Do you think you HAVE to change your style etc when you are a mother?

[PregnantGrrrl]

I asked DH the other day if he thought i was too old to get my nose re-pierced (I'm 25) and then i thought, when did i start caring what other people think?!

I've been pregnant or breastfeeding for the last 2yrs, so i'm looking forward to new clothes, make up, hair etc soon- and to reclaiming 'me' again.

Question is, how much should i be changing what i wear etc? (I have already donated my tarty punky stuff to charity, but that's more to do with body changes and the fact that i'm not 18 anymore!)

Do you think about the fact that you're a mother when picking things to wear etc?

Before children I had a lot of "dry clean only" clothes...now I don't!

God no, you'll turn into those awful mothers up the school who have no pride in their appearance and think half-mast trousers and a cagoul are acceptable fashion items

I think as long as you wear what looks good for you then it doesnt matter what it is. I work with a woman who dresses like her 18yr old because its 'trendy' but it doesnt look good on her.

Just wear what you like and what feels good, if youre confident in what youre wearing then you will carry it off with ease

Completely agree about having to abandon high heels and dry cleanable clothes .

Also had to abandon lots of my underwear - underwired La Perla not compatible with breastfeeding .

i had to change my style due to lumps and bumps in all the wrong places!! Nowadays everything is longer and looser!!

heh well i'm confident and feel good in half mast trousers and a cagoule so nerr although i also have a slightly more together boots and skirts look too.

for me it's a question of age (e.g. length of skirts), pregnancy-related size (having to wear what flatters/disguises rather than having free reign). i've developed a more "grown up" style, which i would have done that anyway over the years, but have been forced into since have to buy new clothes as old favourites don't fit.

i do find i love the freedom of being at home and setting my own rules rather than being constrained by work. i took the chance to have bright pink hair again for example cos there was no-one to raise any eyebrows at it. now i'm starting to dress in a more flattering way rather than trying to look like a cartoon character which i used to still have my nose ring though and i'm the wrong side of 30.

i think part of me is conscious of embarassing the kids when they start school, but another part would like to think that they'll be brought up accepting that some people don't dress like everyone else. Who knows, perhaps they'll be like DH and i?!

I'm still getting my sleeve tattoo finished in time for Xmas. My hair is still red, although it is dark red, not pillar box now.

I DO wonder if me thinking about re-piercing my nose is more about youth than style though Although the scar is still there from it, would be handy to cover it with a stud!

i think it's also a question of who are you dressing for. i've always dressed for me (and to a certain degree my fella) so i don't care what the mums at the gate think of my cagoule and i can go play in the park in the rain while they're stuck inside

oh i don't care about what other mothers think round our town, but i do care about the kids feelings- to a point.

i don't think kids start worrying about that kind of thing until they get a bit older tbh and by that stage the only pleasure you have left is embarrassing them in front of their friends

ha! and perhaps their friends will think i'm cool anyway!

am going to buy myself some new clothes in my pre-baby size today. Thinking nice jeans, new converse and some Joe Browns dresses. Comfy-but-funky i reckons. my days of fitted tshirts leaving an inch or two of belly are over, i know that much!

can hang the new stuff round bedroom to inspire my weight loss then!

No it's an age thing with me, not a mother thing.

I would hate to glance at my reflection in a shop window and think I was trying to dress young for my age ie I've resigned myself to the fact that minis are now out of my wardrobe together with showing spare flesh.

I want to look good for my age (whatever my style may be), not try to look young for my age.

I personally try not to be a walking embarrassment for the kids but that wouldn't be about hair colour or piercings for me, would be more about too tight a top or short skirt.
I think you can "age" without loosing your sense of style and in 15 years time your children will think you are sooooo cool.