Ain't No Mom Jeans

What We're Reading This Week: How to Wear Dansko Clogs From The Style Bakery

  Silly me.  I had assumed that only mums would be interested in trying to make Dansko clogs fashionable.  So imagine my surprise when the Style Bakery fielded this question from one of their readers:

I'd like to know how to look fashionable wearing Dansko clogs. They are so comfortable... but I'm transitioning from high heels and want that chic look. Is it possible?

And after our own internal Dansko debate on Ain't No Mom Jeans (found at the bottom of the Cool, Winter Slip-On Shoe post), I was curious to see how another, not-necessarily-mom-focused style site would handle the Danskos.  Would it be bloody?  Snarky? 

Style Bakery's response was actually very diplomatic and graceful.  It should not go unnoticed, however, that their primary recommendation was to invest in a pair of honest-to-goodness clogs, which is (in my opinion) a far cry from the Danskos.  Furthermore, they urge their readers to try wearing their Danskos with the same kinds of outifts one would wear with actual clogs:  skirts, dresses, skinny jeans.

This advice is exactly opposite of our guidance in the Cool, Winter Slip-on Shoe post.  If you recall, we recommended that you hide those Dansko babies under a nice bootcut jean. 

So now I'm re-thinking:  how bad are the Danskos?  Readers -- would any of you ever pair your Danskos with a dress or skinny jeans?  For now, I'm sticking to my bootcut denim recommendation, but am open-minded.  Some styles need time to grow on you. 

You know, like a fungus. 

xo,

S

ps.  The Style Bakery did find a pair of Danskos that resemble real clogs, as well as some fantastic clog options at various price points.  Read their full response here.

Mom Street Style - February 2010 Mom

One of my dear friends was visiting from Minneapolis last week.  She and I grew up together in the beautiful (but oh-so-cold-and-snowy) Marquette, MI.  Despite my background, I spent the entire weekend cursing the weather gods for all of the snow and cold that suddenly blew into Denver.  My friend, on the other hand, wasn't fazed in the least.  She pointed out that Denver was still about 20 degrees warmer than our hometown (or Minneapolis for that matter) and that Denver didn't get "real" snow.  Just something fluffy that more closely resembles the fake snow they use on stage.  Certainly nothing you can make snowballs out of.  And this stuff often melts at the first sign of sun.  A far cry from our hometown, where the last snowbanks sometimes finished melting in June.  So yes - I've gone soft.

One of my favorite things about living in such a climate as Denver is the ability to wear ballet flats.  I've always loved the Audrey Hepburn inspired outfits that involved ballet flats and slim little capri pants...but the reality was that in Michigan, ballet flat season lasted approximately 6 weeks:  From the beginning of September (after the summer thunderstorms and muggy heat stopped) through mid October (before the first snowfall).  Not practical.

All of this, by the way, is my way of apologizing to our Northern readers for our February Mom.  Get ready for severe ballet flat envy.

I love Nicole's outfit, pictured at left.  I love the rolled jeans and ballet flats, I love the sophisticated black and white palette with a pop of color (pink!!), I love that she's carrying a fancy bag full of diapers instead of a diaper bag.  

Nicole is really wearing a glorified (and sophisticated) take on the basic t-shirt & jeans mom uniform, and her outfit is a great example of using a fabulous coat to dress up your t-shirt and jeans.

A note on Nicole's jeans:  Nicole is wearing CJ by Cookie Johnson's Faith jeans, $117 at Nordstrom's.  These jeans have a higher rise, but due to a special waistband, they won't gap at the waist.   Nicole tried to claim these jeans were her version of "mom jeans"...but if all mom jeans were this hot, the name of this blog would be different.  

Lastly, check out little Caroline in her matching black-white-pink outfit and rainboots.  Sigh.  Little boy clothes are getting better....but this is a whole different category of cute.

xo,

S

End of Winter Outfit Inspirations: Nordstroms Part 2, Coffee and Museum

In order to beat the winter blahs, Ain't No Mom Jeans hooked up with Leisa Payton, a Personal Stylist at Nordstroms to glean some ideas of how to mix up our winter clothing with a little dose of Spring.  Also, don't miss Part 1, a perfect little playground or play-date outfit.

For the next bit of winter inspiration (pictured again on Becky at left), Leisa chose a soft range of neutrals, paired with bright pops of colors, and finished off with light-colored leather accessories.  The light gray boots and soft caramel bag are surprisingly versatile, and will only look better with age.  I love this slightly dressed up (but still easy) look for when I'm headed downtown for coffee and a museum.

Becky is wearing a Phillip Lim blazer, Vince straight-leg jeans, Frye boots, gloves and scarf by Nordstrom's own brand and a Marni bag.

Ideas To Takeaway:

• For an infusion of Spring into your style, try a monochromatic pallet of soft neutrals: gray, beige, white.  This works best when you mix contrasting textures.
• Add pops of color with winter accessories (scarf, gloves, hat)
• Turn any scarf into an infinity scarf:  Leisa  tied the ends of the scarf together and wrapped it three times around Becky's neck.  (For a true infinity scarf look, just wrap it twice).
• Try the new short flat boot in a light color.  They look amazing with jeans now, but will look equally amazing in warmer weather with skirts or shorts. 
• Instead of a diaper bag, try a butter-soft leather messenger.  It's just plain cool.

Leisa, thanks again!

To contact Leisa, please visit her at the Cherry Creek Nordstroms in Denver, or email leisa.a.payton@nordstrom.com.

xo,

S

 

End of Winter Outfit Inspirations: Nordstroms Part 1, Playground

Feeling the winter blahs?  Me too.  Despite all of the the NY Fashion Week reports coming out of the blog-o-sphere last week, I still need a bit of cold-weather inspiration to get me through the next month or so.  So we hooked up with Leisa Payton, a Personal Stylist at Nordstroms to glean some ideas of how to mix up our winter clothing with a little dose of Spring.

Leisa's first look (pictured on Becky at left) layers a Spring safari jacket over cozier winter items to create a warm, yet cute look that can easily go to the playground. 

Becky is wearing Hudson Jeggings, Coach snow boots, jacket by Tory Burch, cardigan by Phillip Lim cardigan and t-shirt by Alexander Wang.

Ideas to Takeaway:

• Try layering Spring jackets (safari, army or trench) over cozy cardigan sweaters to make them winter appropriate.
• Look for cardigans with fun detailing like ribbon trim or ruching to dress up an outfit.
• Don't be afraid to continue wearing your cute snowboots with Spring items (or invest in some - most snowboots are now on sale)
• Try jeggings aka jean leggings.  They are thick enough to be warm and flattering, and unlike leggings, cover all cellulite issues.

If you'd like to contact Leisa directly, she can be found at the Cherry Creek Nordstroms in Denver, or by emailing leisa.a.payton@nordstrom.com

Thanks Leisa!

xo,

S

 

Review: Action-Packed Eco-Friendly Sprig Toys

My attempt at green parenting has been a precipitously slippery slope.  I started out with cloth diapers, a natural rubber mattress, all organic clothing, homemade organic baby food and exclusively non-plastic toys.  But what I've ended up with is 7th Generation disposables/part-time (like, when the mood strikes me) cloth diapering, a mix of pricey organic cotton and $2.97 Target specials (made, probably, by kids only slightly older than mine), frozen "all natural" chicken tenders & Whole Market taquitos, and more plastic toys than I can shake a stick at.  So much for my lofty green ideals. 

What happened between then and now?!  Well, lots of things, like gag-inducing encounters with the diaper sprayer, the sheer economics of dressing a rapidly growing kid in $30 shirts, picky eating, and, of course, my kiddo's preferences in toys.

We recently had a green toy coups, however, when I discovered Sprig Toys, a Colorado-based eco-friendly toy line.  For Huck's big 0-2, I purchased the Dolphin Explorer Boat (because anything to do with water is an instant win with the boy wonder) for $29.99, the dump truck and the loader, both $14.99 at Real Baby in Denver.  All three toys are paint-free and made of Sprig's proprietary SprigWood, a delightfully satisfying-to-the-touch bio-composite material made of reclaimed wood and recycled plastic.  If your little one isn't a classic dump truck/loader enthusiast, check out DuneBug's Sand Truck, which includes an adorable DuneBug character and wild flower seeds.  
 

The little man especially adores the Dolphin Explorer set, spending nearly an hour at a go on his step ladder at the sink and in the tub with his boat, captain and dolphins, and we're looking forward to spending warmer spring days at the playground digging and dumping sand.  For my part--and considering kids are spending record-breaking time in passive play with battery operated toys and electronic media--I adore how active he is in his play with these items--Sprig Toys are, as a rule, "kid-[not battery-]powered," which is just what this pseudo-green mama wanted.

Next Sprig Toys acquisition: The Discover Rig.  Lights, motor sounds and songs are powered not by batteries, but by a generator triggered when your kid moves it.  Also of interest, Sprig's Storybuilders: four classic story books with block-and-panel sets that allow kids to build and re-enact classic storylines.  If I had a little gal, I might even do Princess Penny's Story Building Palace.  I wish it weren't so. . . pink. . . but it would be a blast to build a little castle (as long as she can build skyscrapers out of normal blocks, too!) and hey, who doesn't like a pointy princess hat on a cute little faceless figurine?

Going as green as I can,
- M        

 

Best Breastfeeding Tip EVER: Power Pumping

The past week has been rife with life lessons for me.  1.) When you plan a romantic weekend away whilst breastfeeding, make darn sure your pump is working well and that you're working well with your pump.  2.) Having not heeded lesson one, when you get home on the brink of mastitis (romantic, I know) and your milk supply is demolished, power pump.  3.) When your toddler, who has a pernicious stomach virus, mentions poop even in passing right before a bath, save the suds for later.

I think lessons one and three are pretty self-explanatory, but I have to share the best breastfeeding/pumping tip I have ever heard during my 20-month (over two babes) breastfeeding tenure.  Let me repeat: ever. 

Three days after returning from said romantic getaway (during which I lost most of my milk because I just couldn't seem to let down for the pump), I called the lactation consultant at the hospital where both my boys were born to see if there was any hope--my poor little guy was hungry and my milk seemed to be dwindling further!  With precipitously plummeting prolactin levels and on the brink of tears (Rants aside, I'm a breastfeeder.  I don't ween until my kids can talk and walk.  Period.), I nodded through all the advice--pump after every feeding, fenugreek supplements, etc., and then she hit on a tidbit so priceless I can't even believe I'd never heard about it before: power pumping.

It's difficult and super time consuming to essentially double your nursing time by pumping after every feeding, particularly if you have an active or sick toddler on your hands in addition to an infant, so when the lc told me about power pumping, I saw light at the end of tunnel and got straight to work.  She told me to pump for ten minutes, rest for ten minutes, on and off, for a total of one hour (of course I did two), to simulate a growth spurt.  The best part: you can do it whenever you have time, so I was able to rebuild my milk supply after my guys were already in bed for the night. 

I power pumped and took fenugreek three nights in a row and saw a huge increase in my milk that I hadn't seen with the fenugreek + sporadic pumping regimen I'd been futilely practicing for most of the week. For three days,Little Lou had been taking full 8 oz bottles at bedtime after 20 frustrating minutes of succor-less suckling.  After the first power pumping session, he nursed for 20 minutes and took 4 ounces.  The second night, he nursed for 20 minutes again and took a 2 ounce top up.  The third night, he nursed 20 minutes and fell fast asleep, milk drunk.

Power pumping would not only be great for re-gaining a lost milk supply, but would also be a stellar way to stockpile milk if you're going back to a paid job or on a trip away from the kiddos.

Power to the pump, mamas!  Let it set you free. (And thanks much to the fab lc at St. Joes!)

- M

 

Our Sexy Tips on Rookie Moms

Rookie Moms asked us to guest post on easy ways to make moms feel sexy...just in time for Valentine's Day! 

 When the topic of sex (or sexy) comes up, I always find it helpful to chat with my husband.  Not only does he always have an opinion on this topic, but it is usually something very simple and to the point.  When asked what “items” a mom could wear to look sexier, his response (after the eye-roll) can best be summarized by the punch-line of the old joke: “Show up naked.  Bring beer.”

But….the problem, as I see it, is that sexiness is just as much about a feeling as it is about a certain look.  Yes, we can show up naked (with beer), and we love that you guys just look past poochy stomaches and saggy boobs and merely focus on the fun that’s about to start….but for us (or me, at least) it’s not so easy.  I need to feel it.

Click here to read the rest of the article and to see our easy tips on adding a little something-something to your wardrobe. 

Also check out the "sexy police" link at the bottom of the article.  Double bonus points to any of you that can actually rock this look.  LOL

xo,

S

What We’re Reading This Week: What Sisters Do Best/What Brothers Do Best

When my brother and I were growing up together, it was him and me, against the world.  We were a team, and although we invariably drove each other bananas at some point on any given day, we were sister and brother, through thick and thin.  That’s all there was to it.  No discussion.  Together we felt bigger, stronger, more secure, and, best-of-all, we always had a friend through cross-town moves, new schools, every-other-weekend visits with our father and on family vacations.  So. . . as a sister and newly-minted mom-of-two, I’m always looking for ways to reinforce the importance of the sibling relationship because I know what a life line it can be. 

Right now, with two-year-old and 5-month-old boys, that motherly prodding comes in the form of obsessively pointing out and exulting images of happy brothers in magazines, songs, pictures and books.  Me: WOW!  Look at those brothers!  They are having sooo much fun!  He's too little now, but soon you'll be having a blast with your little brother!  Which is why my new favorite sibling book is What Sisters Do Best/What Brothers Do Best, by Laura Numeroff with illustrations by Lynn Munsinger.  This is a flip-over book that has the story of what sisters do best and illustrations of sister/sister and sister/brother pairs on one side and identical text with different illustrations of what brothers do best on the other.  

This isn't a book on par with childrens' classics like Seuss, Goodnight Moon, or even The Going to Bed  Book, but it is a simple, straightforward and illustrative jumping-off point to talk to the apples of your eye about the perks of siblinghood and all the things they can do together one day. I think it helps my big boy, when he's looking with total bewilderment (see right) at this little attention sponge who, though adorable, only rolls over when he's angry, to know that some day they'll be able to do lots of things together, like climb trees, ski and help each other out.  And, should a little chic come along some day, we'll be all set with the flip side about sisters. 

- M

Reader Question: What Types of Footwear Can You Wear with Leggings and Skinny Jeans?

Reader Question:

I have recently fallen in love with skinny jeans and leggings.  Heels really aren't my thing and normally, I would wear UGG boots or ballet flats, but some outfits just don't call for the winter boots but I am too cold to wear ballet flats.  Are there any other comfortable, warm choices you would recommend to go with skinny jeans?  Is it ever ok to wear a street shoe, like my slip-on sketchers with socks, with skinny jeans.

Answer:

I love that you are embracing skinny jeans and leggings!!  But footwear for these styles can be tricky.  Let me first try to address which footwear I think looks best with leggings and skinny jeans, and then take on the more specific part of your question about leggings + sketcher sneaks.

Best (Easiest) Footwear Choices With Skinny Jeans & Leggings

1.  Boots

We're talking any shape of boot, with any heel height: flat boots, high heeled boots, ankle boots, knee-high, or over-the-knee boots.  They all work.  In fact, boots of any shape and style work: winter boots, western boots, motorcycle boots, sleek boots, moccasin booties, rain boots, combat boots, rocker booties with chains, etc.  You get the picture.  Whatever you're boot fetish, I'm willing to bet it will look amazing with skinny jeans or leggings.  Be wary of traditional Uggs (I'll talk more about this below).  For a bit of inspiration, check out our November 2009 Street Style Mom, or the pics below (all from shopbop.com).

Lastly, I'm loving the outfit put together (pic below)  by K_Isa_Bella on Chictopia.com.  The socks and lace-up boots look just so cool.  You could certainly use this idea of layering socks and boots with other boot styles.

Easy, Last Minute "Lingerie" For a Romantic Night In

When I was first married, I made it a rule to always wear sexy little nighties to bed.  After several months of this nonsense (in my defense I was only 23), I crashed into bed after working late wearing an old ratty t-shirt of my husband's.  He immediately rolled over, eyed me up and said, "Oooo...what's this little number?" without a trace of sarcasm.  Or irony.  Needless to say, the sexy little nighties were relegated to the back of the closet.

The morale of this story?  Don't underestimate the power of change. Something different, something novel can be very, very sexy.  Even if it's a ratty old t-shirt.  It's the frequency that matters.

I suspect, however, that most of us spend more time than we'd like to admit in a ratty old t-shirt. So clearly, I'm not going to advise any mom to show up this Valentine's Day by wearing - surprise!!! - the ratty, spit-up stained t-shirt and sweatpants your man has been looking at for months.  Unless you want to whip them off right then and there and do a burning-of-the-sweatpants ritual that involves lots of naked sweaty dancing.  Cause if that's what you had in mind then yeah, go ahead.  He'll love it. 

But for the rest of us, if you want to try and have a special Valentine's Day (it is on a weekend, after all), but don't want to spend the rest of this week dragging a toddler into Victoria's Secret dressing rooms (and you've already missed the online ordering cut-off)....let me offer an easy alternative: 

Items in this set:
Gilligan & O’Malley® Ultimate 1-pc. Cami : Target, $9.08
Women's shoes/bags: Michael Antonio Torrance - Black, $25
The wear-everywhere push-up bra, $32
NEW! Peek-a-boo ribbon cheeky satin panty, $26
Graffiti Rhumba

Consider this set a DIY version of lingerie.  Find some cute, sexy panties (you probably already have some, but if not you can easily find them anywhere from Target to Neimans), pair with a little cami and add your flirtiest pair of high heels.

Saggy chest?  Add a push-up bra.

Poochy stomach?  Use a swing-y tank.

Cellulite on your bum?  Don't look in the mirror.  It's all about attitude anyway. 

You can even use your old nursing cami, if necessary.  Between the sexy panties, the high heels, and the sheer novelty of Holy Crap!  No sweatpants!  you are guaranteeing yourself an, "Oooo...what's this little number?"

xo,

S