This is what I am wearing today: a stripe jersey dress, emerald green cardigan and boots. It has been raining like it never wants to end for the past couple of days. It’s all because of some tropical storm. This is a perfect outfit to take my son to music class and run errands in. The dress is super comfortable and the cardigan keeps me warm.

Cardigan (Jacob). Dress (Gap). Boots (Browns). Necklace (Stella & Dot). Bracelets (The Bay, Stella & Dot, Poshlocket). Watch (Michael Kors). Purse (Fossil).

MSN Travel Rates Vancouver As The Third Worst Dressed City In the World, Thanks To Yoga Pants!!!!

This post started out as something attached to yesterday’s post, but I quickly realized that I had much more to write than I thought. So here are my thoughts on Vancouver being named the World’s third worst dressed city.

Vancouver was recently rated the third worst dressed city in the world by MSN Travel. Click here to read part of it. Not sure that Vancouverites should be proud of that distinction. We can’t blame MSN Travel or be surprised by their findings. I mean everywhere I look, people are out and about in yoga clothes. That includes people walking their dogs, going out to restaurants, dropping their kids off at school and going to yoga/exercise. Where is the pride in how we dress people?!!!! A friend of mine recently took a picture of a woman at a restaurant, dressed in yoga pants and red boots. I’m not sure what that woman was thinking?? Was she thinking that because she put on red boots that it was ok to wear yoga pants out to dinner? Well it’s not!!! It may seem easier to leave the house in yoga pants, but how good can you really feel about yourself?

You don’t need money to dress nicely. You need time, patience and have the clothes in your closet. Many women say that they wear yoga pants because it’s more comfortable. I think that it’s because women don’t take the time to go shopping and have clothes in their closet that make them feel good. I bet if I asked women if they felt pretty in what they were wearing, the majority would answer no. They would explain that they wore that outfit because a) it was convenient b) it was the only clean thing they had and c) they don’t have anything else to wear.

One of my goals when I started my blog was to show women, mainly other moms out there, that you can dress nicely and still be a mom. It takes some time and effort, but it pays off. I know that when my son was first born, every part of my body hurt in one way, shape or form. I made a conscious effort to at least dress up so I didn’t look as bad and as tired as I felt. Many moms use the excuse that their kids will pull on their jewelry or spit up on their clothes, and that’s completely fair. But you can’t walk around for the next 3-5 years in yoga clothes and continue to use that as an excuse. Listen, I know it’s not easy being a mom and trying to feel good with a body that you don’t even recognize. It sucks when you don’t fit into your pre-pregnancy clothes and you don’t want to wear your maternity clothes. That’s when you need to embrace your “new” body and buy a few items that make you feel pretty and are versatile. If you feel good about what you are wearing, you will feel better about yourself. Sure your body isn’t the same but that doesn’t mean you still can’t look and feel good, then when you lose the baby weight you can embrace your new body even more.

A friend of mine, who happens to sell Stella & Dot, was saying that when she does a trunk show, the women say that they have no place to wear the jewelry. Give yourself a reason to wear something sparkly, that makes you feel good. For example, yesterday after dropping my son off at preschool, I went grocery shopping. I put on a couple of bracelets and earrings. Sure no one was going to see them, but it made me feel good. It made me feel pretty. One of my favorite pieces of advice from TLC’s show “What Not To Wear” is does the outfit make you look pretty? If it doesn’t, then move on and find yourself something that does. Yes it takes time, but don’t you deserve it? Don’t your family and husband deserve it? If for no other reason, then do it for your kids. You should really be doing it for yourself, but if you can’t, then do it for your children.

It’s time Vancouver gave back the distinction of being the world’s third worst dressed city and made the world’s best dressed list.

May this blog inspire you to go out and purchase something that makes you feel pretty. That if you are one of the many that wear yoga pants a lot, that you try and put on pair of jeans and a nice top, or add a bracelet or necklace to your outfit, and feel good about yourself.

Happy Hump Day Everyone!!!!