June Week 1: Where We’ve Been + Where We’d Like To Go

Describe your style before kids, including various seasons of your life. What did you love to wear when you were a carefree kid? What about high school? What did you love to wear the most growing up? (I had a pair of light pick high tops in 7th grade that I wore into the ground…hahaha). What do you cringe at looking back? What was your style like just before deciding to have kids?

Today is about taking a trip down memory lane. Looking at where we’ve been can help us on our journey to where we are going. After you’ve made your list, take a few moments to look at how you’re viewing it—with humor? judgment? embarrassment? appreciation? yearning? Jot down a few thoughts about what lens you’re using when viewing your past style choices.

Describe your style during your journey to motherhood (this can include maternity clothes, postpartum transition clothes, etc.). Whether you were pregnant or on a different path, the emotional and physical changes that happen to our bodies on our journey to and through early motherhood can be intense. What was your style during that time? Are you still wearing those clothes? Were your choices out of necessity? Did you enjoy them? Was that time challenging or fun? Were you sick of your clothes by the end or do you miss them? Think about which questions are relevant to your journey and write about them.

Where are you now? Describe your current mom style. What is your biggest clothing influence at the moment? What’s driving your current style? (As an example, my breastfeeding journey dictated what tops I wore for over 5.5 years…high neck shirts, here I come!). How do you feel about your closet? Love it? Half love it? Hate it?

Do you ever have the urge some days to throw it all out and start over?

If you answered yes, I’ve got great news…that urge is totally normal! Our bodies can change a lot from so many baby factors…sleepless nights, pregnancies, nursing, hormones, etc. Huge shifts in our life can make us feel like we want to make huge shifts in all areas.

If you answered no, what do you think is your “secret sauce” to loving your current wardrobe? (Write it down and then go share it with the rest of us on yayamamas IG and FB!)

What trends have you loved (past or present)? Which ones have you loathed? Were there ones you participated in? Which ones did you want to go along with but didn’t? Were trends important to you in the past? Are they important to you now?

For today’s journal entry, please answer those questions…and then forget them for a moment.

Instead, imagine a world without “trends.” Imagine walking into a store and looking at clothes as if trends didn’t exist and all you had was your own personal preferences driving your purchases. What would you choose? What colors would you be drawn to? What would you avoid?

Now back to reality…trends do exist, but so does the reality that we can make choices based on what we actually like rather than what an advertisement tells us is “cool at the moment.” Sounds simple, but it’s a truth that’s hard for many woman to believe. We don’t have to be “cool.” We don’t have to be “trendy.” We don’t have to fight it either. We can just be ourselves and choose what we want, trendy or not. Do you feel free to do this now or is it something you’re working on? Write about it.

How has your hair and makeup changed over the years? What styles, cuts, and colors have you loved? Which ones did you regret?

What about make-up…what have you tried and loved? What did you hate? What were your first make-up products like? Who taught you how to use them? What you even taken a class or been shown how to apply makeup or style your hair? If not, have you ever wanted to?

What would you like to change about your style? What’s your number one priority moving forward? A complete overhaul? Hair? Makeup? Taking more time to put in the effort?

Spend some time today looking at where you want to go! Be clear about what YOU want to look and feel like and try to avoid other people’s opinions or reactions to that vision. If you were to “just be you” and really shine, what does that look like?

*Bonus action: create a vision board or Pinterest board with styles you love and admire to really bring your thoughts to life.

What is your goal with personal style really? Is it to love yourself more? Feel more like yourself? Feel like more of a woman and less of a mom? To be more cool? To feel like you fit in with a certain crowd?

Look at what your intentions are behind this journey and see if they align with your values about self-love and self-expression. Then put on something that aligns with your values and vision…something that makes you feel like you—beautiful, genuine, & amazing!

*Bonus: list your style role models. Whose style do you admire most?