The SAHW

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I recently received a few emails relating to fashion for the Stay at Home Woman, be she staying at home to be a mother, a telecommuter, or a lady of leisure/luck. This week my husband and I took an at-home vacation – a week away from work, yet a week full of errands, chores and socializing. I realized that a wardrobe for this lifestyle is utterly different from my normal clothing collection.

Versatility
When you are pulling weeds, washing dishes, running to the grocery and having coffee with your mom all in one day, your clothes need to handle all these situations. Many women run to their favorite yoga pants or worn-out jeans to fulfil the task. It is not necessary to sacrifice style for versatility.

What you wear on the bottom half often dictates how dressy or polished your outfit is. Consider a basic fitted tee shirt in white. Wear it with sweatpants, you look as though you rolled out of bed. Wear with old jeans, you look as though you work on cars for a living. Pair it with a nice pair of jeans and a belt and you could head out to the mall or even a concert. Pair it with cropped pants, a level of polish. Even pair that tee with a patterned cotton skirt and you could head to your cousin’s baby shower and look appropriate. Keep this in mind. I spent the majority of the week in cropped trousers out of cotton, twill or chino. A heavier fabric keeps wrinkles at bay and the look is just as comfortable but far more sophisticated than lounge pants from Old Navy.

As for shoes, flip flops are an easy choice, but often cheapen the entire look. Invest in a pair of comfortable slides that are made of leather or microfiber for a more adult look. I have a pair of leather slides with a small wedge heel in black and in tan – they go with skirts, cropped pants and jeans with ease and are comfortable to boot.

Comfort
No one wants to be picking up toys or discarded socks and having a stiff waistband dig into her belly button. Denim can be restricting, and when you’re busy the last thing you want to do is have to adjust a neckline, check for peeping bra straps or re-tuck a blouse.

Around the home, nothing is greater than knit sets. As I type this I am wearing a washed knit drawstring skirt and matching half-zip hooded pullover from J. Crew. Yesterday after running around town, I changed into a pair of black yoga pants and a matching zip-up jacket from Old Navy with a white scoop necked tee from American Apparel underneath.

However when you leave your four walls, these lounge suits are not appropriate, no matter what celebrities wear on their Jamba Juice run. These clothes are for LOUNGING, not errand running. Even if your makeup, jewelry and pedicure perfectly match your terry track suit, you are not dressed in an adult or respectable manner. To stay comfortable but look appropriate, consider investing in a few pieces of matte jersey. Matte jersey is also called slink knit, traveler fabric and a few other variations. This material has the stretch and comfort of knit, but a polished texture that is similar to crepe. Often times pieces of matte jersey bought at one store will match a piece from a different brand. I have accumulated a large collection of matte jersey over the years and often wear it to the mall, when I coordinate weddings, when I meet a friend for lunch, or when I am running errands around town. I have a few different shells, a button down fitted top, cropped pants, full length pants, a skirt and a cardigan. I can mix and match these for most any season and look far more polished than in terry or knit.

Again, consider your shoes. Sneakers downplay any outfit and you would never see a fashionista running about town in a pair of Nikes. Mules and slides are a great choice for summer; ballet flats are a comfy and chic way to achieve comfort in the spring and fall months.

Cost
No one wants to blow their entire budget on casual wear, yet you’re not portraying the right image of your personality and spirit in your husband’s old Big Dog tee shirt and Umbro soccer shorts. Care needs to be applied to your at-home attire as well as your socializing attire. Consider days when you wear the old ratty underwear in the back of the drawer versus the days you put on the new lacy panties. Though no one knows what you’re wearing under those pants, you do. You walk a little taller and feel a bit more beautiful when you know you are dressed nicely.

Invest in one or two pairs of easy-care cropped trousers. These can be worn with a camisole and slides in the summer, a turtleneck and ballet flats in the fall. Black may look dressy but often fades after a few washes. Consider neutrals that wash well and hide stains – khaki, gray, stone, putty, tan. These can look polished with a wrinkle-resistant button-down shirt, a tank and cardigan, a sleeveless sweater.

Consider a skirt. Casual summer and spring skirts do not require special undergarments and hose. A ribbed “wifebeater” tank suddenly has panache with a denim or twill skirt. Look for a heavier fabric with lycra that will resist wrinkles, can handle a trip in the dryer and will keep it’s shape throughout the day. A skirt that hits at the knees is feminine yet not too daring – you can kneel down to tie your daughter’s shoe or bend down to pick up a bag of groceries without showing all your bits. A skirt below this length can look dated – classic pieces are the safest bet. As for color, denim looks best dark in a skirt. This will look the most classic and clean. For a non-denim skirt, again consider neutrals. I have an olive green cargo skirt from J. Crew that I wear to DEATH on casual days. The color compliments pink, dark red, black, white, turquoise, navy… most every top in my wardrobe. I can quickly change my yoga pants and flops to a skirt and beaded sandals and suddenly I look appropriate for a casual dinner with the husband ort a quick trip to the nail salon.

For tops, you want comfort, style and wearability. American Apparel has great heavier-weight knit tops for a great price with flattering necklines. For summer I invested in four of their scoop necked tees. The neckline is feminine and flattering without showing too much cleavage. The sleeves are a bit longer than a regular tee, providing a more fashionable profile. The tops can handle several trips in the washer and dryer. I purchased the standard black and white, but also bought a dark red and brown for variety. I have worn these tops with cropped pants, skirts, jeans, even under suits for work.

The Finishing Touches
I have mentioned this multiple times before. If your hair is usually in a clip or elastic, it’s time for a new haircut. What is the point of having a flowing mane of hair if it’s always piled on top of your head? The time it takes to dry it must be exhausting, and leaving the house with wet hair piled up with a clip or GASP, a scrunchie takes all your hard work of looking fashionable and pours it down the drain. I have a layered cut with sideswept bangs. The hair it just past the shoulders – long enough to feel feminine but short enough to look professional and be easy-care. I can take a round brush and dryer to my dry bed-head bent hair and brush out the kinks in a few minutes. A good cut should be easy to make look polished, even in a rush. For days where your hair just won’t behave, consider an accordion headband. These give a bit of style to your hair, offer some lift at the crown and look as though you made effort to look fashionable. These headbands are great because they don’t dent the hair and they capture all the little fuzzies around your brow. I love to wear them to the gym for this reason.

Consider jewelry. Nothing dresses up a boring tee and trousers more than a cool necklace. Check out your local Big Box retailer for some bargains. I recently purchased a chunky tortoise shell necklace from Target for $14.99. People constantly compliment me on how unique it is. I can throw it on with my dark red scoop tee from American Apparel and my olive green J. Crew cargo skirt and I am ready to head to a cookout or the mall. Hoops and bangle bracelets create the same dressed-up feel without being dressed up.

And again, consider the shoes. If you require comfort, there are great stores like Easy Spirit and Aerosoles that cater to comfortable yet stylish shoes. Flip flops are not adult footwear. Anyone ever the age of 25 should limit their flip-flop time to the beach, running around the yard, and going to the pool. Even Target offers leather and fabric shoes that are just as comfortable but more polished than foam flops. As for sneakers, those are best left to athletic endeavors, not jaunts to the strip mall. Sneakers make your legs look shorter and thicker and draw attention more quickly than any other item on your person. For jeans and long pants consider a low-heeled ankle boot or the trendy new sneakers in dark colors that are leather and suede and very slim and low profile (check out retro styles from Puma and simple designs from Kenneth Cole). For cropped pants and skirts, consider a slide with a slight wedge or heel. These are easy to slip on, often are cushy and comfortable, and look far more sophisticated.

What About….?
What, no shorts? Unless you are lean, leggy and young shorts are probably not that flattering on you. They may seem comfortable, but a few extra inches on the leg will not kill you and will make you look leaner, more fashionable and more appropriate. Shorts ride up. They are often shorter than they should be showing too much skin/cellulite/veins/etc. The often cause your belly to look bigger. They are very rarely flattering. I have only owned one pair of shorts in the past eight years and have survived tropical vacations, sweltering summers in the south and along the Eastern seaboard, gardening and picnicking in August. If you remove shorts from your wardrobe, you will look thinner, trendier and probably younger.

No mention of sweatshirts and other cold weather wear? My opinion is that if it is cold enough for a sweatshirt, then it’s cold enough for real clothing. One can be just as comfortable in a pair of wool-knit trousers and a sweater as they can in a sweatsuit. Sweatsuits are left to athletes and camping. They distort your figure and make you look heavier and less toned than you already are. Invest in some jeans with lycra or some trousers with stretch that can handle machine washing and drying. These should replace all your fleece and terry monstrosities.