Every time I have a meeting with a client and we discuss about her style and what she wants her clothes to make her feel, the first they say to me is: 'I don't want mumsy clothes’.
The first time I’ve ever heard the word I didn't quite understood what they're talking about.
Here's the explanation from Oxford's dictionary:
Mumsy: giving an impression of dull domesticity; dowdy or unfashionable.
That made me wonder: Are mums dressed in a way that is not acceptable? Do we ‘spit on fashion’ the minute we step out the maternity ward?
So I've tried to think about my mum’s style. She worked in a bank while I was growing up therefore she always dressed up really smart and even though her style didn't match mine, I never thought of her clothes as dull, dowdy or unfashionable. Even when I was a rebellious teenager!
In an era when political correctness has become so important in order to change our mindsets and empower women no matter their size or age, why being a mother is still linked with poor choices of clothes? Why is it ok to call any type of clothing as mumsy?
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| Here I am, in my mom jeans |
Just to be clear:
- Yes, once I've become a mum my personal style changed as my body shape has changed and my fashion taste has evolved.
- Yes, once I've become a mum being comfortable in what I'm wearing has been my first priority.
- Yes. once I've become a mum I wear trainers way more often than heels since my lifestyle changed.
Yes, not all mums look like they came out of a fashion magazine (and that's ok!)
But:
It doesn't mean that my fashion sense is out of date.
It doesn't mean that my personal style is dull, it's just different.
- It doesn't mean that trainers are not as cool as 10'' heels. Actually I think they’re cooler!
It doesn't mean that every mum's style is outdated and all the non mums are cool and fashionable. It all about the individual not their parental status!
So why we keep naming clothes as mumsy? Why we still have this image in our heads that mums are not allowed into this trendy fashion world and they're doomed into wearing clothes from another era?
We've allowed society for so long to label mums as these invisible, unattractive individuals that we haven't been able to get this out of our heads.
And the worst part? Are us women that we're still label clothes as mumsy. (Don't even get me started about 'dad clothes' !)
Now is the time to change. Just as we speak out about pay gap, violence against women and body shaming it's time to take the 'mumsy' out of our vocabulary and finally get into our heads that being a mum doesn't mean that you need to look like Victoria Beckham to feel stylish. You can still feel amazing in what you're wearing and you can still be fashionable and trendy.
Are you ready to stop labelling clothes as mumsy? Let’s do this!
Some final thoughts:
*Do you remember how we were mocking the mom jeans in the 80's and how now are considered cool and modern? That's fashion for you. Keeps doing circles.
*The good news? My auto-corrector doesn’t recognize the word ‘mumsy! Hopefully in a few years the word will be a long bad memory.
