Looking clean and put together with kids

So how exactly does one get away with wearing a white sweater and light grey blazer with two toddlers?  Or, even more so, a Missoni scarf and a cream cashmere sweater?

I do a few things to keep my clothes looking reasonably clean, without weekly dry cleaning trips.

• As much as possible, I avoid wearing my blazer until after I drop the kids off at daycare.  This may mean I'm cold in the morning - but I can manage.  I even have a "home jacket" which I wear instead if I need to be cozy.  This way my blazer stays crisp and clean, and even if I get something on my shirt I can hide it under the blazer at work.  Same goes for the scarf - I put it on only after dropping the kids off.  In the meantime it sits on the passenger seat.
• I try to wear pants that I can rub dirt off of.  Good wool and synthetics work well for this.  Cotton usually does not.  Take a dry washcloth or even a rough dry paper towel, and you can usually rub off most dirt.  I almost always get dirt on my pants from carrying my toddler and her dirty shoes hitting my legs.  But I can dust that right off in the car or when I get to my office.
• Spot cleaning!  Oh, the wonders of spot cleaning.  I keep a jar of delicate soap in my bathroom, so I can spot clean my clothes as soon as I take them off in the evening, or before bed.  That way they are clean and ready to go next time I want to wear them, and stains don't set in.  This is the soap I'm using these days, but I've used many over the years and they all seem fine: http://www.amazon.com/Forever-New-Fabric-Care-Wash/dp/B002USD5FC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416934861&sr=8-1&keywords=forever+new+soap.  I've done it so much lately that I can now wash, rinse, and lay out to dry an item in under 3 minutes.  I got something on the white sweater yesterday, but now it's good as new.
• I change into "home clothes" as soon as I get home, if possible.  If hubby is home, we take turns watching the kids while the other one goes and changes.  If not, then sometimes I can take the kids to my room to change, or I can settle them in with dinner first, and then go change.  
• If I can't change into home clothes quickly, I take off my sweater, shirt, or blouse, and walk around in a camisole.  And possibly a camisole plus home jacket if it's cold.  Hey - it works.  (This happened with the cashmere last week - the sweater sat on a chair at the back of the house while we had a family dinner in the dining room.  I was hanging out in a cami.)

What about the other little things, like having nicely manicured nails?  I've mostly given up.  I either do touch-ups at the office, to fake nicely manicured nails, or I keep my nails clean and short and leave it at that.  A few things that have helped: Get acetone from a beauty supply store to use as a nail polish remover.  It's faster than any other polish remover (and what the nail salons use).  Being able to quickly take off polish helps a lot.  Buy polishes that look okay with just one coat and that touch up well so you can just paint the tips if they chip.  I really like metallic polishes for one-coat-coverage. I feel they are more forgiving. And I like Revlon, Opi, and the Saks Fifth Avenue store brand for good application, opacity, and drying time.  And have a good quick-dry base coat.  It can work as a nice clear polish in a pinch (such as when you have time to do your base coat and no time to put the color on), and it protects your nails from discoloring so they still look good when you take your polish off.  I use Sally Hansen Hard-as-nails. 

Any tips to share, my fellow working-moms-of-young-kids?  :)

Blazer outfit done right

These are the pants that I wanted to wear with that grey with blue trim blazer.  Aren't they great pants?  The fabric is really fun.  Even though it's dry clean only, I can usually just spot clean it or rub dirt off, which is helpful since Nadia's dirty shoes leave dirt all over my pants every morning and evening when I carry her.  The sweater is comfy and simple.  These earrings are from my mom-in-law, who gives me some fabulous gifts.  They have a matching necklace, but that broke a while back and I haven't fixed it yet.  The earrings are that perfect balance of dangly and interesting, but still office-appropriate.

These pants usually look tighter on me than this...  I guess this is a thin week for me.  Huh.

(Blazer and sweater: J-crew factory, Pants: Reiss)

Ugh, are they air conditioning in here?!

They are installing a new heating/cooling system here, and I need the leather jackets for *inside* my office.  Yup.  I figured the scarf would help too, and now that it's finally cool enough it gave me a chance to wear this fabulous new scarf.  One of my colleagues gave this to me as a gift!  Isn't it a nice gift? 

The sweater is one of my few 100% cashmere sweaters, and it's so soft and cozy.  As of a few years ago, most of the high-end department stores would have huge selections of cashmere sweaters that are not too expensive, and they all went on sale between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm guessing this is still true. I recommend going early in the season, but on a weekday, so that you have lots of selection but it isn't too crazy and you can try things on.

(Sweater: from Bloomingdales, scarf: Missoni, Pants: Express, Shoes: Bandolino from DSW from a while back, jacket: Wilson's leather, also from a while back)

Boots!

One of my favorite things about cooler weather is being able to wear my knee-high boots.  And leather jackets.  And turtlenecks.  :)

Okay, so clearly I have to clean my camera lens.  Sorry about that.  But you get the idea.  (The colors in the first pic are pretty true.)

(Brown suede boots with a very soft thick comfy warm lining: Aldo (Aldo is great for narrow-calved women like me), Skirt: Forever 21, Sweater: Ann Taylor (Ann Taylor and Banana Republic tend to make the tightest highest turtle necks - I love turtlenecks, but only if the neck fits *perfectly* to the circumference and length of ones' neck.), Jacket: Arden B from back in the day when Arden B made quality clothes (real leather).  Unfortunately I don't think that's true anymore, but I haven't gone in a year or two...)

Sweater season

The minus side of having a wardrobe as large as mine is that sometimes I just can't find things.  I really wanted to wear full-length black pants today, but I couldn't find the pair I wanted, so I threw these crops on instead. I really need to get my trousers re-hemmed so I can start wearing boots.  My ankles are cold!  :)

It has finally cooled down around here, so I've started wearing sweaters regularly.  I figured it's a good chance to describe my sweater-buying strategies:
- I buy colors that work on me: mostly black, bright colors, or flattering darks like burgundy. 
- I mostly buy thin sweaters.  Even in Boston that was true - they were a little thicker, but by using fabrics like cashmere, and wearing the right layers underneath, I could get warmth without too much bulk.
- I always wear something under.  Even here, where I don't necessarily need a warm layer, a tank can help smooth.  And in colder places, a nice fitted top underneath can add so much warmth.  I make sure the layer underneath is a slippery fabric so my sweater doesn't catch on it weirdly. 
- I usually try to have some sort of interesting detail.  On this one, that's the button cuffs.  On others it'll be something like studs.

I also love tight high turtlenecks, but it hasn't been cool enough for me to wear them here yet.  But every winter here I've felt colder, as I've gradually become more spoiled.  So maybe this year.  :)

(Sweater: Martin & Osa - which is no longer in business.  I recently discovered MNG Mango - I think they are a similar store to what Martin & Osa used to be.)

Working with a personal shopper

I love below-the-knee pencil skirts, and to the extent that I have a signature look, they are probably part of that look.  But I *never* would have considered a high-waisted one (given my short torso and tummy) until my personal shopper made me try it.  And voila, I do have a waist!  (Or at least, the outfit makes it look like I do.)

Three years ago, a few months after baby #1 was born and I was going back to work, I needed work clothes for my larger post-baby figure, and I had no free time to spend shopping.  I called up Nordstroms, which offers a free personal shopper program.  They hooked me up with one.  We corresponded via email in advance and I let her know my rough measurements and guess as to size, what I was looking for, which included a few very specific items (e.g., a black suit), and a few more general ones (e.g., pencil skirts, work pants, work tops).  She pulled items in my sizes and price range and had them all ready for me when I arrived.  I went straight to a fitting room and tried stuff on.  Based on what I liked and didn't, she pulled additional items.  She brought the tailor to the fitting room to take measurements for adjusting two pairs of suit pants. It was incredibly easy and incredibly fast.  I ended up doing a second trip about a month later.  Based on the first trip she had a good sense of my style and size, so she let me know when a bunch of stuff that I would like went on sale.  That's when I got this skirt.  I already had the shirt and belt, and the shoes are new for this year (and help to keep the outfit looking super current).  She was able to do some combinations and pairings I never would have thought of on my own, or wouldn't have taken the time to put together.  It was really great.

Nordstroms has some really inexpensive clothing, which I think a lot of people don't realize.  But it has incredible service.  I highly recommend trying out their personal shopper service.  If you do, make sure to be really vocal and communicative - let them know what you're looking for, what you are looking to spend, and as they bring things let them know what you like and don't like and why - and they should be really helpful. 

(Skirt: Halogen, from Nordstroms (one of my favorite brands there for inexpensive but nice-looking clothes for a 30-something), Shirt: Ann Taylor, Belt: Cheapo belt that came with a juniors top I bought ages ago, shoes: Nordstroms)

The pitfalls of online shopping, and getting ready while carrying a crying toddler

I bought this blazer online because I liked the detailing - I love the contrast trim and the gold buttons.  But when it arrived, I wasn't thrilled with the fit, so I decided to return it.  Of course, that requires checking the box that says "reason for return: fit," closing the box back up, putting the return label on, and dropping it off at the UPS office.  I never did it.  30 days later, and the return period has expired, so I'm going to just start wearing the thing.  The fit really isn't that bad - it's just boxy, which can work - and it is a nice looking blazer. 

But of course, there's another problem with this outfit: There's just too much going on.  I should have worn a crisp white button-down, or a simple white sweater, with this outfit.  Instead, I'm wearing my white blouse with silver buttons and ruffles and things.  I had to get ready while carrying our inexplicably fussy one-year-old today, and this blouse was easier to reach.  I'm also wearing different pants than I had planned, for the same reason, but that worked out pretty well.  Take a look at how well the different navy fabrics match!

(Blazer: j-crew factory, blouse and pants: white house black market, shoes: target shoes that are *exact* copies of christian louboutin simple pumps minus the red sole (as I know now after having bought myself a pair of simples))