You dress like a mum

[Foreverandforeverandever]

Would you find this offensive?

If I was a child, then yes
If I was a childless twenty something, then yes
If I was a mum, no

Yes, becaue it suggests that all mother have some sort of stereotypical way of dressing.

Why is dressing like a mum an insult?

No. But I imagine it was intended to be.

What does a mum dress like?

Depends, DH said it to me once as a compliment. We'd just taken baby DS to his first swimming lesson then out for breakfast and we felt like proper grown-ups. I was wearing a very 'mum appropriate' cosy jumper and leggings I think.

Intent is 9/10 of the law! If they mean it as an insult, yes I'd be pissed off.

Yes it's offensive. The phrase dress like a mum suggests old/frumpy.

While I am a mum and generally am dressed for comfort/practicalities I can't think of any context where the person saying it wasn't having a dig.

Weirdly wouldn't care if people think it as technically true but would consider it rude to say it to me.

I laughed when I used to go to baby classes and everyone was wearing button down, checked shirts or baggy jumpers, leggings, knee high, flag, brown boots. Hair tied up in a messy bun. Very mum chiq

It can only be said in an unkind or derogatory way. There's not a way it could be taken as anything other than rude.

All the mums I know (me included) dress differently from each other.

There a "hurrah for gin" post about this.

That "dressing like a mum" is just wearing ordinary clothes! And that her kids are in fact dressing like Mums, I.e. jeans t shirt and converse.

Round my way the mum uniform is either:

1. Active wear
2. Just below the knee boots, tights/leggings, short dress/long shirt

Nothing particularly offensive

Yes it's quite insulting because it generally means you're wearing baggy/ill fitting boring clothes and don't look particularly nice.

I don't want to ever look like a mum

I still wear the same clothes I did before I was a mum... my taste didnt change because I pushed a human out

I don't get why it's an insult. Would an accountant being told they dress like an account be insulting? Would telling a fashion magazine editor that they dress like a fashion magazine editor an insult? I'm a mum, I dress in practical clothes. I wear flat shoes (even if they are irregular choice ones), I wear trousers because it's easier bending over all the time then worrying about a skirt, and yeah my hair is always a messy up do because I like it that way. I don't take it as an insult. Just an observation

I wouldn’t find it offensive (in the way that I would if, say, someone said “you dress like a prostitute”), but I wouldn’t be pleased and would consider it a (mild) insult. I would infer that they meant I looked like I hadn’t made an effort with my clothes and that I looked a bit of a mess.....although I don’t know why I’d infer that if I think about it!

I had my hair cut and a friend was commenting on it and said, "I just can't do mumsy." She's fairly open about the fact she regularly puts her foot in her mouth but I let it grow after that and have a different style now. I am a mum. I don't need to deny that but I also don't think it's polite to say that to someone.

Wasnt this a Boden campaign tag line recently?

I think I'm in my Mum uniform if I wear a stripey top. But I can't help myself as I like them!

Depends who said it. Anyone other than my daughter and I'd be annoyed. If my daughter said it, I'd probably find it amusing and believe her.

I can't say I'd dwell on it though. Much worse insults put there for how a woman dresses.

You dress like a homeless person.
You dress like a prostitute
You dress like an old bloke
You dress like a little girl
You dress like my dad
You dress like it's still the eighties
You dress like Margaret thatcher did
You dress like you've just done a days manual labour down the pits.
You dress like you haven't bought new clothes since you were 14

Meh, you dress like a mum is fairly innocuous in comparison.

I would find it offensive. To me it suggests dressing in a boring way without being even a hint stylish.

Vaguely insulting. Not enough to get upset over and certainly not a problem if you're happy with how you dress.

I dressed differently when I became a mum. For a start I needed more comfortable clothes as you can be sitting in awkward positions all day with a baby. My previous ideas of leisure wear just didn't work - e.g. my fave jeans had extra zippy bits on the sides that looked cool but served no purpose other than, as I now realise, to lacerate newborns.
I needs stretchy clothes I could get on the floor in for at least the first 3 years. I didn't wear heels, as I was walking a lot more, and basically could make very little accommodation for my own comfort.

What I realised was, dressing like a mum meant dressing comfortably and practically for a life spent physically active and engaged with my own body. In a way, dressing like a mum could be something we reclaim as a feminist statement. It's kind of given me a new perspective on the trendier, high maintenance clothes I was wearing before. I don't think I'm able to go back, now.