Mums have no time to themselves; that’s the reality of parenting! Maybe you get a handful of minutes after the kids have gone to bed, but there’s still so much housework to do and various errands to run – who knows when you’ll have the time to do them if you don’t get them done now?!
And by the time you’ve completed your to-do list, you’re ready to collapse into bed and sleep for as long as possible before the kids need you again. You couldn’t be happier to be a parent, but sometimes it would be nice to just have a free hour where you’re allowed to be alone! Especially so you can practise a bit of essential skincare, and have a moment to feel stylish in your clothes and body again.
But all in all, you don’t really have any time to yourself, and that makes maintaining your style pretty hard at times. Your wardrobe is a mess, you haven’t used a luxurious bath bomb in a long time, and you’re not sure you even like the clothes you dress in at the moment. It’s a conundrum all parents go through!
And that’s something we hope to help with. If you want to feel good in your clothing and stylish in the way you dress, even when you’ve got a pram and a nappy bag over your shoulder, as well as a messy toddler putting their hands all over your jeans, here are some tips.
Go on a Shopping Spree for Comfortable Clothing
A good shopping spree is all about you, so make sure you’re only buying with your personal comfort in mind. You don’t need to specifically buy for your own body type – wear what you think you’ll look good in, and also what you’d love to wear out and about!
You shouldn’t have to worry about wearing something ‘flattering’ for your figure; if you’re comfortable in it when you try it on, put it in the basket. If you already know your style inside and out, these purchases won’t be hard to make. But if you’re always going back and forth on what you like to wear, go for the basic items you can mix and match.
Leggings and jeans, block colour tops and vests – anything you can swap without anyone batting an eyelid. Ultimately you’re trying to give yourself a few more customisable options here, and the more fresh ammo in your wardrobe, the better.
Then Thin Out Your Wardrobe
Yes, now you’ve bought a load of new clothes, think about what old ones need to go. If you’ve got 5 minutes and a to-do list that’s only as half as full, use this time wisely. Go through your closet and aim to throw out at least half of it. You want room for your new outfits to go in, but you also want to hang them up in a coordinated order.
After all, if you’re trying to dress quickly in the morning, you should be able to just pull something out that already works together. If you don’t thin out your wardrobe beforehand, it’s going to be a lot harder to be effortless when you really need to be.
Don’t Buy into the Fashion Hype
Trends come and go, but your own sense of style should not. As such, make sure you don’t buy into the hype around any fashion unless you truly like it yourself. The more you want to go with the flow and dress like other people, the less effortless you’re going to look.
You need to dress like you, and like you’re the one in control of your fashion taste – don’t let anybody online convince you otherwise! If you like something, you can buy into it. Otherwise let it go, stick to your semi-capsule wardrobe as is, and focus on dressing and looking the way you’ve come to love. You’re not going to miss out!
Keep Beauty Routines Quick Yet Effective
When you’re trying to look after your skin first thing in the morning, but you’ve also got breakfast to make, a lunchbox to pack, and the kids to drop off at school. This means you’ve got five minutes max to make sure your skin is glowing and your hair is neat – so what can you do?
Keep it short and sweet! Buy a pair of fast heating straighteners, any spray on heat protectants that work in seconds, and use oils to add that moisturising effect to your skin that you’re really going for. If it’s an oil, you just need to drop a bit on and then rub it in – you can be done in about 30 seconds.
If you want to then apply makeup on top, you could go fully without primer and simply use a small amount of foundation or dabs of concealer. They’ll go a lot further with a soft and supple base. Then you’re done; an effortless look requires being a bit fast and loose, and the basics can go a very long way!
Pack Your Bag Right!
If you’re going to coordinate an outfit to be proud of, you’re going to want to keep it safe. And as a mum, that’s hard! Which means you might need to pack your bag a little better. Most of all, make sure you put in some wipes or laundry pens in case of stains, as the longer it sits on a brand new yellow blazer, the harder it’ll be to save.
Make Sure You Can Walk in Your Shoes
Let’s face it, busy mums are on their feet nearly 24 hours a day! And if you’re going outside in heels or boots, your feet are going to be sore after a couple hours. Sure, they might look good at the bottom of your outfit, but they’re also going to wear you out faster than a 10k run!
Being effortless is about remembering convenience. If you want to wear shoes that are a bit more ‘sparkly’ than your usual sort, you can do. You just need to have a spare pair somewhere in the bag, or stored underneath the pushchair, for when you need to make some serious pace.
The easier you hold yourself as you go, the more you’re going to look comfortable and confident in yourself.
Remember, Your Style is Your Own!
It’s something we touched on earlier, but your style doesn’t need to be the same as anyone else. It’s why fashion is quite hard to pin down; we all have our own taste, we all like or dislike certain clothing forms, and no one should ever make you feel in the wrong for going your own way.
And when you’re a busy mum, you shouldn’t waste the little time you have paying attention to naysayers like this! You should use that time constructively, and put a little more back into yourself. If you want to be effortless about the way you look, you’re going to need a bit of focus – don’t use up the energy worrying about how people might perceive you.
An effortless sense of style, ironically, takes a bit of effort. But once you get into the groove of maintaining your style within such a limited timeframe, it really is going to cost you next to nothing. Keep your beauty routines to a minimum, try to sort through your wardrobe and make it easier to choose your outfits, and always have a pair of comfortable shoes in the bag!
