Ain't No Mom Jeans

How to Wear Plaid Part 1 - Holiday Style

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.

Reader Question: How To Rock Red Lipstick For the Holidays (or any day)

Reader Question:

Hi ANMJ,
Do I ask a lot of questions? I need a lot of help :)
 
This question is probably geared toward Scotti, since she is the make up guru. I would like to wear red lipstick for Christmas. My guy saw it on an actress in a movie we were watching and said "You would look good in red lipstick" Hint taken! Spice it up already.
 
What colors are best? And I'd like to do nail polish, too? Obviously they can't match, (Can they?!?!?!) but should I go bright red on the nails, too?
 
I'm not going to be spending beau-coup bucks on either item since it will probably get busted out for Christmas and NYE and then pushed to the back of the drawer.
 
Thanks!
Your adoring fan

Reading: Pregnant Chicken Awkward Pregnancy Photos

OMG.  Have you seen this?  I'm sure you have.  I'm always the last to know about FaceBook phenomenon, but Hubs gave me a heads up to this as I sat here tapping away about the fabulous and beautifully illustrated children's book, Augustus and His Smile.  Needless to say, while tender, sweet, and the perfect book to talk to your 3-5 year old about feeling happy, sad and the power of doing and being in the moment, Amy Morrison of Pregnant Chicken's irreverent commentary and expert selection of awkward pregnancy photos sent all thoughts of Augustus running with his tail between his legs tonight.  Enjoy!

- M

Styling An All-Black Outfit (Including the LBD) For Holiday Parties

(wearing: Vince Cashmere Ruffle Tunic, currently on sale at Neiman's Last Call, Joe's Jeans Skinny Cargos in black, Nine West TheLineUp bootie, my mom's prom purse, an old glittery necklace, and Stella & Dot's Glint Flower Earrings.)

I don't know if it's the state of my post-partum pooch, general exhaustion (no amount of makeup can hide my tired eyes in these pics), or a heightened sensitivity due to the crazy, crazy year M has endured...but I'm having a bit of trouble mustering my normal level of enthusiasm for holiday parties.  And while I'm usually drawn to all things sparkly and glam, this year I'm sticking with an old (and fairly unimaginative) standby:  all black.

So how to make the LBD (little black dress) or...even worse, an all black outfit look like something party-worthy, as opposed to a tribute to Johnny Cash?

(I do love Johnny, though.)

A Perfect Post-Partum Outfit: Pooch Hiding, Nursing and Babywearing Friendly

I love this pic.  Despite the fact that Pax was born 3 weeks ago, I hardly look post-partum at all!  Happy day.  Unfortunately, it's only a trick of the eye, due in large part to my husbands mad photography skills, the sweet cape/poncho thing I'm wearing, and the fact that I squeezed into a Belly Bandit (talked about here) per J's instructions:  "put it on so tight you can barely breathe!"

Belly Bandit or no, this will be my default (aka wear everyday) post-partum outfit until I loose the pooch.  Or at least until I lose most of the pooch.  Or summer hits...whichever comes first. 

So here's what's working for me:

Lane's Christmas Wish List

With a four week old baby, life is somewhat of a blur and I have no illusions that I will get much Christmas shopping done this year at all. However, if your wife or partner is a book lover, a bargain hunter, and perhaps a bit of a homebody (sounds so much nicer than shut-in, don't you think), my wish list might help point you in the right direction.

1) Amazon's Kindle for $139. No, I do not want to discuss whether or not electronic readers are going to be the death of paper books. (Maybe when I'm less sleep deprived and more likely to have use of two hands) Yes, I do want to be able to read for pleasure with one hand while breastfeeding and walking circles in my apartment with a baby on my shoulder because it's the only place she seems happy.

 

Gift Guide: Madeleine's Picks

Madeleine Burka Hill is a writer, shoe-lover, and girly-girl raising two boys with her fabulous naval aviator husband. In her spare time, she indulges her online shopping habit and practices yoga. In Dec. 2010, her husband's Navy career will take this self-proclaimed east coast girl and her family to live in central California.

Here are her on-trend, yet mom-friendly gift picks....

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Xmas Gift List by madeleinehill featuring 3/4 sleeve dresses

Black, White and Shades of Gray - M's Christmas Wish List

We all know this: when it rains it pours.  It wouldn't be a cliche if it weren't just so dang true.  Indeed, it has been a bit of a deluge at my house.  So I'm feeling like I just sort of want to keep my head down and sneak out of 2010 and into 2011 nice and slow, without. . . making. . . any. . . waves.  I didn't realize my mood had permeated even my fashion sensibilities until I started clipping my picks for this post and I saw that everything was black, white and gray, hence my Christmas/Holiday 2010 wish list, a collection of drool-worthy if monochromatic gift ideas for mamas.   

Gift Ideas For Men (From a Man's Perspective) Part 2

Readers, this post comes from our contributing author, Big B.  He's has impeccable taste (whether he's talking about the hottest/sexiest boots for women or the most flattering pants for men), strong opinions on all things fashion-related, and he's also a devoted husband (of 10 years!!) and the dad of two adorable kiddos.  If you missed his first Gift Guide for men, check it out here.

Also, a reminder of Big B's tenets of choosing gifts for men: "We are simple creatures, we are not complicated, trying to buy us elaborate or complicated gifts rarely works. Trying to buy us clothing that is out of our personality range rarely works. Most of us enjoy tradition, simplicity, experience, and quality."

And with that...here's Big B...

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If your man happens to like clothing (raises hand), it’s always fun to get some quality pieces:

 

Coats - $150 - $400

For the outdoor worker go with Carhartt, for the dressed up try J. Crew's Peacoat or Scotch and Soda's Duffle Coat.

 

Bonobos Pants - $80 - $200

We could all use some pants that fit right and you will like the way they fit him.  They cost a little more than your average pair of Dockers (and please don’t let him wear Dockers) but they also offer a really cool discount for public service folks, i.e. teachers, police officers, fire fighters, etc. 

 

Gift Ideas For Men (From a Man's Perspective) Part 1

Readers, I'm delighted to introduce our newest contributing author, Big B.  He's has impeccable taste (whether he's talking about the hottest/sexiest boots for women or the most flattering pants for men), strong opinions on all things fashion-related, and he's also a devoted husband (of 10 years!!) and the dad of two adorable kiddos.  

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Let’s begin this year with my number one rule when buying for men. We are simple creatures, we are not complicated, trying to buy us elaborate or complicated gifts rarely works. Trying to buy us clothing that is out of our personality range rarely works. Most of us enjoy tradition, simplicity, experience, and quality. A grandfather or father probably passed those values down to us so it's usually somewhere inside, even if it's buried beneath a love for video games or other materialistic bologna. This list is built around that concept. I didn't include very many electronics or high tech gadgets because those are too easy. Everybody wants an iPad, PS3, LCD TV, GPS, blah, blah, blah. There is nothing wrong with these gifts (I really do want a PS3), but I tried to steer you towards more interesting items that are functional or experienced based and resonate with the four tenets above. Also keep in mind that I tried to keep it short but hopefully if you don’t see something that spurs your interest it will at least get the creative juices flowing. You know your man best so use the list accordingly. With that said...have fun and Happy Holidays!!!!