What to Wear to a Blogging Conference When You Have a Stay-At-Home-Mom Wardrobe

If you’ve read our blog before, you’ll know that we adore Target Canada. They’ve graciously sponsored our wardrobe for the upcoming Blogging & Social Media Conference that Marya & I are going to – Blissdom Canada. How cool are they?! We’re SO excited to be working with Target and thrilled to be wearing their clothes to the conference! However, going to a conference doesn’t have to mean a whole new wardrobe. Here are my thoughts on what to wear to a blogging conference when you have a Stay At Home Mom wardrobe!

I’ve been to a lot of conferences in a professional capacity as an employee and I know how to do those conferences. I know what kind of wardrobe I should be packing, what kind of shoes to wear, what’s expected of me. Now a SAHM, I know what my wardrobe is. I know what washes best, what kind of shirts don’t expose my bras to the world when the kids pull on them, which days I can get away with jogging pants and when I need to pull out the fancy jeans. 

Last year, I went to my first Blogging Conference (yeah, Blissdom Canada!), and I had no clue what to wear. I mean, blogging isn’t a fancy business – I’m fairly certain that most of us work in our PJs or yoga pants – but conferences are usually formal!

The folks in the pre-conference chat group were quick to give out comforting advice – the conference isn’t about what you wear, it’s not super formal, wear what you have in your wardrobe, jeans & t-shirts are fine, don’t stress about dressing up, wear what you feel comfortable in etc. Great advice, but it’s easy to infer from this line of conversation that wardrobe is inconsequential. When you’re starting with a Stay At Home Mom wardrobe, “Wear what you feel comfortable in” is dangerous advice, and “Not super formal” means the comfy jeans or yoga pants!

Let me say this to you: 
For the majority of bloggers who fork over the registration & hotel fees, the conference is still about professional development.

Marya had pre-conference headshots done in her new wardrobe at Thomas Baillie Hair thanks to Main St Creative!

Think about the connections that you want to make at the conference. Do you want to network with the sponsors & brands? Do you want to connect with some of the who’s-who of the blogging world? Are you at the conference to meet the self-publishing rep?  You want to make an impression, you want these people to notice and remember you – but not for being that girl who showed up in old runners, stretched out yoga pants, and one of those swag t-shirts we all love to grab.

My experience last year at Blissdom was that while no one was judged by what they were wearing, it was definitely a dressy-casual environment rather than the laisse faire event that had been hinted at. Don’t stress out about it and don’t break the bank, but DO put some care and thought into how you want to represent yourself in this strange and wonderful world of IRL bloggers.

Being a stay at home mom with practical rather than fashionable clothing doesn’t mean that you need to go out and purchase an entirely new wardrobe. Use those pieces that you reserve for Date Night as a starter for your conference wardrobe and see if you can buy a couple of pieces that will compliment what you already have and be versatile enough to wear a few different ways – if you’ve got some great dark jeans, pick up a new fashion top; if you have both top and pants, grab a blazer for layering. 

I dragged one of my fashionista friends along to Target with me one night last week and made her tell me what sort of pieces I NEED to have in my wardrobe. Kim’s advice was this:
What to Wear to a Blogging Conference
Strongly Suggested:

• EITHER 1 pair of black or very dark jean skinny pants OR a pair of black or very dark jean straight legged pants (Again, or BOTH if  you’ve got the money!)
• A nice white shirt – whether it’s button-up or a fitted Tee
• A vibrant dressy shirt – print or solid colour – something that you could put under a jacket or wear on its own
• A fitted black, navy, or grey blazer
• A nice dress for any cocktail parties that you might encounter (nice like ‘slightly fancy’, rather than ‘church’ nice…)
• A colourful skinny belt (I prefer red, it pops nicely!)
• A long necklace – but now that I’m thinking of it, you’ll be wearing your nametag lanyard most of the time.
• A pashmina or two to layer on your outfit
• A pair of nude heels – they go with everything, I’m told!
• Nice-looking comfy shoes (there’s a lot of mingling & walking at these conferences!), like ankle boots or canvas flats (in good condition, not the ones you’ve been wearing daily for the last 6 months!

I bet that you have at least several of the items listed above in your wardrobe already. With everything listed there, you’ve got the possibility of at least 4 ‘different’ outfits that will serve you well for the weekend.

Optional:

• One or two bright shirts or tanks to wear under the blazer
• A cute pair of ankle pants to wear with your nude heels or canvas flats
• A dressy sweater (sometimes those conference rooms are coooold!
• A fun shirt-dress (this is where I’m stepping out of my comfort zone!) & tights
• Cute & comfy PJs – Blissdom has a Pajama Party on the last night, but even if your conference doesn’t (let’s be honest, it probably won’t), it never hurts to pamper yourself at the end of an exhausting day!

Dressing for a conference doesn’t have to break the bank – Target is a great spot to find trendy clothes, shoes, & accessories all in one spot! When we went shopping, a lot of the tops & pants in the women’s department were 25% off. We managed to combine some 25% off Merona & Mossimo Fashion Tops with some 30% off coupons and got steals of deals! We also hit up the accessories section where we got clearance necklaces, earrings, and belts. Target, je t’adore.

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Jenn vanOosten

I live in Hamilton, Ontario, and love my city. I'm a Netflixer, choral music geek, bookworm, inventor of recipes (I take Artistic Licence on EVERYTHING that I make), wife of one, mother of two, and owner of a neurotic Schnauzer. I respect people who respect others. I love good food that's well done, but my favourite lunch is KD & hotdogs. With ketchup. I'm addicted to Clearance Shopping. I will ALWAYS get the product that I want at the price that I want, eventually.

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