Before Instagram, personal style blogs, and long before we started flipping through fashion magazines, our first style inspiration was Mom. In fact, mine still serves as my stylist, ensuring I step out with my most stylish foot forward, which I trained myself to do by running around the house in her red pumps that I adored. The clothing swaps didn’t stop there either. My mom would often let me raid her wardrobe when I needed to dress up during middle school and later on, I gifted her some of my hand-me-downs that she loved that didn’t fit me anymore. Without her, my closet wouldn’t have a drop of color, just a series of mostly black and a few white pieces that I’d constantly repeat. And so in honor of her special day, I’ve rounded up some of the style rules that she instilled in me. Happy Mother’s Day, and if you can, give your mom a hug for me!
Doesn’t she look cute?!
Find Your Favorite Feature and Play It Up — Regardless of your shape or size, there’s always an area that our wardrobe enhances and make look even better. For Mom, it was her dancers legs. Rocking slim-fit jeans and skirts with a flurry of flare and heels, she loves showing off her stems every chance she gets. And as far as I know, I don’t think she ever wore a baggy cargo pant, let alone a pair of Jnco jeans in her life. I’ve even checked old pictures before I was born and nothing!
After my curves developed, she suggested showing off my waist (in lieu of my chest) to enhance my natural hourglass figure. Fit and flares, high waisted jeans, and belts over dresses and tunics (during the early 2010s) helped me feel confident and chic at a time when my body was changing and could often leave me feeling awkward or uncomfortable around my straight-sized friends. But now I don’t sweat it since I know what silhouettes to snap up to make me feel as good as I’ll look.
Comfort Is Key — As much as I loved strutting around in my mom’s heels when I was little, I learned pretty early on that pain doesn’t equal beauty when it comes to your clothes. My mom would often place her pumps in her workbag to slip on as soon as she got to the office and instead walked out the door in some of the biggest — and admittedly cushy — pair of Reeboks on the block. Sure, it seemed a little out of the ordinary at first glance, but it didn’t seem to matter much when she was one in a sea of skirt suits and sneakers on their way to work where a simple shoe swap was all it took to transform from kickass commuters to polished professionals.
Though I failed to listen to her at first, choosing instead to suffer for the sake of style in tight dresses and sky-high heels that I tripped in too many times to count, I’ve made the same realization and applied to every aspect of my aesthetic. If I can’t breathe in it without Spanx, I got rid of it immediately. I also stick to fashionable flats as much as possible — I currently love rocking chic sneaker in lieu of a ballet flat. But if the occasion calls for heels, I tend to stick to a short stiletto or sneak a pair of foldaway flats so I don’t walk home barefoot.
Keep it Classic — Trends come and go and way faster in the age of Instagram. But when I was growing up, my mom tended to test-drive trends with more timeless looks. She said it was always in case she ended up hating it, but I felt it was always a way of finding a balance between her signature style and what was current. When bike shorts were everywhere in the ’90s, she’d often slip them under the many mini dresses she had. And those silky shirts that came in an incredible array of colors filled my mom’s closet, often being paired with a pencil skirt or slim-fit jeans.
When Lizzie McGuire inspired me to play with popcorn shirts (you know which ones I’m talking about), mom suggested swapping the low-rise bedazzled jeans for a simple pair of black slacks. It was all to ensure the trendy top could be in the spotlight without trying to tack on too many trends at one time. Now when I peruse the newest items at my favorite online shops, I always try to pick something that matches a classic silhouette. Scuba dresses? No big deal when it’s a simple shift. And with transparent tulle as one of the biggest trends for spring, I already know what pieces to pull.
Get Matchy-Matchy With It — Long before Solange made monochromatic styling a standard, my Mom was all about matching. We’re talking everything from the hair accessory to the jewelry all the way down to her soles. She often treated shopping as a game, searching for pieces to help fill in the gaps of her rainbow wardrobe. When Chinese slippers were considered in, she scoured stores everywhere for pairs that went well with her outfits. The result was a large bin filled with the shoes that were organized by hue as well as how often she wore them, which I don’t think she got rid of either.
I’ve followed in her footsteps but added my own spin by color blocking my clothing between a bright hue and a fresh neutral. From there, I usually tend skip matching statement footwear and instead match my makeup to my ensemble. My favorite color to coordinate with my cosmetics as of late is easily a bold cobalt blue, whether it’s a pair of slacks with a smokey azure eye or even a fit and flare dress featuring a flick of blue liner along my lower lashline.
Pump Up An Outfit with a Print — When it comes to prints, my mom always thought the bolder the better. From the wild Basquiat and Haring-inspired prints of the ’90s to the larger prints on streetwear and scuba dresses int he 2000s, if the print’s colors worked with what she had in her wardrobe already, she worked it into the ensemble. But she still maintained balance by pairing them with a solid shade whether she was dressing the look up or down.
I honestly used to be pretty afraid of rocking a print that wasn’t a punk tartan from Hot Topic, a pretty polka dot from Dots (RIP), or a set of black and white stripes from wherever I could get my hands on them. (Though I’m still a sucker for all of them to this day.) But I started to look closer at the prints to see what tiny tinctures of color were hidden within that I could use other pieces to help pull out. A hot pink top pulled out to help bring out the bits of the topical pink flowers in a palm tree print? It’s a cinch! Heck I’ve even started print mixing when I want to get playful. I keep the colors from the same family (like blacks and whites or blues and yellows) or balance it out with neutral to let the more vibrant hues take center stage. So whenever people ask me about the outfits that I feel coordinated and cute, I always give credit to her. After all, I got it from my mama!