Sporty Chic – Day 30
Today is the last day of June, which means I must say farewell to my Sporty Chic wardrobe. Good-bye to all my racer back tanks, my dresses that I can wear out to lunch and then go snorkeling in and my cute, insanely durable sandals that will stay attached to my feet under almost any circumstances — whether I get swept up in a tornado or I’m just running wildly through Whole Foods trying to catch a loose three year old — these sandals have my back (or my feet, actually).
Sporty chic style would totally reign supreme in the mom fashion world except for one, somewhat insurmountable and often times saggy problem –
The mom body.
We’re talking about some small clothes here, people. We’re talking about a form fitting style whether your form is ready to be fitted or not. This style is made for those mythical super exercise women. And I’m not talking about “I walk with my latte two miles a day” exercise women. I’m talking about “I pull tractors with my teeth” exercise women. Six pack abs, cellulite-free legs and Madonna arms are must-haves for this look.
Needless to say, this style brought up a lot of body issues for me. Before this month, I never realized how much I just covered up my dangly parts every day like I’m some modern day elephant woman. “I am not an animal. I am mother of three!”
At the beginning of this look, I was wearing a dress with jeans underneath. How weird is that? But I just couldn’t imagine actually showing my legs in public. After years of pregnancies and Pop Tarts, in my mind my legs had become these hideous things that just got me from place to place, like a beat up car I was ashamed of driving. And I didn’t just cover up my legs. The first time I walked out of the house in a racer back tank top with my upper arms exposed I felt like I might as well have been topless at a beach in France.
But it felt so liberating to finally throw off my lawn mower tarp and feel the breeze on my limbs again! Is my body exactly how I’d like it to look? No, of course not. But is it as bad as I had built it up in my mind over the years? No, it isn’t. No one threw stones at me. No one vomited in their mouth as I passed. And unlike some of my other looks (Mod in particular) my kids liked all my sporty chic outfits. I don’t think they like the outfits so much as they liked mom in the outfits – a mom that could easily play tag or wade through a river or go on a bug hunt… A mom that didn’t mind getting dirty.
I am so grateful for sporty chic. The sporty chic look is basically grown play clothes and I realized this month how much my body issues had gotten in the way of me playing. How many times since having kids have I just dreaded putting on a bathing suit and going to the pool? How many times have I resisted wearing shorts on a hundred degree day? And why did I think my arms looked like two dead trouts in a tank top? Maybe a smaller white fish, but trouts? That’s a little harsh.
I highly recommend the sporty chic look for any mom. Don’t let your body issues stop you from trying out this style. Just put them on, go out and play…
Oh, and wear a lot of sunscreen. I learned that the hard way. My trouts were frying…
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