A Pea in the Pod - The Store! (This is not a social media announcement!)

Wanting to buy a new wardrobe full of stretchy, Lycra based, expandable clothing is not a good reason to have another baby.

And yet I found my thoughts wandering in that direction as I shopped with a good friend of mine at A Pea in the Pod recently.  Some women get "the itch" while they are packing away all those super cute newborn footie pajamas, but I packed away the dreadful breast pump at the same time.  But shopping for cute, fashionable clothing, well that's another story...

You see, I wasn't so hip on maternity clothes early in my pregnancy with Jett, with one very important, completely fabulous exception...my first ever pair of truly designer jeans.  I ordered my first pair of Citizens of Humanity jeans when I was expecting Jett, rationalizing that if I was going to get chubby and feel exhausted and cranky, I might as well look good doing it.  It was my investment piece, and after that I limited myself to slightly larger clothes that I could wear post-pregnancy, some hand-me-down pieces from my aunts, the clearance rack at Gordmans, and a couple of cute work pieces from Target and the Gap.  Other than my on-time excursion on A Pea in the Pod online, I didn't fully take advantage of the situation. 

Looking at all of the fabulous clothes in the store, I even wondered if one particular black lace dress could pass for pea-free wearing mamas (different than pee-free for those of you who have boys.)  The twenty year old sales associate admitted to buying a few pieces herself and I could see why.  Really good maternity designers are brilliant people.  They have to take the season's fashion trends and transform them into smart pieces that can be worn for nine months+ of a transitioning woman's body and still look as good at the end, as the beginning.  They have to be cautious of pattern placement, sleeve length, and fit.  Not to mention the genius that must go in to designing maternity jeans; making sure that pocket placement and overall fit will not be compromised due to the large tummy panel in place of a traditional waist band.  But, when done correctly these jeans will cause one to wonder why all pants don't have an expandable, smoothing, panel of wonder (very helpful at Thanksgiving!)

So as I looked on with envy as my adorable friend tried on countless fierce fashion items, I sent my husband a text that said, "Such cute clothes, I'm getting the itch!"  He didn't reply, but later handed me the credit card and said he thought it was time for me to go shopping at JCrew.  That's one way to cure that problem!  That, and when I returned home that day I promptly went down in the basement, pulled out my favorite jeans ever, and plopped the Medela box on top.

Please Wear Pants...

In a mama blog such as this you may be thinking that this post has everything to do with the fact that my little one prefers to be nude as much as possible...and while that's completely true, that's not what this is about today. 

Today my question for the world is this: What on God's green earth does "your favorite business casual attire" mean for an event?  I'm all for nonprofits and organizers getting creative when it comes to addressing the "dress", but come on!  I like to think I'm a pretty decent dresser most days, but it doesn't just fall out of the closet for me.  I generally have to put a little bit of effort into what is on my person, and I literally have nightmares about showing up somewhere in cocktail attire when everyone else is in a golf polo, or not having hat adorned when clearly everyone else got the memo (sadly, this did happen.)  The worst part is I love a good hat!  And I feel way more confident in forced cocktail chat when I look like I belong.  Not to mention the inevitable question from my husband, "What I'm I wearing for this thing?"

Help me break it down.  Favorite Business Attire.  This implies cute business suit or business appropriate LBD (think sleeves).  Favorite Casual Attire.  Frankly for me this is JCrew skinny jeans and ballet flats.  Business Casual.  This has changed dramatically over the years.  For most industries think Target: khaki Dockers and a solid colored polo.  But if you are in a creative profession, or somewhere other than a bank this can also include dressy shorts, knit dresses, a high end graphic tee or jeans with a jacket.  Let's not even talk about a profession in "the arts"... Throw on something in rainbow or macrame and you are in.

One party site I found listed the following:
White tie/ultra-formal — Men: tailcoat and white vest, shirt and bow tie. Women: long gown.

Black tie/formal — Men: tuxedos. Women: dress (knee-length, long).

Semi-formal/informal — Men: dark suit, tie. Women: knee-length dress.

Cocktail — Men: dark suit. Women: knee-length dress or skirt.

Dressy casual — Men: jacket or collared shirt, pants. Women: skirt or dressy pants.

Business casual — Men: collared shirt, khakis. Women: dressy pants or skirt.

Casual — anything goes.

Thanks world wide web, that wasn't helpful... 

This time it's easy for my husband.  Dockers and a polo. Check. 

But here's a glimpse into my mind...

I don't own khaki's anymore...jeans are too risky if everyone else is in pants/skirts...I should have shopped at JCrew when my sister was working last week, darn it!...my pink dress is out, could be way too dressy...striped dress, no sweater?...flubby arms...striped dress and sweater...too dressy again!...heals or flats, heals or flats...skirt and chambray shirt, who am I trying to kid, I'm not cool enough to pull that off...

Help!