My personal style not only as a woman, but as a mom, took an all-time turn the other day. I can’t say “plunge” in good faith because I like what I purchased, but an official turn has been made. It was labor day weekend, and everyone else seemed to be living it up in a seaside cottage somewhere, or having stoop Bar BQs, or at roof top parties wearing belly shirts and posing seductively for Instagram attention. I was whiling away the afternoon at Whole Foods in Gowanus, with my baby and four year old. Our trusty old green Subaru Outback got us there, littered with empty Berenstain Bears juice boxes, muddy shoes, and stray, broken cheddar bunnies. Toddler radio played faithfully on Pandora. The children actually fell fast asleep right as I pulled up to the monstrous, solar-powered megalith and of course proceeded to take deep REM naps in the car of the parking lot for literally more than an hour as I acquiesced; went through receipts and organized my purse, maximizing time. Great. I hoped people coming and going from their cars wouldn’t wonder about me… that funky lady with the kids just sitting there looking busy, but I had no choice. Those who have more than one kid and go anywhere by car know what I mean. If they’re both asleep, you’re screwed, and you ain’t getting out- even for a coffee. I realized we were at Whole Foods to combine some critical produce shopping, playing upstairs with the giant puffy shapes, and me probably ordering some sort of a salad to eat while my daughter rumbled. Labor Day celebrations upstairs at Whole Foods- Holla! Killing three birds with one stone. Or, one mom car. But what I never, ever suspected was that I would be going to the part of the store with the clothes and hippie adornments to pick out a dress. Not only stopping for (which I never did before I always cringed at the homey, granola-feeling-artisan clothes I saw there) but liking what I saw. Liking most of it. OMG. I wondered what was happening to me, as I pulled a cute wrap PACT dress off the rack. I liked it. I couldn’t believe that it was only $33.00, for an elegant, black wrap-dress of a decent length, that could also accommodate breastfeeding?!? I was buying clothes at “The Whole Foods in Gowanus,” I had a Subaru, I’ve recently cut off my long hair and accepted the “lob” that everyone these days has. I wondered if this black dress obsession was all due to turning 40 last month, or to the fact that when would I ever encounter a cute number like that again with both kids in tow? Sometimes the two kids makes me a total sitting duck to whatever is peddled in front of my face. My old happenstance trips to Zara, Topshop, and my favorite store ever- Stella Dallas in Williamsburg for vintage purchases haven’t been happening anymore. But, was putting a dress into the same bag as a sweet potato and head of broccoli acceptable? Not only would I not be wearing white pants, but I now have a total mom outfit. Have I reached an all-time low, or have I joined the official ranks of parents out there who take pleasure and opportunity where they can find it? Let me reiterate (or at least state) that I used to pride myself on style choices and my fashion identity. I never, ever, thought I would be what I currently am. The mom part- yes. But the lob, and the breastfeeding dresses, and the giant puffy shape play yard talking to other parents on the roof of Whole Foods- no. I never thought I would be unifying groceries and fashion in one fell swoop. This was my labor day, and I am trying to enjoy the turn my life has taken. May I note that, later that night, as I hung out on our front stoop with my daughter and her sidewalk chalk, I was complimented on the new dress by a gentlemanly neighbor. Well done!
Rebecca Conroy is an artist, stylist, and former editor of A Child Grows in Brooklyn. She is from New York City, and has an MFA from Columbia University in screenwriting. Rebecca often finds herself on film and photography sets making things run or look better, and is the mom of two outrageously wonderful kids.