I woke up feeling frumptastic this morning. Maybe 3 nights without sleep and a toddler with a potential ear infection is the problem. I doubt it. The frumptastic attitude has been brewing for about a week, kind of like a nasty little mold you find on your favorite sweater after a it spends a long Rio de Janeiro summer tucked away.
Frumptastic. What is that? That is how this Momma feels busting out her old tanks and short or jeans in route to the playground or supermarket.
I'm a Mom of two. It should be ok that I'm not in style all the time. Ok, the majority of the time. The issue is that I live in Rio de Janeiro and being a Mom is no excuse for letting yourself slack in the self care department. Hell, my maid has a nail lady that comes to her house. She would be appalled if I let her get a close look at my toes. Oh the humanity.
But excuse me, I have yet to see Dolce & Gabbana pull out a ready to wear line for Moms heading to the park. It's not an excuse but I'm not going to wear $R250 shorts to go sit in the sand. Well, not until I've at least worn them out 5 other times.
Is it so much to ask for fashion made for Moms? Fashion that does not come in the form of mother/toddler matching outfits or moo moos (spelling is correct in my book). Not that I know fashion. It could come up, bitch slap me, and then give me a golden shower and I'd just ask, who the hell was that?!
I'm looking for Carioca friendly Mom clothing that can last 4 years of trends and be machine washable. Is that too much? I need to look cool without looking like I'm the baby momma of a cheap sugar daddy. Not to mention, I have to be able to bend over without giving away the farm but I don't want the pants going up to my girls.
Could we just put a call out to all Carioca Mothers. For the next week, I need you to leave the house in jammies. Yes, jammies. I know, sacrilegious, but do it for another Mother's sanity!
Have we not realized that this is an untapped market?! Who is going to design for the young mother, who still goes out, and likes to look decent while pushing her economical yet chic stoller?
It's starting to kill my husband. If he hears I feel fat or I have nothing to wear again, he's going to leave me. He loves that I'm the Mom who doesn't want the full time nanny and full time maid. Not to forget driver, credit card, his soul, and his mistress' soul. Just call me a simple woman.
On a serious note, I am young and I hate to feel frumpy. I hate to feel that I look the part of a tired mother of two. I'm far too young for that. Everyone is far too young for that.
Ditto on all counts!! My hubby tells me the same thing..."take better care of yourself, don't neglect yourself, go shopping, p-l-e-a-s-e!!" He actually encourages me to go shopping, get a massage, get my hair done at a chic salon, join the gym, etc. etc. He gives me carte blanche to do whatever I want/need to feel/look good, but I still manage to sport the same ol' same ol' all the time. It's like I don't give myself permission...that whole mommy-guilt complex thing. And when I do give or do something for myself (as rare as this may be!) I feel selfish. It's almost as if having a baby suddently made "normal" activities feel like selfish indulgences. What's up with that??
ReplyDeleteThe three main things working against us are lack of time, energy and money. There are a lot of beautiful clothes here but they cost a fortune, seriously. And if you buy anything that's relatively inexpensive (by Rio standards), it lasts for about two washes/ironings before it looks old and frumpy. The amount of time and energy you have to put in to look great all of the time isn't doable all of the time when you have kids and do a lot of the house and child work by yourself. It's a lot of work! A trick I use when I am feeling lazy and too tired to search the dismal abyss that is my closet, is to wear gym attire when I go out and about, it's acceptable even if I don't hit the gym. And easy and comfy. There are loads of cariocas on the streets wearing this garb, nothing to feel frumpy about!
ReplyDeleteI've started doing the same thing Stephanie! At least my ass looks good in those pants/long shorts. Everyone's ass looks good in them! The one thing Brazilians def know how to make!
ReplyDeleteBrazilian brands? Which ones please do tell. Because I'm always about comfort and if they're form-fitting, too, that works for me!
ReplyDeleteBtw, I wasn't able to tell exactly from what I read above...for a woman/mom is it ok to wear kinda loose clothes in Rio or more tight clothes?
You can wear loose clothes too. Everyone has their own style. There's a large amount of hippie chic roaming Rio. They can pull of baggie and roomy clothes with style!
ReplyDeleteBrazilian Brands I like are, Forum, Xcite, Bum Bum (bikinis)... I can't remember the rest. I'll have to wait until my husband wakes up and go check the closet