Why Every Mom Needs Fishnet Tights & Jelly Bracelets #typeacon

I have a tendency to take on life with the deepest of emotions. Words and actions hit my heart pretty hard and I overthink most every single thing I hear or do. It’s pretty draining. Though I am easygoing by nature, I’m also analytical and all my fellow analyzers out there know that is a blessing and a curse.

It’s not often that I shake it all off and live in a carefree way. I’m having images right now of me leaping through a meadow or spinning with my arms out and face to the sky during a rainstorm. So, that would not be me.

Here’s the funny part.

That used to be me.

Until I became an adult.

I realized that adulting is taxing to the mind, body and spirit that perhaps I will never be that total free-spirited girl I was when I was young, but I figured something interesting out last week.

We can trick ourselves.

Fellow moms, when was the last time you pulled fishnet tights over your legs or covered your forearm in jelly bracelets? Many moms of my generation grew up in the 80s and was that not such a fun decade? Side pony tails, plastic charm necklaces, t-shirt rings, tight-rolled jeans, shoulder pads, Swatch watches, LOTS of denim, high bangs, blue eye shadow, funky clothes, plenty of color, and so on and so forth.

Remember those days? So much fun

Last week at the Type-A Blog conference, a brand hosted a ‘Decades Party’ and my group of friends dressed like the 1980s. I packed my outfit with no further thought and though I was excited about the party, I had no idea what I would feel like when I pulled on those fishnet tights and teased my hair.

I felt it, you guys.

A feeling of silly happiness like I haven’t felt for a very, very long time. And it wasn’t just that I was dressing up but that I was dressing up in the same way I used to dress when I was a kid and let’s be real here, childhood is pretty much amazing, though nobody realizes it at the time.

In retrospect, I’ve thought of several reasons why every mom needs to occasionally dress like it’s 1985.

Reason 1. I feel like these days the point of fashion and beauty is to look stunning without appearing like you’re trying too hard, which is very hard to do so. Understated yet trendy clothes, unique accessories, very little make-up that still covers blemishes and dark circles, etc. Well, that was not the case in the 1980s. It feels great to have tons of make-up on and big hair and crazy, loud outfits. It’s like the tackier the better!

Reason 2. The mind’s not dumb. Have you ever smelled a scent from years ago and it triggered an emotion? Have you ever tasted a dish that was so similar to your grandmother’s Thanksgiving dressing that you felt all warm and fuzzy? It’s all the same with our eyes and skin. If we look and dress like we are 10 or 15 again, our brain triggers happy memories from a simpler, calmer time in our lives.

Reason 3: Now I know why Clark Kent had a Superman costume. It’s hard being the regular, everyday you. It’s fun dressing like someone else entirely! So get out those banana clips and oversized, off-the-shoulder sweatshirts and have at it. I promise you’ll love it.

Halloween is coming up and if you’ve had a stressful time lately, perhaps you should dress like you’re going to a Debbie Gibson or New Kids on the Block concert. It does something to you, something really fun.

There’s power in those fishnet tights and jelly bracelets, my friends. Trust me.