When you become a mom your social scene changes, rather drastically actually! Evenings of dancing all night long, drinking, flimsy camisole tops and dangerously high heels are replaced with mom lunches, coffee breaks, mama baby yoga groups and of course..... CHILDREN'S BIRTHDAY PARTIES!
The more social of a mom you are (and I suggest every mom become social!), the more you are fortunate enough to be invited to a ton of birthday parties....actually one a week in the Spring and sometimes even two a week!
This past weekend we headed to the birthday party of a four year old I've known since she was only a month old! Her mommy Raffaela (who you've met here) and I did a post-pregnancy "Mama-Fit" class together, that was incidentally taught by another mom who would also become one of my best friends, Agata (who you've met here!).
Getting Crazy and Having Fun With "Mom Friends"
The beauty of momfriends is how much they elevate your life. We laugh, we have fun, we go for drinks, we share stories, memories, life and even clothes. The women I've met since having my son have enriched my life exponentially.
Not every woman is a good "mom friend", some are mean, some judge, some are catty, some are haters....but NONE of those women are my friends! I have zero tolerance for gossip in my group of friends, if you are in my circle I love you, with my whole heart. I would never keep someone close just to shit talk them, life is too short and there are too many fun things to do. I never hide when I dislike a person, I simply stay away from their negative energy.
With my girlfriends I am free to be me and they are free to be themselves and together we have the time of our lives, no matter the occasion. You will never hear me say "I'm bored"....because I'm not. And next week I'll be sharing an ode to the mom friends that have made this journey so worthwhile.
What to Wear to a Kid's Birthday Party
Some of my most read posts of all time are my mom fashion tips and "what to wear" posts for moms, second only to my " what to wear to a kid's birthday party" posts here and here! Children's Birthday Parties are to moms what the Academy Awards is to movie stars...aka THE place to be seen. And not just seen, but photographed, tagged, posted and shared on social media networks, so a mom's top priority is "looking good".
We all want to leave a good impression on our social groups, so dress to have fun, try to wear something you normally wouldn't in your everyday routine and DON'T WORRY ABOUT WEARING SOMETHING DARING! Meaning...wear that skirt, wear those flatforms/wedges to give you some height (you may want to stay away from the stilettos though!), and incorporate accessories that are out of the ordinary.
I actually find that a lot of moms worry about looking good, or "dressing up", for fear that people will ask "why are you all dolled up?"...here's my advice, FORGET THOSE PEOPLE. Just ignore them, they can be tagged in their oversized sweatpants and t-shirt while you will look FABULOUS!
Of course this doesn't necessarily mean a low-cut top, a ton of makeup, killer heels and a short skirt...that would just be silly and inappropriate for the context of the event. Today I'm going to share my look and the look of two of my favorite mom friends along with the sheer FUN we had at this incredible party.
The Reason I Dressed
What is the dream of every 4 year old girl on the planet? Why to live out a Frozen Fantasy of course! Parents Alessio and Raffaela pulled out all the stops for this birthday party for their beautiful daughter who happens to be best friends with her younger sister, a more perfect Anna and Elsa never existed.
Picture a beautiful villa in the Italian countryside with a massive bouncy castle, trampoline, photo cut-outs, toys plus face painting and games organized by an agency. But in all honesty, with the kids having so much fun, this was ACTUALLY a party for the parents who enjoyed the drinks, good food, (bouncy castle) and free time!
Meet Raffaela and Alessio
These are two stylish people who put as much effort into their individual styles as they do into their marriage. You may remember the story I shared about the surprise Great Gatsby party that he threw for her in this post!
I love Raffaela's empire waist, fringe-trimmed top paired with cargo pants because it is both functional (running after two young girls) and so cool! To elongate her legs and add some height she wore lace-up flatforms and her beautiful smile!
Dina the Fashion Queen
Don't be fooled by Dina, she's no ordinary mom with good style. Dina's been working for one of Italy's major fashion magazines for the past decade and attends every fashion week on the planet that you can think of. We met shortly after the birth of her second child who is the same age as my son and our love for each other just blossomed, and you may remember her from this post or this post!
I love her style, her charisma, her energy and her ACCESSORIES! Dina is never afraid to have fun with her clothes and never gets too tied up in trends. Working in the industry means that you can actually get tired of trends YEARS before people have started wearing them! I always think of Dina's style as being a little "above fashion" because she wears what she loves and is not influenced by passing fads.
Here she's paired a line wash pair of boyfriend jeans with feminine ballerina flats and a super graphic zip clutch!
What I Wore - #nomakeup
Sometimes when I know that my photo will go on the blog I make an effort to put on make up. But the truth is, I usually try to do a million things in a day and ALWAYS leave getting myself ready to the VERY LAST SECOND! Which means that more often than not I head out without makeup, especially if I'm feeling good about myself.
The worst times of my life are those where I feel bad about how I look. And since right now I feel so confident I have no issue putting my zero make up face on the blog! On this particular morning I looked at my complexion in the mirror and I didn't see the need to change it, so voilà here I am with absolutely no foundation, concealer, eye liner, shadow, blush, mascara or lipstick (not that I ever wear that all at the same time anyway!).
My dress was bought at the massive vintage Market in Cervia that I wrote about here. It was made in Germany, presumably in the late 50s/60s and I bought in for three euro. I paired it with a ....don't shoot me....real Zebra belt. I know, I know...I hate myself too! This belt was left over from a sample collection of one of the major brands that my husband works with. Usually a "zebra print" is put on other types of leather, but in this case the collection was super, mega luxury where only real zebra would do.
Often samples are changed and we have a collection of prototypes that get leftover in our factory. I just figured I can either wear it, or leave it in a drawer for 50 years....so I wear it!
I paired this with my absolute favorite denim jacket, care of SHEIN. This was given to me as a sponsored gift, but I would not hestitate buying it for myself, it is an excellent deal and I will be doing ANOTHER post featuring only looks with this jacket since it is on constant rotation as part of my "momiform".
My shoes were found on Shopbop and I've gone on and on about them in this post and this one as well. They are by the brand Dolce Vita in real suede and are SO COMFORTABLE! I love the ghillie lacing, color and height and at the price these were such a good find! Feel free to check out this post for some other great options from Shopbop with the same laces and in the same nude color!
And did I mention that when it was time to kick them off and have a good time, they came off in a second!
My real leather rucksack is by the Modena artisan boutique La Vacchetta Grassa, whom I've featured in this post as part of my Artisan Series!
Mom Style : Birthday Party Style Inspiration
I was so impressed with a lot of the women at the party who managed to find the perfect combination of casual, chic and fashionable. I love how many paired sneakers with skinny jeans or weren't afraid to incorporate a bit of color into their looks.
Dad Style !
And of course the dads!! My husband has great style and is usually one of the best dressed men where ever we go. I love when new dads put in that extra little bit of effort to stay true to their style instead of letting themselves go. Afterall, we're parents, but every woman (mom or otherwise) deserves a prize!
I hope you've enjoyed this, Now onto your style.....
This week I don't have a co-host but I hope you had a chance to read the first in a series of Q&A's with some of the fabulous fashion bloggers I've featured on the blog! The first is with Michelle from Retro Chic Mama, go check out her interview, it is so great!
#REASONSTODRESS DRESS TO IMPRESS FASHION BLOGGER LINKUP
Welcome to the #REASONSTODRESS DRESS TO IMPRESS LINKUP for fashion and style bloggers!
This linkup is hosted by REASONS TO DRESS - An Italian lifestyle blog about an expat-Canadian married to an Italian leather artisan. Part of this new linkup is sharing up and coming style bloggers and we're always looking for fabulous co-hosts who will be interviewed and featured - email [email protected] for info!
REASONS TO DRESS - An Italian Lifestyle Blog About Fashion, Travel & Life in Italy
THIS WEEK'S BANNER / INSTAGRAM IMAGE :
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