I dress up, but I don't dress up for you

Remember when you were little and your mom asked you to change into your "play clothes"? I do. Your mom probably asked you to do that because different activities often require a different type of clothing. Since becoming a mom, I have noticed that some moms judge other moms for not dressing nice enough. I'm sorry if my sweatpants offend you. I'm sorry if you don't like my air-dried hair. I'm sorry if it bothers you that I'm not wearing make up. I am in the season of sweatpants. That's right. Now, maybe you got married at 20 and started having children, so I understand that you would still like to dress up. I got married at age 27. That means six years of school, two years of full time work, and a year and half serving a church mission which required that I wear a dress or skirt EVERYDAY! Don't get me wrong, I still like to wear skirts and go shopping. But after years and years of having to dress up everyday, I relish in the fact that I get to choose my own dress code. 

Now, I don't live in sweatpants but when I'm home all day doing laundry, cleaning, cooking, and playing with my child, I am probably wearing sweat pants. I dress up when I go to work. I dress up if I go out with my husband. I dress up if I meet a friend for lunch. But I do not dress up for other people. I've heard that women dress for other women. Maybe that is true, but not here. I'll give you an example. Last week I took my child to playgroup. He loves being around other kids and it is nice to be able to talk to some adults since I only work one day a week. Well, at playgroup you see different kinds of moms. Now, I'm not judging anyone in particular because if someone is really dressed up they might have somewhere to go afterwards. I don't know what their plans are. And I totally understand that maybe you also wear sweatpants everyday and maybe you just wanted an excuse to wear normal clothes. But, there are moms that dress to impress, and there are moms that are secretly competing with you. Maybe on the playground, maybe while picking up their kids from school, wherever. You know, when I went to play group this week I wore jeans...because I couldn't find any clean sweatpants! Ha! And you know, if you find me wearing workout clothes, it isn't because I worked out. It's because they are comfortable and they come from a time when I used to work out. 

Here's the thing, I personally don't care if someone judges me for wearing sweatpants but there are a lot of moms out there that are giving their all to their children and they may not be able to afford the nice clothes that you can afford. These moms may have a difficult child, and something as simple as a shower may be a personal victory. So don't be that mom who judges another mom for not being in style. She doesn't need to turn heads, she doesn't need to compete. If she wants to dress nice because it makes her feel good about herself, more power to her. But she doesn't need anyone making her feel inferior. And if she is being judged other moms it is probably for one of two reasons: 1) They are trying to make themselves feel better by comparing or 2) they are jealous that the other mom doesn't care what everyone else thinks and they wish they were as comfortable as she is. 

Because, after all, sweatpants are where it is at.