Autumn / Fall School Run Style

School run style – is there even such a thing?  Well yes I think so…  The reality is that once you are a mum, unless you are coming straight from work to collect the kids your pre kid wardrobe will likely be impractical for doing that school run or car pool.  My Fall school run style is a tough one for me as I have always preferred my summer clothes and it is even harder since I had the kids as I must admit my style since then has been throw on something in order to be clothed and out of the house in time for school. There are not many style decisions as such. Recently, as the girls are starting to be able to dress themselves I am feeling like I can take at least two minutes to actually think about what I will wear.

So here goes my school run style for autumn and winter or fall depending on which side of the pond you are on!

This autumn the weather is just amazing. I am totally a sunshine girl and being able to go out without a coat at the end of October works for me. The warmer weather means I am all about the skirt and the maxi dress this season. I love a midi shirt with a sweatshirt – so comfy and stylish. I am also loving a maxi dress with a denim jacket. I would love to do this with a leather jacket too but I haven’t found one that I love enough to spend the required dosh. I have been looking at faux leather though too so may get one of those.  

Layering is the key to school run mum style

I think that autumn and winter style has to be about layering as everyone turns up the heating so you might be cold outside but as soon as you go inside it is so hot that you start to feel hemmed in and your make up slides down to your neck! And don’t get me started on the sweaty mess that is me when I arrive at school pushing the double buggy and generally pulling along a boy or two on scooters or just chasing after them . So I will always have a plain round neck t shirt underneath any sweater.  I also then quite like to do a lighter jacket with a lighter weight coat over the top.  That way I can remove layers mid buggy push and be able to carry them or put them on the buggy.  Not so easy with a huge winter coat.  The duvet style coats are good for this too as they squish down, but I look dreadful in them so that is a no no for me!

Comfort school run style

As a mum of 4 autumn and winter style does still have to be practical so pumps are the way forward for me. I love a sparkly pump or ones with an interesting pattern or detail. They go with everything and can take you from school run to lunch and even on to an evening out should you ever have a chance to go out! I am loving the superga pumps, but I have also found some cute ones at high street stores like next.  I used to live and die in heels, but I just had to accept that was not going to work when pushing a heavy double buggy and often literally running to school. 

Changing Style as a School Run Mum

I still think that we school run mums want to look nice though so, for me, at least it has been about finding a new style and one that works with my 40 something life as a mother of 4 little children as opposed to 20 something me who was in town and out on the town a lot of the time. 

Glamour is not required when you are wiping a 2 year olds bottom, but you can still be stylish as long as they have slept as honestly anyone who has been woken in the night by crying children deserves a good trackie bottom and oversized sweatshirt kind of a day.  If you do feel like you want to get back to spending a bit of time on yourself then you might like this post 5 easy ways to up your mum style

There is a bit of a mummy uniform round my way which often involves a breton stripe. I must admit I have a couple of striped tops myself, but as I have become more accustomed to my new mummy style and more comfortable in my size (I lost around 3 stone a couple of years ago, but it has taken a while for me to actually see that in the mirror and buy new clothes) I have all but stopped wearing them as I have found my own way of doing things.  I am getting braver with patterns and have even gone animal print a few times recently.  I am also loving a slogan sweatshirt or jumper which I would never have worn before.  I have seen some gorgeous ones at Hush or for a slightly less purse busting version Next is always good!

I am also loving these amazon finds.  Isn’t the pink one just perfect for Thanksgiving?

Buy on Amazon

Perhaps this is something about being older too;  I have started to just be more confident and actually care less about trend and more about what I like.  I mean I haven’t gone the whole toddler route and just dressed like a clown with pattern on pattern on pattern, but there is still time.  Maybe we all need to be a bit more toddler in our style as I am sure you have all seen what happens if you leave a toddler to pick their own clothes – they just wear what they love!  Now clearly we can’t all spend our days wearing a unicorn sundress in December with a pair of crocs, a glittery cardy and a flowery pair of leggings, but maybe we could do a bit more of just wearing what we love instead of what is ‘acceptable’.  

A few key pieces

Now that I am definitely over 40 I have also decided that I just don’t need as many clothes as I did in my 20s. I don’t go out as much and so the requirement for different outfits and a collection of fabulous shoes has certainly dwindled. I could be a little sad about that as it reflects perhaps a less exciting time in my life but actually I am seeing this as an opportunity to reject quantity for quality and instead of having 20 things from the cheapest shops I am choosing to maybe just buy one really nice jumper or skirt that will hopefully last…

This type of shopping does mean that you need to buy stuff that is a bit more classic so that it doesn’t look super dated by next Fall.  However, it also means that when things are less flush financially I don’t need to buy anything new as I can just wear last years stuff.  How do you shop for your clothes?