How Dress Shopping With My Son Was A Self-Confidence Booster

Workplace fashion is hard. I went shopping for work with the best intentions and found myself completely distracted by a Wonder Woman tube top. So basically, what I’m wondering is what cut of blazer goes best with a tube top. I’m mostly kidding (but that tube top will be mine come pay day, mark my words!) What I really needed was a dress that would stop traffic.

I’m a working mom and I sometimes struggle with feeling like I don’t look my best at the office. Truthfully, it’s more than that. I have been feeling so “frumpy” and boring stylistically. I woke up feeling desperate to get out of my fashion rut. I have a bunch of big meetings coming up and I really wanted to shine. It’s my kid weekend, so I dragged my little one along with me with the promise of a stop at the video game store on the way.

I led him into a big name department store, clutching my purse and my coffee. I browsed the racks, pulling pieces with potential and passing them into his waiting hands. He held tightly to my treasures as we perused the merchandise. I asked his opinion on the things I had selected so far. He paused, looking down at the pile of black and charcoal garments in his arms.

“I think you should get something in a nice teal, Mommy, then you will get noticed,” he suggested diplomatically. I laughed, but part of me died a little because that was exactly how I have been feeling. I’ve been feeling almost invisible lately, hiding behind my clothes instead of using them to display my best assets.

We headed off to the change rooms to see what would work and I asked him what he meant by what he said. He smiled and laughed.

“Well, mommy, if you go out at night in the dark in a black dress, cars might not notice you. If you pick something teal, maybe they won’t run you over.” Here I was, trying to salvage my self-esteem and he was just worried about preservation of life and limb. I tried to contain my laughter as I zipped and unzipped, until finally leaving the change room with the perfect dress.

My son and I don’t always see eye to eye fashion wise. I mean, sometimes he asks me to wear a vintage sundress with a crinoline for a simple trip to the grocery store. But this weekend, it turns out we were both on the hunt for the same thing—a dress that would stop traffic.