This month is gonna to be fun! There’s self-care/self-love work in there, too (as always!) but our goal is to explore, experiment, find our groove, & elevate our MOM STYLE!
Mom Style is so cliché…yoga pants & mom bun? Is that all there is? #momuniform Truthfully I love yoga pants and mom buns, but sometimes I want something a bit more. Wearing clothes I love or styling my hair or doing my makeup makes me feel “more like myself.” The issue is, I feel like I don’t always have time to put in the effort to get more “dressed up,” (especially on days I don’t want to leave the house!) but this month, I’m going to MAKE TIME…and I’m excited to explore mom style along side my yayas!
There are entire magazines, sites, and stores dedicated to telling us how we “should” look…but we are not going to pay attention to any of that. This month isn’t about trends (unless you absolutely love a particular one and feel gorgeous in it, then own it!). We’re not going to be swayed by advertising or limited by sizing. We’re going to take complete control of our personal style from a centered place of SELF LOVE.
Loving ourselves as we are can feel like an uphill battle at times (for societal &/or personal reasons)—that’s why #bodylove and #selflove movements started in the first place. We’re going to be part of those movements because loving our bodies and ourselves should be normal. That doesn’t mean you have to announce it (unless you want to!), it’s simply going to be a SHIFT we make inside ourselves. We’re going to shift our inner dialogue to a loving one and find the space to be & love ourselves…and then bring that to life on the outside through our individual style.
We’re going to practice self care, love our whole being (including our body!), and start each day with confidence that isn’t defined by clothing sizes or trends, but by what brings us joy and makes us feel beautiful.
There are so many changes that happen to our bodies when we have babies. And our energy can feel zapped to the point we don’t even want to try to pour into ourselves when it comes to fashion. But we have the time and we’re going to take it. We’re going to focus on us for a while…and that’s okay! It’s not selfish! It is absolutely okay to focus on your needs, take care of yourself, and work on loving beautiful, amazing YOU!
When we work on ourselves, we are modeling healthy self-care and growth for our children. We don’t want our kids to have to work through all of these social constructs that have left many of us feeling “less than” simply because we weren’t wearing what others think is “cool” at the time. But this made up idea of what’s “cool” changes all the time (we just didn’t know that as kids). It’s created and morphed by the fashion world to increase sales. We’ve got to drop the emphasis on “cool” and shift to true beauty, which comes from within. We need to model inner beauty & acceptance—especially for our daughters who are going to grow up one day, too. We don’t want them to have to struggle with the same things we’ve had to struggle with and they won’t, because we’re going to be the ones to break that self-conscious cycle!
We need to normalize mental/physical/emotional/spiritual shifts that happen when we enter motherhood. We need to normalize self-care and a sense of pride for what our bodies can do for us. They grow babies, nourish them, carry them, comfort them, move mountains for them. Our bodies are incredible! Love your body for what it does for you! Let’s honor ourselves by wearing clothes that make us feel as incredible as we are!
Loving yourself and embracing where you are on your journey can look like figuring out what you feel beautiful wearing. Pay zero attention to sizes on clothing this month. They don’t define you. Go up 3 sizes if that’s how you want to wear a top, go down if it makes you feel stunning. Sizes mean nothing, they are bogus guides that vary so severely from brand to brand that the only thing they are really good for is trying to figure out if you need to go up or down when trying clothes on. Sizing means nothing. This whole month is going to be filled with similar suggestions and tips for how to move past social constructs and move toward accepting ourselves and working from where we are.
The goal is for us to stop being discouraged and start being encouraged to be our beautiful selves and let that beauty shine by our own standards! Feel free to set goals or just go with the flow. One of my own personal goals I’ve been working toward is to get rid of my “goal clothes” and just deal with “what is.” I have a post-baby body x3—I want to feel good NOW instead of constantly feeling that I’m not “good enough” to fit into those pre-baby clothes that don’t define me. I want to give myself a break and honor where I am now while I work on better overall health. Living in the moment and working with “what is” is so, so freeing!
How We’re Going to Do It:
The Guided Journals are easy. They are published one at a time every day during the month of June. Read the prompt of the day, give it some thought, then answer the questions for yourself and take action. This can look like you writing in a journal (which I recommend! Pen to paper is VERY powerful!) or simply answering the questions in your thoughts. The point is to take the time to reflect and figure out what is important to YOU when it comes to style.
There will also be a lot of conversation happening over on the yayamamasblog Instagram and Facebook pages. That’s where we can share tips and good finds with each other. (Be sure to watch the IG Stories, too!) Pop over there if you haven’t already & join the conversation!
This month we’re going to acknowledge & honor our bodies by honestly looking at where we were before babies, during babies, and post babies—without judgment. There’s no looking back or forward this month…we’re going to embrace our bodies in this moment, experiment with different styles, and find our style groove so that we can take that confidence and love we feel on the inside and bring it to the outside.
Some thoughts before we get started:
1. Consider getting rid of clothes that don’t make you feel like the amazing woman you are. Sell them, donate them, trade them with friends. I have clothes in my closet that have been there for decades. True story: I have a men’s shirt from high school in my closet…Lord help me.
2. Pour into yourself. Feel good about the way you look. I want you to wear what makes you happy. Spend time figuring out what that looks like to you, regardless of what the “sections” of stores, ads, or random sizing on clothing says. You do you, mama!
3. Don’t limit yourself. Try everything. You might be surprised at what styles or colors light you up and make you feel beautiful.
4. Look for inspiration without comparison. There are a lot of ads, catalogs, brands, and Pinterest boards that are filled with limited body types. Ignore that fact. Don’t compare yourself to the one body type. Look for woman who truly embrace who they are (these women who are making a difference!) or try looking at the clothes themselves instead of the models. No one looks the same as someone else in the same outfit. We are all individuals. Embrace that and work from that space. There is no “one size fits all” anything in life (including clothes…I don’t care what the tag says).
5. Know that people are going to notice. When you start to radiate confidence and joy, people take notice. They can’t quite put their finger on it, but they’ll try. For whatever reason, people love to chat about the weather and appearance. It feels like every time I see folks I haven’t seen in a while, there’s always comments of “Have you lost weight? Something is different? Did you cut your hair?” And I swear in those moments I’ve probably gained weight, look the same, and my hair is longer. People are just looking for a way to connect and start “casual conversation” but at a huge disservice to the person on the receiving end if you have any sort of insecurities about looks. This is a lesson I need to work on, too, and that is: people are going to notice that “something looks different” when you are living from a place of self love. Come up with a response that serves you and supports your style goals. If you receive compliments this month, say “thank you!” Try to avoid making excuses or brush off compliments. Embrace and accept them with a gracious “thank you” or whatever feels right to you.
So what’s this going to cost?
The good news: the guided journal is FREE! The clothes? That’s up to you.
What is the cost of change? Well, there’s a few ways to look at it. The literal cost and the personal cost. Change brings all the emotions…discomfort, challenges, frustration, happiness, ease, inspiration, freedom, and pretty much #allthefeels Just know this going into change…even when that change is clothes. And then the literal cost. You can acquire new clothes in your style journey for free or cheap through clothing exchanges, selling clothing, or thrifting. There is a budget curve when we are adjusting to parenthood and/or when our bodies change. Just know that this doesn’t have to be expensive. Come up with a budget that truly works for you and your family. Do what feels good on a personal and financial level.
Here’s the weekly breakdown of topics for Style Month:
Week 1: Where We’ve Been + Where We’d Like to Go
Week 2: Clothes
Week 3: Hair & Makeup
Week 4: Pulling it All Together
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