Fox in flats: Have a happy outfit

Today to help out with my happiness posts I have the lovely Andrea from Fox in Flats guest posting about clothing and how they can bring a dash of happiness to your life. Check her out below... isn't she the perfect person for this post! Thanks Andrea xx

Clothes that take me to my “happy place”

A few months ago my 5 year old son was a little glum, and in his funk simply refused to get dressed.

Usually, one of two things will pull him out of a bad mood: a cuddle and a chat, or a treat of some kind. On that day, even a Freddo Frog wouldn’t do the trick, so I decided to free-style a little. I asked him, tickling under his tiny chin: “Hey little man, how about today, choosing all of your favourite things to wear at once? I’ll bet that will cheer you up!”

He fixed me with those big grey eyes, shrugged and sighed, “Alright, mum, if you say so…” and then slowly walked to his closet.

I returned five minutes later to find an excited little munchkin jumping on his bed with glee. He was wearing bright green rubber boots, swirly patterned shorts, a bright orange T-shirt with a monster on the front, a sheepskin vest with badges all over it, and an eye patch. That oufit – crazy as it may seem – made his heart sing.

Later, I got to thinking about my wardrobe. Did I have a “happy outfit”?

I came to the conclusion that I didn’t have one thing per-se, but a number of things that I love to wear, but often save for special occasions: Bright lipstick, my faux fur, and many of my accessories: necklaces, hats, cuffs, sunglasses etc. I had figured that on a day to day basis at home with the kids these things are just are not suitable.

But then, I set a challenge: to dress in at least one ‘favourite’ thing, every day for a week.

Monday: Bright orange lipstick to school drop off.
Tuesday: Faux Fur to the grocery store.
Wednesday: My favourite hot pink ruffled blouse with jeans around the house.
Thursday: A raspberry beret to the gym.
Friday: A sequin jacket to the park.

{the jacket worn at the park! love it!!}

What a week! What a thrill! And what a laugh!

The lipstick made me feel like a glamorous Parisian, the blouse made me feel oh-so giggly. The beret made me feel quirky & chirpy, and my son said the sequins lit me up like stars in the sky. And even while the fur was met with questioning looks by the other mums in Coles, I felt a bit like a movie star, popping out to get supplies for a fabulous soiree (instead of the reality of a trolley full of toilet paper, milk, bananas, and Tiny Teddies).

And since that week, when I’m feeling a bit down, or under the weather, I pull out one – or more - of my favourite things. So if you ever see a mum in the playground wearing bright lipstick, sequins, and faux fur around morning tea time, instead of thinking that she is in her way back from clubbing the night before and calling DOCS, just smile, and know she’s just gone to her happy place.

Andrea is a mother of two little boys who she credits for the motherhood induced fashion rut that she fell into sometime between the labour ward and now. She created Fox in Flats to share tips, ideas and inspiration to make it much, much easier to navigate motherhood in style. You can also find her on facebook.

As a challenge today I think we should all go searching in our wardrobes and pick out an item to wear that will make us happy. An item that will make us smile and even feel a little giggly. By the way the winner of the Agoo $50 voucher is Mel. Congrats Mel - look out for an email from me. Naomi x