What do stylish people wear on the school run?

[highlighteryellow]

I've got a new job and can now do school drop offs and pick ups

After years of pregnancy/toddlers/wearing uniform to work I'm feeling hopelessly out of fashion.

I've definitely missed the veja trainers and wide legged dungarees memo that the other school run mums seem to have received.

Obviously it doesn't really matter but...I would like to fit in more! So, how do stylish people dress on the school run where you are?

[UnreasonablyPissedOff]

@SpinbikeNotebook i totally agree with you. Although my school run days are behind me now with teen dc, I was a SAHM for 6 years & then worked part-time for 6 years which meant I did a lot of school runs
In the early stages of being a SAHM I totally lost myself style wise.

I'd had a v busy job in a creative industry prior to dc & was used to dressing in a way that was suitable for my role but not really child friendly etc

I spent a LONG time in pjs/ jogging pants / leggings & dh's t-shirts & hoodys but it started make me feel crap about myself. I barely recognised myself in the mirror..
So I invested time & money building up a wardrobe of casual clothes that still made me feel like 'me'
I bought from shops I would have bought work clothes from but sought out the more casual things. So I had jumpers/ sweatshirts / shirts from jigsaw, whistles & invested in cords & velvet jeans from jigsaw
I really favoured noa noa in those years as they had gorgeous tops & tunics & knitwear
Having decent things to wear everyday helped me so much to adapt to this new lifestyle
So much so it took me a while to readjust to office wear when I did go back
Now I work full time still in a creative field & though there could easily be total cross over between home & work clothes I try hard to keep a separation
I have to work harder at the casual as I tend to veer towards more tailored

[ballroompink]

People at our school gate definitely seem to favour the practical (activewear or jeans/shorts and t shirt/Breton) over being 'on trend' but that might be due to where we live (small rural city with crap shops). I definitely never see anyone wearing anything stand-out - not saying that in a mean way at all, it's just how people are. I am the same - if I'm going for a run afterwards it's activewear, last week when it was hot I was in Boden shorts and various t shirts, however if I'm in smart casual clothes for work it might be Toast, Sezane, Boden (not prints), vintage Laura Ashley...I like dresses with boots in the winter and tend to wear more trousers in spring/autumn.

[Mumski45]

Just wear what is right for you for the rest of your day. I don't understand the need to 'dress for the school run'. If you are going to work then whatever is appropriate for that suit or uniform. If going to gym or to exercise then leggings and sports too. Otherwise your normal everyday wear.

[Idonotwantitthanks]

@Mumski45

Just wear what is right for you for the rest of your day. I don't understand the need to 'dress for the school run'. If you are going to work then whatever is appropriate for that suit or uniform. If going to gym or to exercise then leggings and sports too. Otherwise your normal everyday wear.

Op isn’t asking what to change into to drop the kids at school. She’s asking for ideas for everyday casual wear for her new routine which involves the school run etc.

[Divebar2021]

If this was “ help me find a dress for a wedding” it would be full of helpful suggestions. 🙄

[UnreasonablyPissedOff]

I forgot to say that I bought very selectively & in sales etc & made sure that anything I bought would go with with what I already had..and I minded what I had very well too

@Mumski45 I interpret the question as what sort of every day casual stuff so people who put thought into their outfits wear? As opposed to having an outfit just for the school run & changing afterwards ?

[Susannahmoody]

I'm stylish and on the school run I wear:

Belted dresses with flats.

Jeans, shirts half tucked, boots.

Winter is difficult because we live abroad and its minus 20 so just my North face parka really

[UnreasonablyPissedOff]

I agree at @Divebar2021 I don't really like this development in S&B which was ways such a haven of lovely chats about clothes & fashion.
I just cannot understand anyone who seeks out a post on S&B & makes comments aimed at making the OP feel bad / stupid

I agree about too - we're overrun with wedding outfit / summer dress / what jeans to wear threads...and I don't see too many just wear what you'd usually wear answers....

[persnickle]

Because people get told off on here nowadays for liking fashion, wanting to fit in, caring what they look like or daring to care what others might think

I think it's a little complicated as OP mentioned school run. She wants some nice casual looks. Clothes are very important to me but I genuinely don't care re school run & don't particularly look at others clothes. I'm too busy trying to get the dc in, check emails etc.

Also style means different things to different people. For me it means not particularly fitting in & I don't particularly care what some people think. Some people will think my sandals are far too chunky & "ugly" others will appreciate them.

[persnickle]

I heard a good tip which was to invest more (money and thought) on day to day wear, as it's what we wear the most. It's really common to do the opposite and invest more in pieces for big events or nights out, but then they just linger in the wardrobe till the next event, or they fall totally out of favour. So it's more economical to spend more time, money and effort on the casual stuff (assuming that's what you wear most).

Yes I spend on jeans, sandals (I love Marni), knitwear & sweats (Isabel Marant) & summer dresses because that's what I love in.

[tinseloatcake]

I've just bought some wide leg trousers which I am planning to wear with a t shirt and trousers. Possibly to school.

In reality I tend to wear shorts on the odd occasion I'm wfh.

For the poster upthread who said you don't see much corporate wear I suspect that is because of the times of schools. I wear corporate wear but I am in charge, so I don't hard a set start time. I do drop off, mostly because I want to,but i pretend it is to set the tone on work life balance.

[tinseloatcake]

Ps congrats on your new job.

[Divebar2021]

I’m definitely the person who spends too much on “going out” dresses, which languish in the wardrobe most of the time. I definitely intend to rethink that. ( I’m resisting the urge to buy a dress for Ronnie Scott’s next week)

[museumum]

@Ilovemaisie

If this was a 4 year old in Reception class saying "Sally won't be my friend because she says I have the wrong style of socks on" then the parents would soon be complaining.
Maybe I am completely wrong. I have zero interest in fashion - I dress for comfort and what I can afford. In the 8 years of being a school run mum I really didn't take much notice of what the several 200+ other parents were wearing. Of course they would be times I might think "that's a pretty top" but that was about it.
If someone can only 'fit in' by what they are wearing than I personally think that is very wrong.
My opinion and I am sticking to it.

If the 4yr old said lots of the other girls have pretty dresses I’d really like one too would you say “don’t be daft nobody cares what you wear, get these joggers and hoody on”?

Because I’d suggest that response is as unkind as many people on here have been to the OP.

I wfh and don’t buy magazines, bbc breakfast and the school run are about the only time I see what women my age are wearing…. until the rare occasions I go out with friends (I do most of my socialising during sport).

[justanotherneighinparadise]

Breton top - stripes.

[PegasusReturns]

For the poster upthread who said you don't see much corporate wear I suspect that is because of the times of schools. I wear corporate wear

I think it’s more because corporate work has all but ceased to be a thing since Covid. Certainly pre covid there would have been plenty of mums (me included) in your position managing to do at least one drop off or pick up per day.

I haven’t been in an office since March 2019. Even if I’m presenting to the board half the time I just stick a blouse on with my jeans/yoga pants/shorts. No tailored dresses and blazers. No heels. Post covid is a different world.

[MindBodyChocolate]

@highlighteryellow thanks for this thread. I get why you’re asking. I like to see what other women who are roughly my age are wearing as I work in a reasonably corporate environment and like to get ideas for more casual/cool looks.

At our school there’s a definite Hush vibe. Plus the usual Sweaty Betty gym wear. I actually quite like the school run for people spotting and there’s nothing wrong with thinking about what to wear for it. Just like there’s nothing wrong with turning up in your gardening outfit.

[persnickle]

@Divebar2021 you could rent one or I sell tend to sell mine after I've worn once or twice.

[Floisme]

I wfh and don’t buy magazines, bbc breakfast and the school run are about the only time I see what women my age are wearing….
Exactly. If you wanted some ideas and some tips why wouldn't you start with a group of women with lives much like yours, bodies like yours, as busy and as dog tired as you are? It's not my world any more but hell I can still remember. It's the perfect place to start getting your shit back together.

[tinseloatcake]

@PegasusReturns not for the sector I am in. We are still here. Post covid is a place other people are in perhaps.

[PegasusReturns]

@tinseloatcake but I assume you must recognise that covid has meant many professional women are working from home (even if you’re not) and therefore corporate wear is less common

[tinseloatcake]

For sure. I thought yours read as very absolutist tbh.

[PegasusReturns]

@tinsel and I thought your suggestion that corporate wear doesn’t feature on school runs because of “times of schools” but that you wore corporate wear because “I am in charge” was simultaneously patronising and arrogant 🤷‍♀️

[ZenNudist]

It's a bizarre question because its so pointless. If you want to look stylish you do all day long, not just at school. It's like saying what do stylish people wear to the petrol station, the supermarket, costa etc?

[ZenNudist]

No one at my school cares. It's a real mish mash of casual clothes. Some dress nicely, some scruffy, but everyone I guess is dressed for their day, not the school run.