By Ashli Keyser 
I love fashion. I love dressing up. Most of the time, I’ll walk into a clothing store and grab a handful of items to try on that I know will work for me—right style, right color, right fit. But sometimes, just for funsies, I’ll grab an item that doesn’t usually tickle my fancy. Maybe this time, I’ll be surprised. Maybe today, I’ll rock that puffy sleeve or look hot in that wide-brimmed hat. Maybe today, pastels will be my color, or that push-up bra will actually push something (anything!) up. Maybe, this time, I’ll stand in front of the mirror and that divergent item of clothing will fit just right.
Being a mom is just like this sometimes, for me anyway. It’s a constant, ever-changing fashion show. And I have tried on many outfits in the fashion industry called motherhood. There have been the sports mom, PTO mom, social life mom, hermit mom, working mom, stay-at-home mom, happy-all-the-time mom, depressed-all-the-time mom. Some of these mom ensembles fit me for a while, and then I grew out of them. Some outfits were always a little uncomfortable, but I kept them on anyway, for my kids. And some outfits I put back on the rack immediately. Organized mom and health nut mom, I’m looking in your direction.
And then there were the mom looks that were forced on me, like the itchy turtleneck sweater of my youth. For example, COVID and distance learning mom. None of us asked to try that mom outfit on. It was the pantyline. The dirty bra strap. The trend that no one ever wants to see again. COVID Mom was the whale tail of fashion.
And then, finally, there are those mom outfits we try on that are almost impossible to remove. The ones that have us locked in a dressing room for an hour—crying, sweating, and panicking, hoping we don’t have to ask the attendant for assistance. And with that disturbing imagery, I present the FOMO mom ensemble, complete with all the social media glam and hurt feelings accessories. Moms should never try on FOMO mom. It’s just not a good look. But, for some reason, we enter that dressing room anyway.
A few months back, I tried on a cute little piece called “recreational adult soccer team” mom. I bought adult shin guards, adult socks, and adult cleats. I’d never purchased the adult variety of any of these items before, only the kid versions that are currently lodged under a booster seat or behind the washing machine. I tried on all this grown-up gear and, you guys, I looked the part. I mean, hello Mia Hamm. Never mind that I had never played a day of soccer in my life. If the moms of my daughter’s soccer team were starting their own team, I was in! I would try on this new mom garb–literally and figuratively–in the name of bravery and trying something new!
Nope. Not even close. In actuality, I joined the team because I thought if I didn’t, I would miss out on the lovely mom talk. The lovely mom plans. The dinners and wine and road trips. And the fun plans that would inevitably be made for our daughters. I would be an outcast. My daughter would be an outcast. So instead of risking missing out, I would risk life, limb, and lovely, unbroken nose. For my daughter. For myself.
But the moment I stepped out on that indoor turf, fear engulfed me. And not the good kind of fear that inspires and propels. The fear that turns you into a blubbering, fetal position wimp. The other team rushed me like lions, and I knew immediately this was not the look for me.
So I hung up my soccer jersey mid-season, wondering how many fun plans would be made without me and my daughter. Oh, how I wish someone would come over, pry my beloved FOMO outfit out of my death grip, and burn it. For me, FOMO mom is the fashion trend that just won’t die.
So, fellow mom fashionistas, I clearly haven’t quite figured out my mom style yet, but I keep telling myself that the best outfit, the best mom look, is the one that makes me feel the best. Not the one I think my friends or fellow moms will love, or the one they are wearing themselves. It’s the signature piece in my closet that always fits and feels the best on me.
People always know when you’re wearing something that makes you uncomfortable. So don’t! Take a fashion risk sometimes, but never at the expense of your individuality. Be the mom your kids love. Be the mom you love. Wear the effortless mom ensemble that makes you . . . you! Because that’s the look that will always turn heads.
by Amy Weatherly 
by Ellie Hunja 
by Robin Kramer 
