Everything New (Reasons To Dress)

The Reason I Dressed

This week I’m dedicating myself to posting all about Copenhagen. Now that i’ve had some time to go through the photos and reflect, I realize that not only is it a perfect destination if you have kids, but it was one of the best vacations of my life. Expensive….but incredible.

So, seeing as how this afternoon I’m going to my very first conference for 4 whole days and three whole nights I will have some time on my hands to post all about this wonderful trip, what I wore and what we did as a family!

We visited Copenhagen with our friends Adrienne and Paul and their adorable new baby girl. I’ve written about Adrienne here and the importance of friendship after you become a mom.

Going Away

This is a supremely huge milestone for me as I have literally NEVER left my son for more than two hours (and that only happened three times) since he was BORN!

When he was in the hospital for a few weeks I was always there, we don’t have a nanny or babysitter or daycare and my husband’s parents work. Strangely enough when I was pregnant I thought I would be one of those moms who would leave her child all the time, and then I realized, after he was born that I don’t know myself very well! When I was pregnant I couldn’t appreciate how important it would be to me that he speak English, and after a lot of time, play and care I’m so proud to say that his “mother tongue” is English! But alas, the time has come that we must spend a few good days apart, so I am planning on being productive!

Follow me on Instagram to hangout at the conference in the Riviera Romagnola on the Adriatic Sea, and of course I’ll be posting with frequency!! What will I do with all my time in the evenings?? The hotel is a 4 star with pool, gym and sauna….. I can hardly breath in excitement. Work- cation here I come

So, today I’m sharing the first of what I wore in Copenhagen. I’ve already done a post about the essentials to pack if you are visiting Northern Europe in late summer. It is COLD up there. Like COLD. This was the end of August and all of my outfits are Fall worthy and in constant rotation now that the weather has cooled off in Italy.

What I Wore

A while ago I went through a 100 day shopping ban (#100dayshoppingban) inspired by the lovely Rachel the Hat. This actually ended up turning into a 130 day shopping ban….and then….the flood gates opened.

When the end of summer sales hit I was ready….no, I was REPRESSED! I went on a a shopping rampage, the likes of which my closet hasn’t seen in years. New coats, jeans, tops, sweaters, shoes…..I spent money and I’m proud of it.

I had time to reflect on my clothes throughout the shopping ban phase. This made me realize what I really needed and what I was missing from my closet. So many things had happenend in my life that my clothes no longer reflected who I was anymore. I had become a mom, I was now in my mid-30s (eeek!) and I was hanging out at playgrounds and small town festivals more and boardrooms and nightclubs less!

This first Copenhagen look is comprised of all new additions to my wardrobe. I’m wearing:

A peach, zip up cardigan sweater bought in Lisbon, Portugal from the European chain store Promod for 20 euro

A thrifted, white dress shirt with beautiful embroidered detailing bought in Modena for 2 euro

A cropped, cotton knit sweater bought on sale at Zara for 5 euro

Zara boyfriend jeans (also bought on sale for 13 euro)

A checkered bandana scarf (bought on sale for 3 euro)

Real leather, military boots by the brand Felmini bought on sale here.

** I’ve done a whole post dedicated to the new military boot trend and how Italians have totally embraced them and why they are perfect transitional shoes for fall here**

I think the most useful and versatile item I wore was my soft knit jacket. The whole idea is something that has soft enough sleeves to roll, keeps you warm but is light enough to layer, and comes down below your butt!

This is my favourite option found online at Asos.com for 85 euro by the brand River Island.

I love everything I bought and regret nothing! They say that every 7 years your life changes. I’m not really keeping count, but I can say that this year something in me changed and I needed my closet to reflect that. Now if I could only figure out how to giveaway the things that I no longer wear…..maybe you can help me.

Does anyone know of a European based site for selling used clothes online?

Most of the sites I found are for North Americans only, but I don’t think anyone wants to pay international shipping for my stuff!

That’s it for today, I’m off to print out the last of my documents, find my business cards, pack my clothes and prepare all of my son’s gear for the rest of the week so that my husband doesn’t go nuts! Afterall, if all goes well, maybe these workations will start to become a regular thing!

Have you had a chance to linkup this week? I love seeing your outfits and will be hard at work sharing them starting this afternoon!! If you tag an outfit photo #reasonstodress on Instagram I may just feature you next week too!

#REASONSTODRESS Real Mom Street Style Linkup & Tag Party

Feel free to read all about this linkup here and what it stands for. Every week I will feature looks from the linkup, an instagrammer who has tagged a photo #reasonstodress and a real mom in Italy or in the world! The linkup happens every Tuesday but lasts all week, feel free to join at any time!