Q. Some of the more fashion-conscious mothers at my kindergartner's school made jokey comments about my clothes, and now I feel pressured to dress up more for morning dropoff. Should I?

A. Between fixing the lunches, making beds, and coaxing a halfway decent breakfast down my kids' throats, the last thing on my mind is putting on a faceful of Maybelline and slipping into couture first thing in the morning. Shoot, everyone should be thankful I'm not showing up at the school in a bathrobe, rollers, and slippers.

This is what my friends and I tried to explain to an acquaintance recently when, during a girls' night out, she suggested that too many of us moms let ourselves go for the sake of the kids. "If you cared about yourself, you'd put on some makeup, a little perfume, and fix your hair so you feel good," she said. My friends and I looked at her like she had 12 heads, and then argued her down  -- "Who's going to get all decked out just to buy bananas and diapers at Kroger?"

But later, alone, I had to admit that I do carry myself differently when I have on a cute top and a little lip gloss, and perhaps it wouldn't hurt every once in a while to remind my friends and my husband  -- and especially myself  -- that when I feel like it, I clean up good.

The key words here, though, are "when I feel like it." And that should be your mantra. No need to keep up with Barbie. Jeans or skirt, heels or sneakers, follow your own dress code.

Stumble Upon Facebook Del.icio.us Google Yahoo Digg it