You Know The Other Parents Are Judging You By Your Outfit, Right?
My daughter is attending a new school this year – one that surprisingly has a busy calendar of activities for the parents to note, memorize and attend. The kids are only 2 mind you but there is a teacher visit at your home, several parent mixers, seminars, a curriculum lowdown night, picture day, parent teacher conferences, holiday events and more to log into my expanding calendar. Mind you, I LOVE the idea of community involvement and appreciate such planning on behalf of this very organized school and parent’s group. Yet somehow I found it a bit dizzying and wondered to myself how parents of multiple children deal with it all. (Please explain if you happen to be one!)
I just attended my first parent mixer. And I felt oddly anxious about it like it was MY first day at school. Remember the butterflies you got at the prospect of entering a new classroom with no known friends, wondering who would sit next to you at lunch? That was me as I prepared to put my best foot forward and couldn’t for the life of me decide what to WEAR! I’m a fashion blogger that has styled hundreds of models in my lifetime yet I had to change my outfit 3 times to finally feel confident walking out the door!
Image from white coffee magazine
Outfit 1 was too flashy. While the outfit might have screamed Stella, and announced fashionista (which I’m perfectly comfortable with), it felt too over-the-top for a parental meetup. And first impressions are everything.
So I put away the bling and created a preppy, understated outfit. And soon enough I was starting to feel like Goldilocks. The first bed was too big. The next was too small. Well this outfit was too boring. Not me. Undress!
Outfit 3 if I had to title it would be called, “conservative chic.” I dusted off a Shoshanna work dress from my past life which was colored a neutral (i.e. relatable) camel and sported a fit and flare style. I accessorized with sensible stacked heels and a smart Prada purse along with simple, modern jewelry. Finally! I figured I could pass as a working mother coming straight to the meetup, without scaring anyone off with a suit.
Shoshanna dress, Prada purse, Zara heels, Sisley necklace
Phew, that took a lot of over-thinking. Who knew parent – school meetings could be so stressful? And the school year hasn’t even started. Ha!
