GET A SWEAT ON

Molly Gunn - 4 Mar 14

Ok, so sweatshirts are not new. They’ve been around, ooh since the 1930s when Champion clothed labourers working in chilly upstate New York. But right now they’re having a moment – in the fashion sense, and also in my own personal wardrobe. I can’t get enough of them.

My  day-to-day life involves looking after my boys and working freelance from home but also going ‘up town’ and meeting people – like editors in smart offices who dress glossily and have nice hair. I need a look that works for both because frankly who has the time to fuss over outfits these days? Also, it means I don’t feel I’m dressing schizophrenically.

Raff has just turned 3, and Max is 8 months – so my clothes are pawed and clawed and – sorry to be so graphic – but dribbled and snotted on continually throughout the day. Max is teething and more often than not has something messy on his face which he then burrows into my shoulder. But when I switch on my laptop or make a phonecall to someone worky I want to retain an ounce of style so that I feel ‘sharp’ instead of – well – a receptacle for child gunk.

My current one-stop solution is sweatshirts; cool, printed, colourful, comfy, durable sweatshirts.

‘Sweats’ suit a mother-freelance-mother-freelance day perfectly because they look cool* but aren’t so precious that they can’t pick up baby-dirt and then be thrown in the wash. In fact, the more they’re washed the better they seem to get, all soft, comfy and faded. A dark sweatshirt worn with black jeans and boots actually looks pretty smart for meetings, and a lighter sweatshirt with blue faded jeans and trainers is perfect for home.

The reason why they work so well for mothers?

Let me counteth the ways….

1) They look bold without having any fussy kid-grabby bits on them
2) They take a nanosecond to throw on = brainless dressing!
3) You can stick them in the wash again and again
4) They weather all manner of baby-goo
5) They are comfortable without being dull
6) They are warm without being stuffy
7) They nod to that whole 90s thing going on
8) They are the perfect accompaniment to jeans
9) They don’t break the bank (although it depends which one you buy – there’s a £1200 Marc Jacobs’ one that is a touch too pricey for me).
10) You can stick them in the wash again and again (did I mention that?!)

Seriously, you’ll be converted. Try ’em.

*I use ‘cool’ in a very loose sense, I in no way think I’m cool in a ‘down with the kidz’ sense. I mean cool as in good. Passable. Vaguely stylish etc. 

Read Molly’s other Selfish Mother posts here 

Molly Gunn

Molly Gunn is the Curator of Goodness at Selfish Mother, a site she created for likeminded women in 2013. Molly has been a journalist for over 15 years, starting out on fashion desks at The Guardian, The Telegraph & ES Magazine before going freelance in 2006 to write for publications including Red, Stella, Grazia, Net-A-Porter and ELLE. She now edits Selfish Mother and creates #GoodTees which are sold via TheFMLYStore.com and John Lewis and have so far raised £650K for charity. Molly is mother to Rafferty, 5, Fox, 3 and baby Liberty. Molly is married to Tom, aka music producer Tee Mango and founder of Millionhands. They live, work and play in Somerset.

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