I know 2020 was basically the year of loungewear, and while I certainly enjoyed lounging at home in sweats in the evenings, I got dressed almost every single day last year. I know not everyone will share my love for wearing “real clothes” everyday, especially around the house, but it’s honestly one of my favorite habits! The clothes I share here are the clothes I really wear everyday (ask my friends!).
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
When my son Jack was born 6 years ago, athletic clothes were my default. They were comfortable and practical and easy to wear with a newborn and a changing postpartum body. But after several months, I started to miss the feeling of a real, proper outfit. And I wasn’t even sure I knew what kind of clothes I even liked anymore. So I started the #legitmomstyle hashtag and began sharing my day to day outfits that felt put together but also worked for me as a mom. Looking back, it was really the beginning of truly exploring and understanding my personal style as an adult, as well as a launching point for my style-oriented career.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The habit of getting dressed each day has continued since then, and I actually find it even more important with so much time spent at home. It helps me separate the days from the nights, and helps me feel capable and competent with my work, either on my business or in motherhood.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
What we look like is the least important thing about us, but expressing ourselves through personal style can be a powerful way to deepen our self-awareness, and can even serve to help us love our bodies even more. When I started to see style as a way to communicate to the world and as as something to be enjoyed FOR ME—not something to impress others or to disguise my body—it actually gave me so much more love and appreciation for the body I have and has resulted in me spending LESS time worrying about what I look like.
Outfit links. See the outfit in motion here.
Outfit links. See the outfit in motion here.
Outfit links. See the outfit in motion here.
What were some of your favorite outfits (or outfit formulas) from last year?
I too have been getting dressed since having kids for the same reasons. I really do enjoy the process. My favorite outfits of 2020 tended to be dresses. I love the one and done simplicity, but I appreciate that I can accessorize a dress up or down.
Quick question on the agolde denim shorts; are they true to size?
Dresses are so good for spending so much time at home, too — “real clothes” but nice and comfy. For the shorts, I went up a size because I have a curvy shape and I don’t like tight denim shorts.
Hi Natalie,
I noticed you pared down your IG quite a bit, and I can’t find what I was looking for here on the blog. Did you keep any sizing info for past purchases? I quite like a madewell dress you’d bought I think over the summer. But don’t know whether to buy my usual size or if I could size down (since all they have is a size down left!). Madewell website is telling me to size down but it’s never accurate for me. Thanks and congratulations on your 2021 revamp!
Oh yes, the floral one? I did a blog post on that a little while back (linking here: https://blog.natalieborton.com/3-ways-to-wear-a-floral-maxi/)
That one ran big in my experience/based on my shape and I definitely sized down personally.
Bonjour Nathalie,
Je tenais à vous féliciter et vous remercier pour le message que vous divulguez. Vous avez été, et êtes toujours d’ailleurs pour moi, une source d’inspiration et d’acceptation de soi. Aujourd’hui j’ai plaisir à m’habiller avec des pièces essentielles et intemporelles, qui sont faciles à s’accorder ensemble, le tout à la française 🙂
💛💛💛
My go to outfit that is comfy, yet makes me feel put together is black joggers paired with a white tee and denim jacket.
Classic athleisure look — love!
Hi Natalie! Will you be continuing to post your daily outfits either on here or the LIKEtoKNOW.it app? I found so much value in those. I often know which single pieces I like but have trouble putting it all together.
Yes! I do plan to still post there. I’ve been wearing a lot of pieces lately that I’ve had for a long time and haven’t had links to exact items, but it’s good to know LTK is still helpful and that it’s worth my time to keep up my posts over there!
Absolutely! I’ve found it to be really helpful. Thank you so much for doing that, Natalie.
Yes — I LOVE scrolling your LTK feed. It’s such a nicely centralized way to see one piece in lots of different outfits to spark my imagination.
One of my favorite benefits of getting dressed for (nearly) a year at being home has been learning to truly dress for myself. I am a creative person by my nature, but also an introvert, so I’ve felt the need to ‘tone down’ some of what I wear over the years because I don’t want to draw attention to myself at school pick up or out and about. Since that hasn’t been a factor for the last 10 months, I’ve found the freedom to truly examine (and wear) what pleases me. And it’s made me so satisfied most days! (And yes, I share outfits with the internet, but for some reason that feels less intimidating than peers IRL!)
I love hearing this and I’m so happy you’ve felt more free to really express yourself with style this year! I’ve been feeling that a lot more since I’ve stepped away from social media, too — more freedom to wear old clothes I love and less pressure to have a link for an exact item I’m wearing. I’ve rediscovered a few old favorites that I missed!
So much great inspiration here! For me, I surprisingly found that last year was the year of outfits that I loved, even though we’ve been home 24/7 since March. My formula was more a mindset by asking: what will make me really happy to put on my body today? And from that mindset, I’ve seen a natural inclination to buy fewer but better-quality pieces, and thus have pieces to grab that make me feel SO excited to get dressed even if I’m just wearing easy, comfy clothing.
Amen to that!! I think it’s SO freeing when we get dressed just for our own enjoyment and expression and not to impress others, and I can totally see how being at home most of the year contributed to more fun with your wardrobe.
I love all of these outfits! One of my favorite combos in 2020 was belted, high-waisted shorts with a feminine top and shoes that are more tailored or masculine like oxfords or loafers. I also have loved straight-leg denim with white sneakers and a turtleneck.
Love both of those outfit combos!