Lesson #153 - Fashion and Motherhood Have One Thing In Common – Both Take Effort and Its Worth It

Hi everyone! It’s DC Fashion Gal from Fashion Gal in DC writing a guest blog post for my fabulous and stylish blogger friend, Working Mommy. I am so flattered that Working Mommy asked me to provide a ‘Lesson Learned’ on the topic of fashion (my favorite topic, of course!) and of course, I
wanted to write something that combined both of my loves: being a mom AND being a fashionista. As every mom out there can attest, motherhood takes a lot (and I mean A LOT) of effort each and every day whether you are a working mom (like myself) or a stay-at-home mom. And as every fashionista
can attest, fashion takes a lot of effort especially as a woman gets older and can no longer look cute wearing UGGs and cut-off denim shorts (okay, if you are Giselle Bundchen, you can but that’s another story.)

I absolutely love being a mom to my two beautiful children and feel blessed every day to have them in my life. I also love wearing a gorgeous Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress, a pair of 3 inch round toe heels and my vintage Burberry trench and feeling like a million bucks. With both of my babies, I definitely went through the normal post-partum period of feeling whether I would ever fit into my normal clothing again and more importantly, think about anything other than breastfeeding, the color of baby poop, and how many minutes my baby naps per day. Luckily, after about 6 to 8 months, I got my fashion groove back and delved right back into the glorious world of fashion.

To me, fashion is an escape from the real world. I love the art of dressing up each and every day based on what I’m feeling. Some days I feel a little saucy and want to wear a great dress and high heels. Other days, I feel a little more hip and put on my 70s inspired bell bottom J Brand jeans, Milly chiffon peasant blouse and faux fur vest. I love it all. As I’ve said in my blog, fashion isn’t always about trends and what’s in and what’s out. Fashion is about having fun with your clothing, breaking the rules and wearing what makes YOU feel best because every single mom out there IS WORTH IT.

Ciao!

Lesson #89 - Skinny Jeans Are For Skinny Bodies

I just LOVE (love, love, love, love) the fact that - for the most part - all of this cold weather is behind us and the gracious Mr. Sun has brought his family - Mrs. Ray, Ms .Heat, Little Birdie and Pretty Flower - out to play! I honestly don't know if I could handle any additional bad weather. My heart goes out to those in the Northeast suffering through the floods and clean-up efforts!

Anywho...this past Saturday I packed up the babe (and the man) and we all headed out to the park. Once we arrived, I looked at hubs and said, "It doesn't look like we're in Kansas anymore, Toto!" Keep in mind we had walked to our friendly neighborhood park...and there were a gazillion children around. Presumably because it was nice outside and their parents wanted them to get some fresh air...and possibly run around a larger square footage area than a kitchen. I saw things (and proceeded to point them out to the man) that I don't think I will ever get out of my head. Things that just shouldn't be done in a public area...or ANY area for that matter!!

The biggest fashion faux pas that was witnessed?? Large people wearing small clothes.

Holy heck, people!! This is a FAMILY park...public place or not...lets think of the kids, huh!! I can't believe why, or how, some of these women would force themselves to wear pieces of clothing - mostly jeans or shorts - that were CLEARLY not made to fit their current body type.

Ladies, please (for the love of all things cute and pink) put money aside for the purpose of purchasing a new wardrobe when it is necessary. Now, I am not saying that thousands of dollars need to be spent every. single. season for new clothes...although to some, that is a nice dream...what I am saying is please do not continue to wear (or TRY to wear) that same pair of skinny jeans you wore in college...because they just don't fit anymore.

Even the simple fact that they don't fit anymore isn't something to be ashamed of, either! Not at all! Seriously, look at you...you're a wife (to a pretty smokin hubs) and a mother (to some adorable little rugrats) - not a twenty-something college sorority girl looking to hook up with a frat guy. While you MIGHT have been/done that in the past, that is not who/what you are now! Be proud of the transition you've gone through - and look good while doing it!


----------------------------------
<-- Make sure you take a look-see at my other lessons off to the left :)

Lesson #82 - Sometimes TRUE Love Requires A Fashion Statement

Have you ever loved something SO much that you just HAD to make a point about it??

That is the exact thought I had when I was at the grocery store a few months back. The woman in front of me in the checkout line was with her hubs...just standing around waiting for him to finish with paying for the groceries. Suddenly he realized that his credit card wasn't in his wallet...alas!!

Anyways - the point of the story is this...wifey, clearly frustrated, went to pull her wallet out of one of THESE:

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!?!?! I totally freaked out when I saw her bag and just couldn't keep my damn mouth shut!! "Ohmigod!! Where did you GET your bag?!?!" This poor woman probably thought I was a psycho...but I just HAD to ask! SUPER cute, right???

I never got an answer...so I don't know if the woman in the grocery store got her bag from Rosha Merci'a...but I am going to venture to say that she did! These fabulous recycled wrapper purses and accessories are made from candy wrappers, potato chip/snack bags and ANY other food/drink wrappers you can think of!

From larger purses, like the Starbucks bag above, to smaller zipper pouches like this Coke example:

From a Mountain Dew purse to a Ramen Noodle pouch (chicken flavor, below):

M has been making wrapper purses and accessories since 2004 and I hope she continues to make them!! Want a custom piece...just come up with the wrapper(s) of your choice and I'm sure M would be thrilled to make a bag, wallet, clutch, key fob, or anything else for you!! I have yet to gather enough diaper packages for her to make me a diaper bag...but I will get there soon enough!!

Giveaway:
The first winner of this giveaway will receive a Recycled Starbucks Zipper Purse (shown above) - and the second winner will receive their choice of a Coke OR Pepsi Zipper Pouch (Coke shown above)!!

Here are the rules...please leave a separate comment for each entry:
3 entries if you "follow" me - please comment and let me know
2 entries when you visit the OhNoUDidn't Designs Etsy site and tell me which product is your favorite
2 entries if you "heart" OhNoUDidn't Designs on Etsy
1 entry if you become a fan of Wrapper Fashions on Facebook
1 entry if you follow Wrapper Fashions on Twitter
1 entry if you share which of YOUR favorite foods you'd turn into a fashion statement
1 entry if you "spread my education" on your blog
1 entry if you blog about this giveaway - please provide a link back to the post in your comment