There may have been days when my children were not driving, when I may have slept in one of my son’s huge track t-shirts he didn’t wear, when I may have rolled out of bed, pulled on shorts/sweats, flipflops or uggs as the case may be, made breakfasts/lunches, coaxed everyone out the door, and then PRAYED I didn’t have a wreck or for some unknown reason, have to go into the school building. That may or may not have happened tons of mornings. Sound familiar? (gosh I hope so!)?
I know what school mornings are like, public, private, and even home school mornings. Working and non-working. So don’t worry, this is not going to be a plea to “dress” for your morning drive to school. What I will say is that, unless you work outside the home and are already presentable, you need a go to, quick and easy outfit for that occasional morning when for instance, you just got home and in the middle of cleaning the kitchen, a call comes to bring the Algebra homework he forgot….now please. Or, while reading the paper still in your pajama shorts and cami, the clinic calls and she’s thrown up and needs to come home (she told you she didn’t feel good!). Again, while what you wear on an errand like this or to the post office or where ever, is not as important as our foreign policy in Afghanistan, I just encourage you to remember you may end up having an impromptu conversation with a school secretary, a teacher, or that mom in J brand jeans, a cashmere sweater, carrying a Marc Jacobs bag.
So, in an effort to present yourself as pulled together as possible, know what your go to outfit is for these moments. While it’s still warm, I’d have a casual but flattering pair of shorts (not too short) or maybe a knit skirt, cute tee or top, and an easy pair of slip on sandals or flats. I think my favorite choice for now and going into fall is a cute pair of cargo pants you can roll up while it’s warm and wear down later. A great option for a shoe, because sometimes a closed-toe flat may almost seem too dressed, is a slip on Ked or a pair of colorful Chuck Taylor sneakers. Such a cute option and so fun. Wear them with shorts, pants, jeans, even skirts.
Below is a great top in a great color. Pair it with shorts or your favorite jeans and you are school mom ready. Skip the knit shorts for school!
roll sleeve top/Loft/ $34.50
This skirt will also work in a pinch, slip on and go. Cheap, goes with tons and comes in several colors. Wear it with tall boots as it cools off.
roll over knit skirt/ Old Navy/ $15.00
Simple, small detail, non-clinging white tee. Can’t beat it.
cascading ruffle tee/ Gap/ $29.50
And one of my faves. These are from the J Crew spring collection. While they are probably not still available, I used them to show how fabulous the sneaker will work with cargo style pants. Can definitely do for the fall, change the shoe color if you want. Cute tie on the waist with this particular pair. Love.
ripstop cargo pant/ J Crew
As the nip in the mornings begin, you’ll want a lightweight jacket or sweater. Zip-up hoodies will certainly get the job done, but again, you never know where these errands may take you. You’ll feel best and be prepared to interact with whoever you run into, if you like what you are wearing. If work-out gear is your first choice most mornings, please make sure it is in good shape, as coordinated as possible and fits well. Actually going to work out is always a good choice as well, I’m just sayin’….
Example…..I went to the ER one very early, snowy morning with a young stranger that wrecked in my yard, stayed a few hours and spoke with doctors til her family arrived. Totally unexpected (I guess most ER visits are!) but I was able to grab an acceptable, weather appropriate outfit and didn’t look like a frozen rat while talking with doctors and nurses. What I was wearing was certainly NOT the important issue that morning but I felt more capable in my position as her helper. She’s fine now and a precious friend btw.
Bottom line is this, what you are wearing is almost always others’ first impression of you. A subconscious and sometimes conscious immediate conclusion is made. Make it a good one.
Thanks for reading (please forgive my butchering of the English language this post)…..all things fall coming up soon! This heat wave has gotta break sometime!
