Written by: Anita Fong-Chao | Viewpoint Financial Network
From Corporate Mom to Chic Mom: Affordable Fashion Tips for Working Mothers Who Want to Look Great While Conquering the World
Work-life balance is a top priority for many working moms; sometimes it can be a blessing and other times not so easy to achieve. Like so many of us, once I leave the office, I immediately switch into my mom role of picking up the kids and transporting them to sports practice and/or dance lessons. But that doesn’t mean you have to throw your chic style out the window after 5 PM! As both a financial advisor with a demanding workload and the mother of two kids, I have found that the more strategic I can be about my fashion, the easier it becomes to look great whatever the task at hand may be. For all you supermoms out there who want to look great while doing it all (and on a budget too, I might add), here are my top ten affordable fashion staples for working moms and four of the juiciest looks I love creating with them.
Top Ten Affordable Fashion Staples
Being prepared for this task is step one, and in many ways the most important part of looking great while being a top performer both during and after the work day. Below you will find the ten staples that I feel every working mom should have in her closet:
Black work pants Leggings Blazer Shirt Dress/Wrap Dress Statement Piece necklace Scarf Jean Jacket Leather/Moto Jacket Flats/Kitten Heels SneakersYou may already have many of these items in your closet. However for the ones you may be missing, you can find most of these items at Target in the price range of $20- $30.
Outfit #1: Comfy and Committed
Combine the following:
Leggings With T-shirt and statement piece necklace With a blazer With Flats or kitten heelsConverting to mom at soccer practice:Take off necklace and blazer and put on sneakersWhat I love about this outfit:This outfit allows you to be professional yet comfortable while you’re at work. At the same time, however, you don’t have to show up to your kids’ events feeling shlumpfy. That’s important. Women shouldn’t have to feel that they need to sacrifice their female identity in either environment. It’s amazing that you can achieve two great looks with just a simple modification or two to the same outfit.
Outfit #2: Simply Elegant
Combine:
Shirt dress or wrap dress with or without cardigan With heelsConverting to mom at soccer practice:
Put on a jean jacket and sandalsWhat I love about this outfit:A shirt or wrap dress is a great foundational piece because the choice of accent piece can take the look from formal to casual while maintaining its elegance.
Related:
Why Consumer Research Is Like Fashion: Choose Your ClothesRelated:
7 Fashion Tips as You Prepare for Your Next Presentation Outfit #3: Officially Ready
Black pants With T-shirt and scarf With Military Jacket/Blazer With Flats or kitten heelsConverting to mom at soccer practice:
Take off scarf and blazer/jacket put on sneakers/Converse sneakers Optional: could keep jacket onWhat I love about this outfit:Every woman should have a flex blazer that is great for the office yet can hold its own in a casual setting as well. Cherish these great investments as you will definitely get your mileage out of them! Choose a comfy tee with your favorite phrase as it won’t be seen until after work.
Outfit 4: Ruffled in the Rough
Combine:
Black pants Button down shirt/bow blouse With Flats or heelsConverting to mom at soccer practice:
Add a moto or leather jacket and change shoes to sandals or sneakersWhat I love about this outfit:There’s no substitute for having a versatile blouse that can swing it at a formal meeting with a client just as well as behind the diamond of the softball field. It’s great to feel that you can be flouncy and womanly at the office without sacrificing professionalism.
Summary on fashion staples for working moms
Enabling women’s upward mobility in the workplace many times involves breaking through barriers, many of them the beliefs that hold us back. For so long it has been believed that women have to spend every last dime on their wardrobe to look good -- instead of putting it towards their own retirement or their kids’ college tuition - or that you can’t simultaneously be a successful, independent woman and a feminine, nurturing homemaker. Women can be all these things at the same time. Approaching fashion thoughtfully is critical to achieving all of these objectives. With a few foundational pieces and a little bit of strategy it’s more than doable. Please feel free to comment below and tell me your favorite working-to-casual mom convertible outfits.Anita Fong-Chao has worked as a financial advisor since 2005, joining her current firm Viewpoint Financial Network in 2017. She enjoys spending time with her husband and two children and creating memories and traditions with her extended family in Sacramento, including 20 cousins and their attendant parents and children. Her favorite activities are yoga, gardening, and reading non-fiction books—mainly biographies. She is an admitted fashionista.Anita Fong-Chao (CA Insurance Lic#0F31388) is a Registered Representative and Investment Adviser Representative with/and offers securities and advisory services through Commonwealth Financial Network®, www.FINRA.org / www.SIPC.org, a Registered Investment Adviser. Fixed insurance products and services offered through CES Insurance Agency. This communication is strictly intended for individuals residing in the states of AK, AZ, CA, GA, IA, ID, KS, NE, NV, NY, OR, SD, and WA. No offers may be made or accepted from any resident outside these states due to various state requirements and registration requirements regarding investment products and services.
