There was a time in my life when I went to things like malls and department stores. I curated actual “going out” outfits (I see you, 2000s). I used to buy bright-colored bras instead of practical tan, white, and black ones. I used to throw a shirt away for a stain and had never worn out a pair of jeans. I mean, I not only owned but frequently wore four-inch heels. It was a slippery slope, though; it probably started the first time my best friend told me about the “super soft” nursing tops at Target. Then, it was a sweater at Meijer—frequent trips through the women’s section right off the produce at Target. Suddenly, I found myself sitting around drinking wine with my friends on my Lanai while we all professed our love for… Costco clothes. Here we are, moms in our 30s and 40s, and, despite our teenage assumption that adulting would equate to a Clueless-sized closet system, we are instead clothing ourselves in the finest threads from the grocery store.
Before I had kids I definitely shopped at Target, I mean, the Super Target really started it all. But let’s be frank: when I was younger, I also wasn’t grocery shopping for a family of five, so I didn’t really think about it as a grocery store. I’m not bashing the grocery store wardrobe, because, well, it’s been doing me a solid for ten years. There is nothing quite so convenient as finally admitting your favorite white tee can no longer be bleached and saved and being able to swing by with a cart full of kids on the way to grab a gallon of milk. Or surviving a sleepless night with a toddler with double ear infections and being able to engage in some semi-adult retail therapy- hello, my whole headband collection.
I know we’ve all seen the meme about the super put-together child and then the mom behind the lens in the messy bun and two-day-old yoga pants. The other day, my three kids were getting dressed for church: Vineyard Vines, Under Armour, Sperry, Mini Boden (props to my MIL and kids consignment sales), and I was getting ready to walk out the door in a dress I bought at Walmart for $12 two years ago. As a side note, have you seen the cuteness coming out of Walmart lately?! While I had a little chuckle about the ridiculous discrepancies in my and my children’s wardrobe, I also quickly recognized that I would NEVER spend that kind of cash on myself- it’s another ingrained sacrifice of oneself that seemed to coincide with motherhood for me. Certainly, there is the convenience of the grocery store, but there also is the sacrificial lamb that is my wardrobe; I will, 9 times out of 10, choose to buy for my kids over myself.
Maybe it’s one of those things that will come back as my kids grow up, like the mama flamingoes that get their pink back. Maybe one day I will enjoy a leisurely stroll through a mall shopping and, wonder of wonders, actually go in a dressing room. Maybe I’ll stop wearing my nursing bras every day, even though I nursed my last baby a year and a half ago (no judgment.) For now, I will continue to write this Ode to the Grocery Store Wardrobe. I’ll break up the mundane grocery store aisles with a new sundress or search out a cute top my friend was wearing that she gushed about from the high-end fashion retailer- La Costco.
