How to Stay True to Your Flamboyant Style When You’re a Busy Mom
One of my readers asked a powerful question that so many women quietly wrestle with:
“How do I balance my natural flamboyance with the practicalities of being a mom of four?”
Here’s the truth: no rule says motherhood and style expression are mutually exclusive. You don’t have to trade personality for practicality. But you might need to redefine what flamboyance looks like for you in this season.
You Can Still Be Bold, You Just Might Express It Differently
Style doesn’t disappear when life gets busier. It adapts.
For someone managing the beautiful chaos of raising four children, practicality becomes a non-negotiable. But that doesn’t mean your love for statement pieces, bold colours, or artistic details needs to be buried under beige basics.
Instead of thinking either/or, think both/and.
A patterned tee instead of a plain one
Sneakers in an unexpected colour or metallic finish
Machine-washable fabrics that still feel elevated
A bold print that hides the occasional banana smear from curious toddler hands
Here’s practical flamboyance, a cute bomber in a machine-washable and no-ironing-needed fun print. Bright tee and a necklace that can withstand little hands, as it’s not fine or delicate. Even the pants can be machine-washed.
Let Practicality Shape the Format, Not Dull the Spirit
Ask yourself:
Can I toss this in the washing machine?
Will it survive a quick steam instead of needing a full iron?
Is it comfortable enough to move in, bend down, or chase after little feet?
These are the logistics that make style sustainable – not boring.
For example, a voluminous sleeve might not be your best friend while doing school drop-offs or cooking dinner. But a beautifully structured shoulder or a unique neckline detail? That can still feel like you while working within your lifestyle.
Flamboyance Is Personal
What flamboyance means to you may not be what it means to someone else. It might be dramatic earrings, unexpected colour combos, or just refusing to default to what everyone else is wearing.
Style is personal, and so is practicality. There’s no universal formula.
But there is a sweet spot where your aesthetic meets your reality. It may look like:
A wardrobe built around comfort but peppered with artistic detail
Statement pieces made from easy-care fabrics
Outfits that spark joy and still pass the playground test
You Haven’t Lost Your Style, You’re Learning to Dress with Wisdom
There’s a quiet cultural whisper that says once you become a mother (or hit midlife), you should start dressing “sensibly.” But what if sensible included self-expression? What if dressing for your life meant honouring both your responsibilities and your inner artist?
Practical doesn’t mean plain. And being visible doesn’t require high heels or dry-clean-only dresses.
It just asks you to get creative with constraints, and trust that your personality can shine through a well-cut tee just as much as it once did through a dramatic sleeve.
You don’t have to choose between being you and being functional.
Your style just needs to evolve, on your terms.
Discovering Your Style
You may still be wondering how to figure out your personal style, what is your secret sauce? If you feel like this is something you struggle with, you’re just not sure, I’d love to invite you to watch my on-demand Outfit Masterclass, which will show you a whole new way of finding out what ingredients go into your style so that you can then feel totally at home in your outfits. If you watch it now, you can figure out the flavours of your style, whether that’s flamboyant, creative, feminine, relaxed or something else completely in the next couple of hours! This will save you so much time, energy and money in the long run. So many of us stand in stores, wondering whether to buy a garment, then get it home and wonder if it’s really right, trying it on and taking it off. We end up wearing the same things over and over and ignoring a bunch of other garments in our wardrobes because we’re just not sure. If this feels like you, it’s time to take action and stop wasting more of your precious time and energy. Let’s get your style sorted now.
