This story was contributed by The Local Moms Network contributor Kristin Koch, executive editor at Seventeen magazine, blogger behind closetfulofclothes.com and mom of two. For more mom-friendly fashion inspo follow her on Instagram at instagram.com/kristinmkennedy/.
I can’t believe it’s already time to start thinking about back to school, but it will be here before we know it, unfortunately. Just when we get the hang of the whole summer camp routine, it’s going to be over and time to figure out how to do school drop offs and activities and all the fall events again. As much as I do love fall, I’m never ready for summer to be over. And yet, there’s no escaping the back to school emails and to-dos that are already starting to pop up in my inbox. While I plan to hold onto the long, lazy days of summer for as long as I can, by the end of August, I am usually ready for the routine of the school year and, of course, sweater weather. And it’s definitely fall in stores. I don’t know if you’ve been doing any shopping recently, but it’s all fall clothes and back to school supplies (which btw makes it a great time to hit up the summer sales!).
In an effort to get ahead of things, I am already doing some back to school shopping for the kids (check out my favorite fall clothes for boys and fall clothes for girls), and I also have been doing some shopping for myself with an eye towards streamlining my mornings so week days are slightly less chaotic and disheveled. I want to be able to run out the door and not worry that I’m still in my pajamas or only half dressed. I find I spend so much time worrying about what the kids are eating or wearing and getting everyone where they need to be on time that I can end up leaving the house looking like a hot mess. But on days I work from home, I need to hit the ground running and get in as much work as I can while they house is quiet and I can think and Zoom sans interruption. I want to be able to start my day as soon as I return from drop off rather than using some of the precious time picking out an outfit and getting ready. I am a huge proponent of leaning into uniform dressing to make getting ready in the morning easier, and taking this approach with my school drop off/pick up outfits has really helped. So I thought I’d share a back to school mom uniform that will take you from drop off to pick up and wherever your day takes you in between.
I basically just pick an outfit template that I can easily replicate each morning, and for fall, that template consists of jeans, a sweater, flats and a great coat. I’ll change up some of the pieces but I like to invest in a few quality basics that go with everything and then wear them over and over and no one notices because you always look chic and put-together. Here’s a simple back to school mom uniform that’s easy to recreate (I’m sure you have half the pieces in your closet already) and ensure you have one less thing to worry about when you’re rushing to get everyone out the door on time.
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