Literal Pearls of Wisdom- Style tips I've Learned from my Mum

Forget Prada, YSL, and Dior, my biggest fashion inspiration has always been none other than my mum.

To give you some background, my mum also known as Maria, has such a defined style. It's commonly known between anyone who has ever met her she is rarely seen not sporting a stripe pattern, a scarf or one of the following colours: navy, cream or red. She is a woman who has learned her own personal style and is boldly proud of this!

Naturally, like most other teens I went through a phase of not listening to her when I was trying to find my own personal style or even just buying clothes. While I had always admired how she seemed to look effortlessly chic while only having a limited wardrobe there were some things in my teen days, I thought she wasn’t cool enough to understand, so I would fight with her that “No mum you don’t understand, I WILL wear the super skinny Joni jeans for the rest of my life!!”.

(Spoiler alert- I haven’t wore a pair of skinny jeans nor looked at a pair for a solid 5 years now).

Despite not following her wisdom at the time and having many...many... ‘Fashion Police’ worthy moments from in-between times, I am glad to have started to take what she was telling me on board, especially as I enter adulthood (eek!).

#1 - Simple and Classic will never go out of style.

At one time in my life, I would’ve followed every trend going as I thought this is what ‘stylish’ meant. My mum would always look at what I was about to purchase and make me consider how long I would wear it for, and could I wear it for multiple purposes. I obviously lied through my teeth in order to convince her that yes, I would be a walking Hollister ad for the rest of my life, so I needed everything in the store.

Mum always highlighted the importance of one good pair of jeans, good coat and clothes in basic colours such as black, navy, creams and beige all to form the basis of your wardrobe and a few statement pieces to mix and match.

Having a limited wardrobe of classic pieces and basics to go with anything not only saves you money, but also keeps you looking stylish all the time. While there is nothing wrong with having 1 or 2 trendy pieces based on the season (I’m a fashion student I can’t help following trends sometimes!). She taught me the importance of not buying into micro-trends and endlessly buying hauls to fit these, and instead making the best of what I have and keeping it simple.

#2- The little things can really make an outfit.

Rarely seen without her signature tiny hold hoops or a scarf, these little things that my mum would always wear aren’t just her little quirks, rather her way of tying together the look she is trying to achieve. I could never work out why she always wore a scarf or asked me whether this outfit needed a necklace or not.

She taught me the key to elevating my outfit and making myself look more expensive than I am with the right accessories. A simple gold necklace, classic pearl earrings, or a silky satin scarf can take the basics as before mentioned and turn them into a killer look.

Before I move on, my mum genuinely has a scarf for e v e r y outfit and situation. I wish I was kidding. From sassy shawls for the summer to a pearl studded woollen number for those chilly winter days, I would declare her the queen of scarfopolis if it was a real place.

#3 – The importance of dressing for yourself.

I’ve been guilty of feeling annoyed for “wasting” an outfit on days where I haven’t gone anywhere or done anything special, but recently, especially during the dreaded L word or Lockdown, in case you’ve been living under a rock… there were days, even weeks where all I felt like wearing was my PJ’s and joggers or not letting a lick of makeup touch my face. My mum never had days like this, however. She would always tell me that life IS an event, and who says you can only dress nice for others, why not yourself? A big believer in self-care, my mum always has tried to keep her spirits up even on down days by wearing her favourite top, donning a pair of funky pearls, and even wearing jeans even if she’s just in the house all day.

We started to dress up for our daily walks or even just to sit in the garden during this time period which not only provided a bit of entertainment, but also in turn, did make me feel good about myself. I have carried this on into my daily life now, I look forward into putting effort into my outfits for uni because I like dressing well, and it gives me an incentive to start my day right. Mum was right. Who says you can’t wear a dress to lounge about in? If it makes YOU feel good to dress to the absolute 9’s every day, then go for it!!

#4-Everything comes back into style around 20 years later.

At my christening around 20 years ago, my mum wore an all-black power suit that Kris Jenner would be jealous of. Look at today’s fashion and what’s in style again? Blazers and suits galore. Maria was the original girl boss that’s all I’m going to say. Every few months or so I take on the laborious task of clearing out my drawers and wardrobe to give things I don’t wear anymore to other family members or charity but my mum always tells me to keep things like Trench coats, blazers and even if I’m not wearing them to keep shoes like Converse and Doc Martens even if they aren’t the shoe of the moment or I’m not wearing them very much as they will always recircle into the trend cycle, which again she was right! I hadn’t worn my converse in a good 4 years I’d say but now I’m glad I kept them. As they’ve come back into style, now they are one of the most common shoes I see every day. Keeping them saved me £80 for a new pair and I was ahead of the fashion game – win-win in my situation!!

Finally, it’s not technically style related but the last piece of advice that I hold deeply and that my mum gave me is simply this

“Even if things are going wrong, just stick your favourite lipstick on and tackle the day.”

It’s such a silly thought, but her thought process is even if you LOOK like you have it together, the rest will fall into place.

Sometimes when I miss her, I apply a red lipstick on in honour of it being her favourite colour and I feel like she’s with me to get through the hard times.

So, there you have it. Bottom line is listen to your mums pool of wisdom, they are all fashionistas at heart!

I'd like to note that this article was written for my uni bestie Hollie Botterill's exciting new project "Verte Journal" coming in 2023 - so keep an eye out for her amazing work coming soon!