Size doesn’t matter; it’s what you do with it that counts…

Karran - The Mama Edits - 22 Aug 16

Last night, Jonny and I had the conversation that we both knew had been coming for a long time. It was an awkward, uncomfortable conversation that neither of us wanted to have, but it had been bubbling away for a while and it was only a matter of time until one of us brought up the forbidden subject, the ever growing elephant in the room. I could see the look of unease and apprehension on his face as he took the plunge and made the first move towards opening an honest, truthful discussion on the subject that neither of us knew how to approach without upsetting or offending the other.

Nevertheless, he had chosen now as his moment and no matter how much I wanted to shrink away with embarrassment, he was talking and I had to listen.
‘Darling…’ he said softly whilst lightly drawing little circles on my thigh with his finger, ‘darling we need to talk…’ I could feel my face flush red with embarrassment, I knew what was coming next.

‘Yep, ok, yep… you’re right, I knew you were going to talk to me about this soon…’

‘Darling, you know what I’m going to say… We need to talk… about the size of your wardrobe…’

There it was. The uncomfortable conversation I’d been dancing around for the last few weeks was out there. We had to talk about the size of my wardrobe, or rather, the growing pile of shoes and clothes which seemed to be breeding inside it. I knew this had been coming; no more running.

‘Yep, yep… I know… I’m sorry…’

‘I mean, remember we talked about this before… we agreed…’

‘Yep, yep… I know… I’m sorry, I’ll sort it, I promise…’

There it was. I’d been told off… and rightly so. When we moved house we both had a huge clear out of clothes. We’d cut our belongings in half and the majority of our clothes went with them, but over the last couple of months I seem to have accumulated many more, unnecessary, items of clothing and shoes… Or, as Jonny puts it: ‘Why do you need four pairs of brown shoes that are nearly exactly the same?’ Again, he’s completely right no matter how I try to justify it.

So, here we go again… I’m putting myself on a shopping ban; I’ve never been into momentary fashion buys anyway so a great deal of my clothes are similar in style. I am going to try to cut down to an essential, capsule wardrobe. I’ve had a few people say to me in the last few weeks that they have had mammoth wardrobe overhauls and are looking to start again, but don’t know where to start, so this is my guide to a mum’s essential, capsule wardrobe; the things I couldn’t do without and how I am going to stick to the basics…

Jeans/ Trousers/ Shorts/ Skirts

You can’t go wrong a pair of skinny black jeans, blue denim boyfriend jeans and one pair of dungarees for those weekends when you’ve eaten far too much. A pair of leather or faux leather trousers are also great for dressing up or dressing down when you’ve had enough of wearing the same old jeans… Old denim cut offs will always be my go to shorts and you can’t beat a pair of battered vintage Levis.

In terms of skirts, I’ve been wearing them more as an alternative to jeans and love how versatile they can be. A statement maxi skirt is great as they are eye catching and can be dressed down with a trusty old pair of Stan Smiths or jazzed up with some (obligatory) pointed black heels (Louboutins in a dream world!). An old (or new) denim skirt is also a must… They just keep coming back round.

Tops

Anyone who has seen my Insta feed will know that my all-time favourite thing to wear is stripes. Stripes. Stripes. Stripes… Long sleeves, short sleeves, no sleeves… who cares… I adore a striped top and if I’m ever having one of those days where I HATE everything I own; you can guarantee I will end up wearing a striped tee; timeless style which never goes out of fashion. I’m also a big fan of statement or logo tees… My favourite at the moment is from the super stylish Mere Soeur; if you have been thinking about getting one of these; do it. They are great. And, of course… every capsule wardrobe needs a simple black, white and/ or grey t shirt.

I am also at that stage in my life where I need clothes that will survive chasing after a baby and getting covered in food, as well as being able to transform into something a bit more glamourous should I get the chance to go out on a Saturday night. I would opt for a patterned top (leopard print is my favourite) or something with spaghetti straps that would look great with a necklace. Every girl should have a couple of Cinderella tops in the back of the wardrobe that can make an epic transformation when needed. I don’t ever bother buying tops that will be a flash in the pan fashion as, for me, it’s a waste of money; they will be worn once, maybe twice and banished to the back of the wardrobe where I will find them a year later and say: ‘What the hell was I thinking?’

Oversized shirts are also regarded as an essential item for me; they are great for wearing as an escape from t shirts and as an outer layer for a bit of a change or if you don’t want to wear a jacket.

Shoes

Invest in a pair of good ankle boots; if you can, pay out for those boots you lust after, you will wear them year after year and boots like that only ever get better with age. I still have a pair of boots I wear from my University days… I left in 2004…

Classic trainers: Stan Smiths, Gazelles, Converse… the list goes on.

And lastly… in my opinion, no heel can beat a pointed black stiletto.

I could go on… but then this would become a post about my dream wardrobe…

Enjoy.

K xx

Karran - The Mama Edits

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