School Run (not your average!)

Hello Everyone! Summer was creeping a few days ago but I think that it is officially here since yesterday. You know it is Summer in Pune, when you turn on your A.C. and cannot bear to stay outside. I always said that I prefer Summer to Winter but truth be told, it can be challenging to find something to wear under this heat. Particularly for someone who mainly goes out for school runs. 

When it comes to school runs in Pune, people wear different things. If you are a working mother you are usually wearing your work attire which can be very formal or casual (depending on where you work). When you are a housewife like me it is mostly jeans or leggings (the latest craze), some kind of top (tunic, blouse or shirt), wedges or flats sandals an a designer handbag (at least at my kids school). Sometimes you even see some mothers in gym clothes or P.J. School runs have became major in some countries because what you wear to drop off or pick up your kids is basically a calling card for the kind of social life they are going to have at school. It is strange to think that what one wears has such an impact but we live in a world where everything is visual and people judge you by how you dress. You wear P.Js than you are sloppy, you dress up and put on make up, you are vain. It is funny yet not a laughable matter. 

School runs No-Nos (source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/)

I never really thought about what to wear on School runs. When I take the kids to school in the morning I usually grab the first thing I see because for some reason I am always running late. So if you see me in the morning, I am probably wearing some kind of sweats (if I want to hit the gym just after) or jeans and a shirt. In the afternoon I have time to chose something more adequate so let us just say that I am more put together. But I always end up wearing mostly the same thing: a pair of pants with some kind of a blouse, tunic or dress shirt some flats (ballerinas or sandals) and a tote bag or clutch. Even a Mom friend at school told me that it was my signature look. I laughed it off but it kind of offended me. I do like my jeans and blouses but I aspire to dress better than that. So why am I not?

Simply put: I like jeans and blouses. They are practical, easy to dress up or down and perfect for running errands which I do a lot before or after school runs. I do mix it up from time to time, but I mostly end up back in my style routine. But is it such a bad thing? Why am I trying so hard to be more fashionable? Who is going to notice? More importantly does it impact my kids life?

I am mostly dressing for myself. I wear what I like (not necessarily what fits or what is trendy!). I do not expect to be the center of attention with my style  (but I will accept compliments). I do not even dress up for this blog (ok: that is a lie! 6 out of all the outfits I post here were put together for the blog). I do not even dress up for my kids. I refuse to believe that how I dress will impact their lives (how naive of me). If they get playdates, it is based on their own character, not if I wear jeans or skirts. 

However, I am trying so hard because I do not want to fall in a style rut. I am already lazy as it is, to do my hair, get a mani pedi, even remove my make up at the end of the day (reason why I almost never wear make up). Therefore, I have to push myself from time to time, otherwise I will end up wearing sweats all day every day.

 Interestingly pushing myself to dress up is not as hard as I think it would be. It is rather fun. Take this dress for example. It is a bright neon pink (the pics do not do it justice) and something I would probably never wear for a school run. I love it because I am not afraid of colors but I always wear it with a black cardigan or blazer to tone it down. Today I decided to wear it with a shirt as a cover up because it was way too hot for pants. I had my pick between a blue and white striped men's shirt and a yellow men's shirt. But at the last minute, I tried this printed shirt. And it worked. I was so happy because I felt really colorful. For a moment, I thought that maybe I was just too bright but then I remembered that I was in India. I would fit right in!

Printed Shirt - Dmart

Dress - M.G. Road

Wedges - Sole to Soul

Accessories - purchased at a flea market and a fair in Pune

Silver bangle from market in Jaipur

Pink bangles from a fair at Ishaniya Mall

For someone who does not want to be in a jeans and shirt style rut, I pick up a shirt to cover my dress. SMDH!

I really do want to find better ways to dress, starting with the clothes I already own . Maybe I should put myself on a challenge every month. For one month, I forgo jeans and pants. And for the following, I only dress fancy. I would probably not last two days but it's worth a try even if it is for something as trivial as a school run.