The jeans-and-tee wardrobe is a staple of moms who spend a majority of their time at home, and with good reason: tees are comfy and machine washable and inexpensive. But tees are also super casual, so much so that it can be hard to feel really professional and smart when you’re sporting one.

Dressing up your jeans and a tee uniform can be as simple as adding a jacket. Putting something with some structure over your tee gives your whole outfit some shape. Go as formal or casual as you like — a suit jacket can do double-duty with a pair of jeans and a tee, while a jean jacket gives your chinos a little edge. The easiest way to up the wow factor of your basic tee and jeans is a trench coat, which is the perfect spring outerwear, but think also about structured sweater jackets, which are a little more flexible than a traditional blazer but can look equally professional and polished.

A jacket is a terrific way to bridge being at home with your kids and being out and about during the work day; take the jacket off to load the dishwasher or make lunches, then toss it on for the school run or a client meeting. Having one piece that has some structure and shape to it gives your outfit a pulled-together look that bridges work and home, but without leaving you feeling like you need two different wardrobes just to get through your day.

Outfits pictured here are all available at Ann Taylor Loft.

At the beginning of this series, I asked what you all wear to work at home. Selene had this to say:

I’ve been thinking I need a change. I want to step my going out wardrobe up a notch… I’m feeling the need to feel “prettier” than just my standard same-ole jeans and t-shirt type of thing. I actually had my first hair cut in months yesterday (YIKES!) and am feeling good! I’ve been putting myself second for so long (probably since I had my daughter 2 years ago and she became #1, LOL)

I get up so early in the morning though (4am) that I can’t see getting up even earlier (3:30am) to shower and look nice just to pad on over to the office 20 feet away.

BUT, it would be nice to maybe use my current “out” wardrobe (jeans) at home, and get something nicer for when we go out.

I think we all know what Selene is talking about; at some point, we’ve been so focused on our kids that we have lost sight of ourselves; we stop getting haircuts (I once went almost an ENTIRE YEAR without a cut), we stop buying clothes, we stop getting dressed for anything that’s not a special occasion. It’s inevitable, I think, but it’s not necessarily desirable. And it’s easy to change.

Jeans are a fine wardrobing piece for a day at home, whether you’re working for pay or working for love. What you put on TOP of the jeans, though, can make a huge difference in both your look and your attitude. The key is to find tops that are more stylish than a basic tee but are ALSO machine washable AND affordable.

Thank god for Old Navy.
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In the comments on the first post in this series, quite a few of you said that when you are working at home, you still try to look nice, because there is always a chance that you will see people during your work-at-home day. I was impressed by how many of you said, “Of course I get dressed — I have to take my child to school, after all!” Because frankly, carpool moms are frequently the WORST fashion offenders.

Before we get to what you SHOULD be wearing during your WAHM day, let’s run down the list of things you should NOT be wearing:

Sweatpants with elastic at the ankles. Get some yoga pants instead.

Spirit tees. You know the ones, with the school’s name and mascot on them. Buy one for your kid, but not for you. If your child is involved in some kind of extracurricular activity that REQUIRES you to wear the spirit tee, save it for those specific events. And even then, think twice about it.

Battered tennis shoes. Honestly, put some real shoes on. It won’t kill you.

So what is the alternative? Let’s start with pants, shall we?

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One of the hardest parts of working from home is balancing the working part and the home part. And — let’s face it — it’s the home part that makes it hard. During a normal work-at-home day, we not only do the work that pays the bills, we also clean and cook and sort laundry and hug sticky children. And we sit on the floor an awful lot, and sometimes even venture outside.

That is a lot to get dressed for.

Most of the time, moms default to dressing for the messiest possible kid thing. I see moms all the time who look like they are ready to fingerpaint with a hyperactive toddler — they are wearing worn out sweatpants and stained tee shirts, as though they are just waiting to have something disgusting wiped on them. And while motherhood is often about the wiping of the disgusting substances, you don’t have to turn yourself into a walking Kleenex. In fact, I wish you wouldn’t.
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There are a lot of great perks to working from home; this morning, I am counting among them easy access to the leftover Boston Cream Pie my mother-in-law made this weekend. But unlike an office, which often has specific rules about what is and is not appropriate work attire, the home office has no rules. That sounds so great, doesn’t it, until you’re putting on your yoga pants for the umpteenth day in a row and feeling less like a contributing member of society and more like a housekeeper with a laptop.

Working at home is a truly remarkable opportunity, one that most of our mothers didn’t have. Being a WAHM gives you the best of both worlds, and while I would never go so far as to say that working at home is EASIER than going to an office, it certainly has its advantages, like the flexibility to manage sick kids and household chores, and the option to NEVER EVER WEAR PANTY HOSE AGAIN. Thank god.

But once you strip away the panty hose and suits, and add in the housework and kids, what exactly DO you wear to work at home? And how do you keep from falling into the I-don’t-really-need-nice-things trap that seems to come with the virtual office?

Let’s start with this: what do YOU wear when you are working at home? Are you happy with your current work-at-home wardrobe? Why or why not?

On Friday, we’ll talk about what to wear to the virtual office. Hint: there won’t be ANY pantyhose on this list.

There are a very few things that every woman really needs in her closet: mid-rise, dark wash jeans, a white shirt, a basic black dress, and a cashmere sweater. If you ONLY had those four pieces, you could go pretty much anywhere.

The part that always makes people nervous is the cashmere sweater. Let’s dispel some myths about cashmere.

Cashmere is expensive.
Yes and no. You’re not going to find a great cashmere sweater for $19.99. Cheap cashmere is just that — cheap; it won’t wear well, and it is often itchy. Good cashmere doesn’t itch — it is soft and silky and delightful to wear. But having a good cashmere sweater doesn’t mean spending a fortune. There are lots of places that carry beautiful, classic cashmere sweaters for around $100. My favorites are J. Crew (watch the end-of-season sales), Lands’ End, and Garnet Hill.

Cashmere has to be dry cleaned.
No. No no NO. Do NOT dry clean cashmere, ever. Hand wash in cold water and baby shampoo. The chemicals in dry cleaning fluid will cause the fibers in your cashmere sweater to become dry and brittle, which reduces both the silky softness and the life of the garment. Don’t EVER dry clean cashmere.

Cashmere is impractical.
A beautiful cashmere sweater — a basic cardigan, say, or crew or V neck pullover — goes with everything. Wear it with a skirt or wool trousers for work, or with jeans or yoga pants on the weekend. Choose a flattering cut and a color you love and a classic silhouette and make the cashmere sweater work for you. Lightweight cashmere can be layered in the dead of winter and tossed over a tank for all but the hottest days.

I hear from lots of moms who say, “When my kids are older, I’ll think about it, but right now I’m a walking Kleenex and it’s not worth it.” You would be surprised at the things you can wash out of cashmere. Blood, dirt, fish sticks that someone gagged on at dinner and threw up all over you — not that I have ever had to wash any of those things out of a cashmere sweater (okay, yes I have). Once upon a time, people wore cashmere sweaters for warmth, not for fashion, and the heartiness of the knit was part of what made them such great layering pieces. Wear the sweater, and then wash it after playgroup.

The bottom line is this: when you have great pieces in your closet — well made, beautiful, practical pieces — you can easily look pulled together, even on the days when you are scrambling to get out of the house. Toss a cashmere cardigan over a pair of jeans and a white tee and suddenly you look more professional, more reliable, more chic. A cashmere sweater is an investment; you will be able to wear it for years, to all sorts of venues and functions.

It’s okay to spend money on classic pieces, like a cashmere sweater. In fact, in the long run, it’s a good choice, because you will have that piece forever. And wouldn’t it be nice to know that you have one really practical, incredibly beautiful thing in your closet, something that you can and will wear all the time?

Yes it would.

Is there anything better than the work conference, the kind that takes place somewhere cool and includes social functions like cocktails or dinner? It’s kind of like a vacation, but without the kids!

But it’s NOT a vacation, and you should not pack the same things you would pack for a vacation. This is work, and you need to dress like you are working.

Even for cocktails and dinner.

Ann Taylor Loft V-neck contrast stitch dress, $69.00
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Business first: I’m thrilled by how many of you have joined WIM’s Work It, Kids! group. Groups like Work It, Kids! are a great way to connect with other working moms, and to get answers to all your pressing questions (sleep! homework! whining!). It is ALSO the key to entering the Work It, Kids! photo contest.

To enter your Wee Fashionista in the contest, join the Work It, Kids! group and then add photos to the photo pool. Winners will be chosen by random drawing on December 29th, so enter early and often!

All of the Fine Print can be found here.

To the mail bag! Whitney is looking for a holiday party dress.
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It is now OFFICIALLY the holidays, which means that holiday parties are right around the corner. More and more offices are forgoing the traditional weekend night party in favor of an end-of-the-day cocktail outing; this is often easier for employees to attend, as it typically takes place near the office, and it doesn’t eat into family time or take up precious baby sitter hours. It also gets spouses off the hook, which is sometimes a blessing.

For me, at least.

But it DOES leave you with the dilemma of what to wear. How do you go from work day to evening out without running home to change? Simple.

Accessories.
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I like to think that the key to looking good is wearing what fits, both your body and your life. So while there are basic guidelines that you can follow, there are very few real Rules about fashion and style.

Exception: NO flip flops at work, and NO visible underwear.

Although I may be wrong about that second one.
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