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So, what does your winter uniform look like?

by 164 Comments

As the cooler weather sets in and I am rummaging through my closet to find my boyfriend lounge pants, I am reminded of this post from last winter and thought I’d share it today. It’s another tribute to my love for make up. I am indeed a southern girl through and through. Visit my friend Denise’s blog and laugh and cry with her as she shares her trip to the MAC counter.

I have a good reason for posting these pictures. I’ll tell you momentarily.

First, let me say that one of the major roadblocks for me when I was deciding to homeschool was what I’d like to call the denim jumper road block. Or what I call the ‘buns and jumpers’ factor. I do not own a denim jumper and if I did, trust me, I would not wear it well. I envisioned that everyone who homeschools wears denim jumpers and tight librarian buns and grows their own wheat and takes vows against electronics and laughter and makeup; none of which I was willing to do. Imagine my surprise when , after reading a few hundred blogs, I realized that it takes all kinds.

As it turns out, ex-doctor/ADD/obsessed with all things fashion and decorating/ moms like me have our little niche in the homeschooling world. I found that there are in fact plenty of fun-loving, hip, classical- book loving women who have journeyed out into the homeschooling wilderness with nothing but our dry erase boards, laptops, lip gloss, a lot of good books.

So when my 16 year old daughter commented on my ‘uniform’, it gave me pause.

Who is she to criticize my ‘uni’? She often mistakes my closet for the dressing room of Target. She shops, she tries things on, she leaves things lying on the floor, and never brings the number back. So when she meandered in to ‘try on’ a few things and came out wearing part of my ‘uniform’, I was aghast. My uniform is not a denim jumper, but it is a pair of lounge pants from Victoria’s Secret; the boyfriend pants with the bedazzled ‘PINK’ on the rear. And a stretchy mock turtle neck and wooly warm sweater from Target. I often vary the color of the mock turtle. But the rest stays the same. I wash it, of course—maybe twice a week. But that is what I LIVE in people. Everyday, until I have to leave the house.
So when Caiti said to me, “You can’t wear these EVERYDAY!” I say,
“Ummmm…..Yes. Yes, I can. I can…… and I do. And this is the one thing in my closet that is off-limits. Take the Fry lace-up knee boots and the Rock ‘N Republic Jeans and the Micheal Stars t-shirt and what-have-you……but for the love of all things cozy and comfortable…….back away from the lounge pants.”
And when the girls and I go to ballet or to Hobby Lobby, I exchange the lounge pants for jeans but often leave the top ensemble in place. This present lounge wear addiction that I’m nurturing did not come about overnight. I didn’t purpose ahead in my mind that when I started homeschooling, I would forsake all cute clothes and resort to one pair of lounge pants as my official ‘uniform’. It just happened. I do make an effort to change out of the lounge pants for a short time in the evenings. So my poor husband can at least get glimpses of the fashion guru he once knew.

So I don’t judge anymore. I’ve lost every judging right there is. I wear a loose (fairly fun and fancy free) bun almost everyday and my own special ‘uniform’—–lounge pants with a limited variety of tops. My very own version of buns and jumpers.

So scroll back up to the top and see my bun and then take a gander at the top half of my uniform. There you have it. Maybe I’ve just given up. Or at least given in—-to comfort.

Please advise…… before I start selling all my clothes and boots on Ebay. Is this a phase? Am I just taking advantage of wearing lounge pants because I can. Will I grow weary of lookin’ like a lazy college student who doesn’t understand that PINK flannel PJ bottoms does not constitute proper outerwear? BTW, there is nothing more disappointing to any husband than to see a Victoria Secret bag that houses oversized lounge pants and a hoodie. Look on the bright side, it could be worse. It could be a matching track suit. I see a good new years resolution coming on here.

And if I seem a little over-dressed for church…..well, cut me a little slack. I’m making up for a weeks’ worth of lounge pants. If it’s any consolation, I’m still wearin’ plenty of makeup. And all manner of hair products. When that ceases, by all means, intervene.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Donna says

    Oh, my!!! Have you been at my house this week? My week has been spent wrestling with this issue. UGH. Living in Arizona doesn't quite lend itself to flannel (about January it is feasible) but my uni is usually yoga pants (capri in summer and long in winter) and t shirts. AND when we go out…remove yoga pant put on jean. Now, I always put on my makeup and pull my hair into a clippy thingy. I LOVE books! I am reading the Uncle Eric books by Richard J. Maybury…they were recommended to us by Andrew Pudewa! The books are a vast wealth of information and are geared to young and old alike. These will be my kids book fodder for Christmas vacation! Love to visit your blog Edie..Thanks, Donna

    Reply

  2. Donna says

    Oh, my!!! Have you been at my house this week? My week has been spent wrestling with this issue. UGH. Living in Arizona doesn't quite lend itself to flannel (about January it is feasible) but my uni is usually yoga pants (capri in summer and long in winter) and t shirts. AND when we go out…remove yoga pant put on jean. Now, I always put on my makeup and pull my hair into a clippy thingy. I LOVE books! I am reading the Uncle Eric books by Richard J. Maybury…they were recommended to us by Andrew Pudewa! The books are a vast wealth of information and are geared to young and old alike. These will be my kids book fodder for Christmas vacation! Love to visit your blog Edie..Thanks, Donna

    Reply

  3. Ruby Red Slippers says

    I wear a sweat outfit until I head out, then I swap the sweats for jeans….
    Funny, funny-You may have just converted me to homeschooling…I have some reservations-but keep coming back to the idea of teaching my own kids…

    Reply

  4. Love Being a Nonny says

    There is nothing like a pair of lounge pants. I wore the same gray pair from The Gap for maybe five years. They finally were truly thread bare. I couldn't bare to part with them so I painted in them. Then it wasn't so hard to throw them out.

    You are a *cool* teacher!! And truly, all the teachers out there have GOT to wish they could wear YOUR uniform!

    Reply

  5. Darla says

    my sister and i attended a homeschooling bookfair one year, and we drove over in our hip little comfy clothes in a tinted window Lincoln with a sunroof, shades, makeup, haircolor, feeling very cool…we drove into the parking lots FULL of mini vans and plain looking women feeding their children sandwiches out of coolers in back of their vans, when we had just had lunch at a posh little place. ummmm,,,we got alot of looks and stares. we just didn't belong! haha. it is one of our best memories. however, all it takes to be a good homeschooler is a mommy's heart. PINK sweatpants or not, there are a few of us out here that are not cookie cutter molds. cool homeschooling moms ROCK Edie, so you go girl!

    Reply

  6. Karli @ RockyBella says

    Its nice to hear others are lazy in their wardrobe too! I thought it was just me, and was feeling bad about it. =) Thanks for sharing.
    Hey at least your uniform is cute… pink sweats- can't beat those!

    Reply

  7. Karin Katherine says

    You make buns look hip. I make buns look like I need a denim jumper. I wrote an article for Heart of the Matter where I talked about the Mom uniforms. We all have them. Its just some are hipper than others. Thanks for the reminder that I need to go back to my makeup loving ways and get my hair out of the pony tail!

    Reply

  8. Sarah says

    Jeans, Jeans, Jeans….I live in jeans everyday through out the cold days with nice cardis, hoodies and thongs..except I slip me thongs off and slip into my silver ballet flats when guests arrive for accommodation! Now I am over wearing jeans and hanging out for summer so I can live in my dressses, skirts and tees and then I don't have to slip my havi's off when guests arrive! xxx

    Reply

  9. Sheri says

    I have a pair of pale blue 14 year old Lounge pants that I wear all of the time…either that or one of my three pair of track pants (I suppose that's what they are) that are 3 sizes too big, but OH so comfy…with layered long sleeve/short sleeve tees. Every. Day.

    And then when I have to leave for work, I simply take off the pants and throw on jeans. LOL

    Reply

  10. chanteusevca says

    I am laughing out loud now. I'm not a homeschooling mom, but an unemployed "MiMi" whose wardrobe of Bloomies and Nordstrom suits and other goodies have given way to Target yoga pants in the last year and a half causes me to relate with your lounge pants big time!

    Isn't it comical how our lives can change and we end up where we never thought or dreamed — with a wardrobe to match? I'm sure Stacy and Clinton of What Not to Wear fame would shriek at my "comfortable" yoga pants and various tops and pony-tail-buns!

    Reply

  11. Katy says

    I love "uniforms"…my husband always called a certain pair of gray sweatpants my uniform….several years ago and I always thought it was funny.
    Most of the week I spend in a yoga pant or sweat pant uniform, toward the end of the week I start vearing toward my jeans and "dressier" long sleeve tees…I start feeling so sloppy that I have to put something dressier on. and yes, I get "dressed up" for church for sure.

    Reply

  12. Sarah says

    I loved this post the first time you shared it… but today I love it even more. Yes, all self respecting SAH moms sport their makeup, cute hair and trendy yet comfy clothes while at home. Why? Because we can. And yes, we do still dress up a bit when we leave the house just so the rest of the world doesn't think we've lost our former stylin' selves! ;> God's blessings on your week, Sarah šŸ˜€

    Reply

  13. Anne says

    I plan to be a homeschooling mom (my kids are only 3 and 1) and I find that I already have a uniform of my own. My black yoga pants, one of my husbands white undershirts and a gray half zip pull over sweatshirt that I adore.

    However, I still do enjoy the chance to get all snazzied up…even if it's just going to the commissary or Michaels. So, I wouldn't get rid of too much stuff on Ebay. Because you know the cardinal rule…as soon as you sell it, you'll find a reason to need it. That happens to me all the time.

    I hope when I'm an official homeschooling mom, my uniform is more like yours…I loathe the idea of a denim jumper!

    Reply

  14. tales from an oc cottage says

    16…that says it all!!! You are fine…she will grow out of it! ;}
    And I dub thee "Queen of the Lounge Pants"!

    m ^..^

    Reply

  15. Anna See says

    Not a homeschooling mom, but a lounge pants loving mom! I work 20 hrs outside the home now, and when I get home– bring on the fleece! xo

    Reply

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