For a couple of years now, the term “glow up” has been popular online. If you have never heard of it, someone who has done a “glow up” has done a journey of self improvement with regards to their physical appearance and their mental and emotional well being. Another term that became particularly popular during the various lockdowns was “hygge”, a Danish and Norwegian word that speaks to taking pleasure in simple things and creating a feeling of contentment and cosiness in one’s surrounding. Something I feel that relates and encompasses both ideas and enlarges on them is elegance.
What is Elegance?
Elegance is a very broad attitude to life that influences how we treat others, how we present ourselves, how we behave and how we order our surroundings. It is a growth mindset, aiming to be the best version of ourselves. Elegance is doing the little things to add luxury and beauty to our every day. It is thinking of others, showing them respect and consideration. Elegance is also showing respect for ourselves, remembering we are a person of value just like everyone else in our life.
Probably when we hear the term elegance, we think of stuffy aristocrats, primly sipping tea. But there are numerous modern elegance teachers to be found online and stuffy certainly does not apply to them. They show how elegance can be reimagined for a modern world. However, many are not mums or have their teaching centred around mixing with the elite in society. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to mix with the rich and famous, for the average mother, that is not our goal. So is elegance not for us? Is it something we assume that is just for business women or those looking for a wealthy spouse? Is it something we just can simply ignore because it has no relevance for us?
Of Course Not!
For me, the answer to those questions is no. Can we improve our outward appearance through our style and grooming? Are we able to develop our self presentation through our body language, our etiquette and our speech? Do we have the ability to enhance our surroundings with order and beauty? Can we grow our intellect by continuous learning or better our general life management by being more organized so we are calmer and less flustered? Of course we can! Being a mother does not disqualify us from any of those things. It might (and likely will) make them harder to actually work on or achieve but none of them are impossible. Too many times, we mums have almost a martyr complex and don’t want to spend time on ourselves, when in reality, balanced self care improves our own well being and consequently the well being of everyone around us. Knowing we look nice helps us to feel better about ourselves; neat and beautiful surroundings cheer us up; and being more organized helps us to be calmer and less stressed.
Is Elegance for Moms then?
Yes! Elegance is for moms, just as much as any other woman. But it is all very well to think that sounds good but how do we get there? Elegance is more a journey, working on different aspects of our lives little by little. Over the next few weeks, I will be writing about some things I am learning on my own journey and some of the different ways we can bring more elegance into our lives, including our appearance, our homes and our habits. I hope you will find something helpful and be convinced that elegance can be for mums as well. Of course, if you are feeling overwhelmed or that this idea just adds more pressure to your life, feel free to decide this isn’t for you. But perhaps if you have a read of some of the upcoming posts, maybe you will find some ideas to bring a little more joy to motherhood. My motto is less stress – not more!
