Sure, to many of us, plaid smells a lot like teen spirt, but plaid made a strong showing in 2010 and those tenacious tartans are here to stay a bit. How can hip moms play this trend without looking either too young, too old or too ahem. . . rustic? Our four part series on styling plaid for moms will feature plaid pairings from ANMJ contributors, starting with a cheery daytime look I’ve been sporting this holiday season.
I’ll admit it. I’m not above theme dressing. Here I’m going for a young Mrs. Clause feel. How else would she dress in the modern age, what with all those little elves to chase and such a busy schedule? She’d definitely be sporting skinny denim and wedge boots, right?
But plaid doesn't have to be Christmas-ey or Grungey as long as you adhere to a few rules:
1.) Never. Please, please, never just throw on a plaid shirt over a pair of jeans and walk out the door. If that’s all the time you have for dressing, opt for a black turtleneck instead and leave the plaid for another day. When you have the time, take a few critical minutes to play with your clothes and accessories and think it through. Looking neither too young, too old, nor too frumpy in plaid crucially depends on styling.
2.) Choose your plaid well. If you like a brighter color, choose a smaller or simpler plaid print. If you prefer a larger print, go with something like a buffalo plaid (I prefer black/white/gray).
3.) Keep accessories and other articles of clothing to simple, solid basics.
Here I’m wearing a boy’s red plaid shirt (collar partially flipped) from my grandmother’s closet, a shrunken wool cardi topped with a wide belt, Gap legging jeans and my fav Biviel wedge boots from last year’s Sturdy But Cute Winter Wedges for Moms. Voila. I'm going to keep channeling Mrs. Clause right on into the New Year!
Mamas. 2010 has been a do-sey here at Ain’t No Mom Jeans, from the utterly consuming fabulousness of new babes and sibling shenanigans to the really pretty terrible loss of loved ones and hemorrhaging of cash on snowballing house emergencies. But your faithful readership and participation in this blog have fueled us up for another amazing year. Thank you. May this holiday season see all of you and yours happy and well. We’ll write you in the New Year!
- M
