The Closet Coach

OK fellow working moms, is this you, or is it just me? Do you ever go to pull on an outfit for the weekend and grab the same pair of jeans every time? Do you save your “good denim” for Date Night or meeting up with the girls?

 

I realized that’s what I do, anyway. I may have 10 sweaters, but 7 of them are for work and the other 3 get worn over and over again on the weekends.

I call it the 5 Levels of Working Mom Outfits. The trick is to make each level work for you, so you aren’t just saving your cute and flattering stuff for important meetings or the never-frequent-enough night out with your hubby. Here’s my definition.

The 5 Levels of Working Mom Outfits

 

• Level One: Weekend Casual. You’re going to Home Depot or soccer practice, so you pull on the beat up Gap jeans (not the ones with holes, though; those are for gardening) that you don’t mind getting a little dirty. You round it out with a long-sleeved T and a hoodie. Footwear is a pair of kicks or maybe some Puma flats.
• Level Two: Weekend Chic. Translation: shopping at the swanky mall. Now you’re wearing your premium denim–or your dark wash boot cut jeans, anyway. You’ve traded your hoodie for a cute cardigan, maybe even with a belt on top and a fun necklace. You’re wearing ballet flats or cute sandal (no, not flip flops).
• Level Three: Casual Friday. Or, depending on your office culture, most days at work. You’re alternating your premium denim with a dressy trouser, you’re amping up the accessories–scarves, earrings–and going a little less practical with the shoes.
• Level Four: Client Meeting. Or Job Interview. Or every day at a law firm. Think skirts and blazers, a wrap or shirt-dress, or even an honest-to-goodness suit. Tights and heels. String of pearls. You mean business, lady.
• Level Five: Date Night. Operation Hot Mama. Break out that cocktail dress that’s been hanging in the back of your closet. Strappy heels and a little clutch. Don’t forget the perfume! It doesn’t matter where you’re dining (and unless you’re staging some kind of anti-Date Night protest, it’s not like you’ll be going to Quiznos), you’re gonna work it.

Amirite, ladies?

Like I said, maybe it’s just me. So it’s your turn.

• What do you think of the 5 Levels? Are they accurate? Why or why not?
• What’s in your closet for these outfit levels?
• Would you like more detailed suggestions for each?

Related posts:

1. The Working Woman’s Shoe Survival Guide