Mama Style

Hat: La France Vintage

Blouse: Layered Vintage Dress

Shoes: Swedish Hasbeens

Jewelry: Hand-Me-Downs

Wrap Skirt: Vintage

Purse: Thrifted 

The weather is perfect today: high 70's, not a cloud in the sky and low humidity. Unluckily we're stuck inside waiting for the air conditioner repair person for the second day in a row. But luckily, someone is coming to fix it for when we actually need it. I have to remember to count my blessings.

When we do eventually go outside, the babes and I will wear our hats for sun protection. This one has to be my favorite of all time. I love the blue stripes, I love the fact that its so tightly woven that it has an SPF of 50, and I love that the brim is so wide that when I carry my daughter, it covers part of her too. What's not to love?

The skirt has been in constant rotation for years. There's a vintage store near us with low prices and lots of 70's wrap skirts. I enjoy shopping that section of the store just as much as I enjoy looking through the dresses. Many wrap skirts have all the right elements for me: pockets, an a-line, high waists and knee-lengths.

And then, of course, there are the shoes. My favorite shoes. These were my first pair of Swedish Hasbeens. I bought them before my daughter was born because I knew that we'd have a tighter budget after she came and I wanted to treat myself to something I'd wanted for years. They were everything I'd hoped for them to be. I even wore them when I was eight months pregnant, which goes to show how comfortable they are.

That's about it. My favorite kind of outfit for the perfect summer day. Hopefully we'll be able to get out soon!

The Course of a Day

Threadbare Elegance

Dress: Vintage

Shoes: Swedish Hasbeens

Ring: Hand-Me-Down from Mom

Earrings: Forever 21

Purse: Thrifted

Hat: Thrifted

After our daughter was born, I decided to continue working part-time. Its great for so many reasons, namely because I really love my job, but also because it gives me a chance to get out of the house by myself and interact with other people independent of my husband and daughter. I work a few evenings a week and every other weekend and Saturday I was off to the library again for the day, hat in hand for a walk during my lunch break. 

I love this dress. Its so feminine and floaty, pretty without being precious and easy to wear. I also really love that the color pattern is so autumnal even though the fabric is filmy and obviously meant for summer. Its getting a little delicate around the seams, but that only makes me love it even more for giving the dress a threadbare elegance that it wouldn't have had when it was brand new. I'm not really sure if the shoes go with it, but I really wanted to wear them. Yellow is such a happy color!

This is my idea of the perfect summer outfit: vintage dress, colorful clogs, basket purse, a hat and a few pieces of hand-me-down jewelry. I'm so happy its summer.

An Afternoon Walk

Mama Style

Tunic: Thrifted

Jeans: Anthropologie Sale

Shoes: Michael Kors via Buffalo Exchange

Scarf: Forever 21 Dress Sash via Buffalo Exchange

Ring: Hand Me Down from Mom

Earrings: Forever 21

Before becoming a mama 14 months ago, one of the things I feared about the upcoming change was how it would effect my style. Everyone from other moms to patrons at work (I work at a library) told me that I wouldn't be able to wear my favorite clothes, jewelry or shoes anymore. Some of them even seemed to relish the opportunity to inform me of these things. It seems like an odd thing to fear, but my personal style has become an important form of self-expression. 

What I've realized since my daughter was born is that my style is going to change no matter what, but that its still mine and I get to choose what works best in my life. I still wear vintage dresses and heels (mainly clogs because they are so, so dreamy and comfortable!) and I still wear makeup, but everything, for the most part, has become simplified. Most days I put on my lipstick before I get the chance to brush my teeth, but that's another story. There will be a time for complicated brooches and dangley earrings, its just not at this particular moment, so they sit and wait patiently in my jewelry box.

Which brings me to this outfit. I never would have been caught dead in something so voluminous and hardly ever wore pants before she came into my life, but they make sense now. I feel comfortable and stylish for the day I'm having. Some days I put more thought into it, but it just depends on my mood. I think, more than anything, my daughter's presence in my life has helped me to accept myself more, rather than changing me into another person. That's one of the wonderful things about motherhood that I wish someone had told me when I was pregnant!