Everything about this snow has been perfect. It didn’t start until yesterday when we were already home for the evening. It was beautiful when it fell and beautiful this morning with the glowing 7am light. Best of all it’s not freezing or treacherous so we were able to keep our plans to go to breakfast with the family. In fact it was so lovely out today I didn’t even wear a real coat. Welcome to the first edition of Sunday Mom Styles. Today I’m wearing this:
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Vintage Fred Hayman crossbody bag in Cognac
The trick is layering and of course wearing cashmere to breakfast with 5 children 5 and under (including my nephew), one of whom clings to me with a vise grip when he’s not otherwise busily shoveling berries and pancakes into his mouth. And then white. White is my go to “color” for shirts because it’s classic and clean looking. Except when you have children and then it’s classic and dirty looking. If you look closely at the picture of the white shirt you can see several stains from breakfast. I was smart enough to take off the dry clean only sweater but that left vulnerable the white shirt onto which the baby rubbed a large piece of sausage and subsequently spit up.
JCrew by the way – I love it for my basics. The short and long sleeve t-shirts are comfortable and fit well and although I might be able to get them cheaper somewhere else were I to pay full price I refuse to buy them unless they are on sale since literally every other week there is a sale for either 25 or 30% off. After awhile they tend to get those little holes in the fabric down toward the bottom – no idea why – but I understand that tends to happen to many brands. The sweater I love too and have in two colors – heather grey in addition to heather camel. The cut is boxy but not unattractively so, the cashmere feels great, isn’t as expensive as other cashmere I’ve seen and wears well.
The blazer from Everlane is relatively new to my wardrobe (under 2 weeks) and I’ve already worn it 3 times now that we’ve had some warmer days when a winter coat wasn’t necessary. I’ve gotten a few compliments on it including from my mom and sister – so that’s always nice. I can always count on them to give me the simple truth about whether something looks like crap or not (as opposed to my husband who also tells me the truth but through man-colored glasses which just aren’t as critical as the female type.
I recently switched my VIP credit cards and cash into the Fred Hayman bag. It’s so much easier than carrying around my regular bag which is a bit heavy for every day use and also makes me nervous that I’m going to ruin it by throwing in all the mom paraphernalia I’m accustomed to carrying. It’s just too nice of a bag to swing around in the minivan all day long. This way, I have my small crossbody and if I have the kids and their required accouterments with me (or just me but with a book, pens, water bottle, snack or whatever else), I can throw it all into my tote from the Chip and Joanna Gaines line for Target (Hearth and Home with Magnolia).
I’m tempted to not even discuss my sunglasses. One day we made a family trip into NYC and my husband and I each got a pair of Ray Bans. Great, reliable sunglasses in classic shapes that are stylish but not too extravagant. They are the kind of sunglasses I’d be very disappointed if they broke or if I lost them – as I did, as I’ll explain – but they aren’t so crazy expensive that I’d cry. So as I said – I did lose them. I looked all over the place and I just figured I must have dropped them out of my bag because they were nowhere in the house. I was so annoyed with myself. Some weeks later I just happened to find myself at the Sunglass Hut at the mall. Correction – one of the Sunglass Huts at the mall (can you believe they have two? One, I learned, is over in the high-end wing and sells Chanel. I went to the other.) The very friendly saleslady said the magic words – buy one get one half off – and so I ended up getting two pairs which were pretty similar but not identical to the ones I lost. Fast forward a few months – I found the missing sunglasses. They were hiding in the car between the seat and the door and somehow, miraculously, never fell out. So I now have 3 pairs of nearly identical sunglasses that I alternate. I love them all.
As for the fact that I look shockingly clean – there’s a story behind that too. When the kids woke up and broke out of their gates at some point in the 6s this morning I decided to pretend otherwise and hop into the shower – yay! – and I even dried my hair using my new Buttercup Blowdryer from Drybar. It was on sale the last time I was in getting my hair blown out and I find it hard to resist a sale. Which was my reasoning for getting the shampoo, conditioner, and brush at the same time. I know – I am ashamed. I’m sure I could get a comparable brush at Target for much less but I was involved in a Drybar product frenzy and did I mention the sale? And by the way the Southern Belle shampoo and conditioner smell amazing, as do all their products. I don’t always dry my hair at home – who has time? But it does look (and smell) nicer when I do.
The goal is comfort + a little bit of style + you have 4 kids?
So what’s your Sunday Style?
Mama Mader at Home 