Mama Style

Vintage Dress: Buffalo Exchange

Jewelry: Family hand-me-downs

Shoes: Swedish Hasbeens

Scarf: Thrifted Cacharel

Backpack: Target

(Bandana: My Dad:)

We've been readjusting to our normal schedule over here after five days of eating out and site seeing with my parents. It was so nice to see them and spend a good chunk of time with them, but its taken a while for us to get back into our usual groove. My little lady took a three and a half hour nap the day that they left!

I can't get over how excited I am about this little cloth backpack. Its going to be my new diaper bag now that our daughter is walking and running around on her own. She's been mobile for quite some time, but recently I've found that trying to bend over to help her or talk to her (not to mention chase her around) with a giant diaper bag on my shoulder isn't really working. I love the Moop bag that we originally bought so much that it'll become my personal tote bag. And the bandana is a must. My dad gave us two to put in her diaper bag and use as makeshift bibs, if needed. I just like having something of his with us all the time.

The dress is pretty great too and this is the first time I've worn it (although its been in the closet for a while). I kept waiting for a special occasion, but then realized its something I can easily wear any old day. I love all of the 40's details, but think it was made by a home sewer, based on an old pattern.  The fabric, neckline and little bow, mother of pearl-esque buttons and scalloped front make it such a charming little frock.

The Course of a (Very Pink) Day

Clog Crazy

Sometimes my sister and I will go virtual shopping together. Since she lives in another state, many hours drive away, this consists of me e-mailing her links to the things that I'm currently a little in love with and her commenting back and so on. Really, I just miss my sister and also miss the act of shopping with her. The other day she told me that I was a little clog crazy.

Its true. Before I bought my first pair of Swedish Hasbeens, I bought a pair of Miz Mooz clog boots and couldn't stop wearing them. Then I got a pair of Schouler and Sons clogs on sale at Anthropologie. And then I bought a pair of Hasbeens...and then a few more (including a pair of deeply, deeply discounted Rachel Comey Clogs (I know!, but sadly nobody in my non-virtual life knew how exciting this was). Every time I have a birthday that comes up or we have a little extra money to spend on ourselves, these are what I want to spend it on. They have a 70's vintage feel to them, they're beautiful (in my opinion), they're comfortable, and I can wear them with so many things in my closet. They're my perfect shoe.

Right now, I'm pretty excited about the company Lotta from Stockholm.  I got a pair of their Highwood Open Toe clog sandals in red when my daughter was an infant and wear them all the time. The heel is a little lower than my Hasbeens and the price tag is much lower. They have a huge selection and, well, I'm crushing on a few pairs right now. I've been slowly weeding my clothing and shoe collection over the past year, making room for things I'll actually wear, eventually making room for some Lotta's hopefully:) 

Right now I'm really loving the Silver and Gold Braids, the Matilda Super High, the 259 T-Bar in Aubergine, and the classic Highwood Tan. 

I know some people aren't clog crazy like me. So tell me, what do you think of them?

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!