A Mommy-Friendly Accessory Even I Can Pull Off!

(Do you think my post title is long enough?!)

I have always been somewhat of a minimalist where jewelry is concerned.  Since becoming a mom though, I tend to be even more choosy about what I put on my body, because #time and #littlekidhands. I DO believe accessories make an outfit, but most of the time I just don’t have the mental energy to think that through. Many days, I even forget to wear my wedding ring and instead wear the $5 band I got from a street vendor in Berkeley; and I only “remember” that ring because it never leaves my finger.

However, I LOVE earrings so I almost always have a pair on.  Quickly putting on a pair of earrings makes me feel officially dressed. Even then, 99% of the time they are light-weight and simple.  Necklaces and bracelets sometimes make an appearance on Sundays, because that’s the day I actually take the time to really get ready.

Lately, I’ve been so excited about a new accessory trend, one that takes little thought but adds a lot of style, and it also happens to be especially mom-friendly: light scarves.

Ever since my study-abroad to London and the ten Persian scarves I brought home, I’ve been a scarf-wearer. When I taught middle school, I wore scarves daily through the chillier months.  Since we lived right on the Bay, that was all. the. time.  Something about those soft, beautiful scarves made me feel special without taking a lot of planning.  And they were comfy, too!  However, since we moved farther inland and to a warmer climate, my heavy-scarf-wearing has gone down so much that I ended up giving away a lot of my old ones from Europe.

Recently, I’ve seen my old study abroad buddy, Merrick, rocking the light-scarf/bandana trend and I am SOLD!  (PS: if you don’t follow her already, get on it!  She’s the only fashion blogger I follow because she actually teaches you about style AND sewing too.)  Finally, an easy, classy accessory I can rock as a mom.  No kids breaking it.  No worries about stains.  No wasting big money on an accessory.  And it’s a chic trend that I think will last longer than the chokers.  Plus, these light scarves keep me a little warmer, but not too warm since I do live in Northern California, after all.

So with the days getting chillier, I’ve gone back to my scarf-wearing ways and I LOVE it.  I feel like “me!” In the outfit pictured, I was about to spend a morning with some girlfriends in San Francisco.  It’s ALWAYS cold in San Francisco, so I got away with both a scarf and a jacket.

OH, and I’ve been testing some 16-hour lipsticks for you–just trying things out before I splurge on Lipsense. I’ve never been much of a lipstick wearer, but I’m getting older and learning that a little color helps brighten my whole face.  If I’m going to take the time to put on lipstick, I’d rather it not transfer to all my clothes/kids, AND I want it to last a long time… I’ve gotten two great lipsticks from Revlon that have been impressive, especially considering <$10 vs. Lipsense $50!  However, this red color shredded up quickly because, well, I ate four pastries in a row after applying chapstick over the lipstick that I don’t think you’re supposed to…. The lipstick comes with its own gloss, so I’ll stick to that and I’m betting it will last a lot longer. (Those links are the only affiliate links in this post, by the way.)

In this outfit, I went all over SF that day, AND played with my kids (minus the jacket), AND took a nap, AND went to the pumpkin patch (with a change of shoes, though).  That little scarf stayed on the whole day and made me feel more chic than I would have otherwise with just my shirt and jeans.  So, if you see me in a scarf everyday the next six months, now you know why!  And I hope you’ll join me in trying it out!

I’m participating in a Mommy Style Monday series today! You can sign up to participate in a similar series over at Madeline and Kiana’s blogs.  And please see what other moms are sharing about their accessories below!