Dressing for the Attitude You Want (Not the Attitude You Have)

I've reading some good posts lately about how Stay at Home Moms can and should, if they like, look good too.  I've decided to do a little something with my wardrobe called "Trying Harder." No, not spending a ton of money on expensive new clothes that will just get covered in yogurt.  I don't plan on keeping on top of trends. Ain't no mama got time for that...  I just want to shop smarter when I do shop (hooray for Christmas gift cards!). And then, when I buy functional peices that I like and are my style, I want to actually wear them. Go figure. 
Here's why I think it's important to look nice even if your key demographic audience can't pronounce fashionista:

1)My job as a mom is important enough to "dress up" for. I care about what I do, so I might as well look like it.  I want to show my husband and kids they are worth looking nice for, because they are the ones who love me enough not to care what I look like.  (See this great post I read 100 years ago by Dwija at House Unseen.)

2) I feel like I've accomplished something when I am wearing an outfit, not just something so I'm not naked.  I have to get dressed anyway, so I might as well feel good about it. It's an easy way to make a unproductive day feel better.

Which brings me to the titular reason,
3) Dressing the way you wish you felt can sometimes help you get there.  If I want to be a put together, confident mom, I should maybe try dressing like one. If I don't want to lose my personality, then I can let it show by embracing my own style.  If I want to be brave enough to leave the house, I should probably dress as if someone might see me.
If I wear my sweatpants all day, I feel lazy even though I did a lot.  If I allow myself to keep wearing something that makes me look frumpy, just because it's in my closet, I start feeling like a pitiable frumpy person. If I dress like a frazzled, haggard excuse for a human being, it gets harder to convince myself I'm not one.

If I want to be the kind of mom who cares about herself, who feels beautiful despite the stretch marks and occasional bloodshot eyes, then I can take a few minutes to look like it.  The example I want to set for my children is that how we present ourselves matters.  Not that it matters the most, by any means, but it still tells people what we think of ourselves.
  I want to feel pretty, worthwhile, secure, and ready to take on the world. Fashion is not a magical. It cannot give me these things.  But when I take the time to act like someone who is all of these things, it can remind me what I really believe about myself.  It's not about lying to others or myself about how I feel.  It's about how I treat my exterior can remind me of how I should value the exterior.  I might feel like a frumpy, grungy, stay at home mom covered in yogurt, but taking care of myself can help me see the confident, feminine, beautiful woman God made me to be, even if she is covered with yogurt.

P.s. This is just how I feel, right now where I am in my life. Disregard this post if you have a new baby or you or your babies are sick. Also, if yoga pants get you through the day, more power to you, mama.

Today is: the Feast of St. Paul Miki and Companions
Finn is: Fireman Finn
Gigi is: really cute when she makes firetruck sounds.
Mama just finished reading: a slew of books, all good
Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan
My Sisters, the Saints by Colleen Carroll Campbell
A Guide for the Perplexed By Dara Horn