Guest Post. Style - The Mum years

This weeks guest post is by Judy Humphris. In today's post Judy talks about how her fashion and styling have changed since she has become a mum and how she is rediscovering it again.

Style - The Mum years

I need to start at the beginning, with The Bootleg Jean Situation.  I read Sam’s September article on wardrobe essentials and was happily in agreement with everything she wrote until I read: “... boot leg jeans are for women in their 50's, we're not in the 90's anymore”.  I did a quick audit and found crumpled up in my drawers:

• Two pairs of boot leg jeans - one in a size too big, and one with a lovely high waist
• One pair of ¾ length sad old black TopShop jeans – slim fitting but gone baggy
• One pair of faded wide-leg jeans, again a size too big
• One pair of skinny jeans (woo hoo) – but they were a post-pregnancy purchase so last fitted me 12kgs ago

 

So I sent Sam a text: “I’m selling my boot legs, you’ve shamed me into it”, and got rid of the lot for $75 on Trademe (eBay for Kiwis).  With this I bought two pairs of lovely skinny long leg jeans from Jeanswest for $109:

I should probably tell you a bit more about me really, and how someone who wears boot leg jeans from 2003 came to be writing a guest blog on a fashion website.

I worked with Sam about ten years ago in London, and back then I had a disposable income that nowadays seems spectacular (i.e. before mortgage and kids).  I’d buy several complete new outfits each season, and could afford mistakes (clothes would often end up in the bin a year or so down the line).  Most of my clothes came from Whistles, Reiss (Of Kate Middleton fame), Ted Baker, TopShop and French Connection – and I’d buy things quickly and without thinking about how/why/when I’d wear them, then most would be forgotten.  My style was quite ‘safe’, and I wore a lot of plain neutral colours - I remember seeing other women wearing little strappy flimsy bias-cut dresses and feeling like a huge horse.  I’m 6ft tall, lean and athletic build with broad shoulders, so anything girly tends to make me feel like a man dressed up in drag. 

I then got married, had a baby, then another, emigrated to New Zealand, and had another baby – so three babies between 2005 and 2009.  During that time I lived in black jersey maternity clothes, yoga pants and large jumpers - anything stretchy, machine-washable and non-iron really.  I gained and lost 22kgs with each pregnancy – 66kgs in four years!!!  By the time we had all three children sleeping through the night and I had the energy to shop for clothes again, I was five years older, a housewife, living in a new country with a hugely different climate to the UK, and with a tiny clothing budget!  I came here with a wardrobe full of ‘work’ clothes that I thought I might wear again ‘one day’ – they were all dry-clean only outfits that look ridiculous in the mild NZ climate, where even in winter you find yourself in shirt sleeves by midday.  No wonder I didn’t have a clue what to wear!

Nowadays I can go for months without buying clothes and my shoe and coat collection is looking a bit sad.  I’m planning on heading back to work soon so that will be addressed in time, but currently I’m working with a very restricted budget.  In fact I might re-name this article “Clothes Shopping on the Smell of an Oily Rag”.

This summer in particular, I really wanted to get some new clothes that were stylish, wearable and suitable to the climate here.  After the success of selling my sad old jeans collection on Trade Me, I decided to get rid of some more of my older shoes and so far I’ve made $40 and spent $35 of this on two cheap tops from Cotton On.  Old habits made me initially try on a boring blue and black striped top, and a charcoal grey one, so I swapped them at the checkout for girly floral ones (see below, worn with aforementioned black skinny jeans): 

All the females in our house wear skinny jeans- and Eva loves the chance to pose

I also had a $50 loyalty voucher for my favourite bedding shop Wallace Cotton (when you’re big and pregnant you buy bedding and towels). I spent this in their sale to buy a white cotton skirt ($40) that will go with everything in my wardrobe this summer:

    

Just checking that this skirt passes the activity test (above) - caution mild nudity in the background!!

I also picked up two very plain white cotton shift dresses (bargain rack, $15 each) that look like they might dye well.  I’ve coloured one of the dresses a cobalt blue (below), mainly because this skirt from country road is on my Christmas list:

How beautiful is this skirt from Country Road.

Me in my blue dress, not bad for $15!!

The other dress will be bright emerald green.  Oh and I also bought a floppy sunhat, which I’m still not sure about, but I was riding the floral wave of girlyness.  So far I’ve spent under $80 out of my own pocket, and it might just see me through until that first pay packet. 

Judy lives in Auckland with her husband Carlos and her three children.


I'd just like to add that its great to see Judy playing with this seasons bright colours and doing it on a budget. Plus I am loving the skinny jeans. I'm just going to call you Elle from now on. I wish I looked that good in skinny jeans! -  Sam