makes YOU feel, that’s all that matters. When we love someone, we have an instinct to take care of them. We take care of our kids, and when needed, our aging parents or grandparents. Loving yourself means you take care of yourself; using any other label is ridiculous. If someone makes you feel a certain way, it has nothing to do with you and has everything to do with them. If you can’t say the words, I love myself, it’s time to fall back or in love, period. Commit to yourself and surrender to the circumstances. Show up every day as the best version of yourself. Asking the simple question, how do I want to feel today, will take you in the right direction. Believe in yourself, as you believe in others!
Let’s empower each other —comment below with what you struggle with. Take some time to respond to others with either advice or inspiration. A little bit goes a long way.
Sketched by a HAUTEmess
