Style and Motherhood, Part 1: White T and Jeans

Hi, Rule Breakers.

It’s been 624 days since I’ve shown my face here at Costume Parade.

To state the obvious, a lot has changed. Our world has changed, vastly. We’ve endured, and continue to endure, a pandemic. How we dress, what we dress for, how we leave the house, are all, mostly, different.

I have changed, too. In 2020, I had a baby! He’s technically a toddler now. Since his arrival, my days have become entirely different. My body is different. My priorities are different. My clothes are very different. Sometimes (most of the time), all that change leaves me feeling untethered from my identity.

And truthfully, I miss me. I miss the bits and pieces, and routines, and habits that built up my personality before, and have temporarily been set aside. And I miss my clothes! I’m ready to return to old-me and mix in new-mom-me, but man! It feels daunting. Maybe it’s the sleep deprivation. Maybe it’s that the entire world feels overwhelming right now. Whatever the excuse, I haven’t known how to start.

So, instead of reinventing the wheel, I’m returning to Costume Parade. This experiment, where I broke fashion rules deliberately, helped me find my identity before. I’m confident that it’ll work again.

I envisioned this return would be splashier. I imagined a different writing style and really, really, fabulous outfits. But, that’s not where I am today. I’m starting small. To ease back into dressing again, I’m going to repeat some of my favorite experiments from Costume Parade’s past. The outfits will be new, but the ideas will be recycled.

I started by recycling the idea of this post: 5 Variations on a Classic - The White T and Jeans Edition.

And truthfully, I started very easy. My mom uniform has been jeans and a black or white t-shirt. I slightly bumped up my usual with the addition of this new trench, metallic clogs and some blue hoop earrings. Could I have steamed that shirt before I put it on? Sure. Is that a pretty clunky purse choice? Also, yes. But, hey, small beginnings.

I wore this ensemble to buy more moisturizer at the shiny new Glossier store on Capitol Hill. I parked a few blocks away and on my walk a few passing people glanced at my clogs. I don’t know if those glances were positive, and it doesn’t really matter. It was just nice to be out and wearing something that wasn’t entirely forgettable.

I’ll be back soon with another recycled post. Until then, please tell me! How are you dressing now? How has the pandemic changed your style? If you have kids, did your style shift, too?