Dear Shopping Savage...

Dear Shopping Savage,

I need your help with my wife's style. We've been married for 10 years now, both approaching our 40's, and earlier on in the relationship she had a great sense of style. After having two kids, she started to dress more "conservatively" as she puts it. I thought it was because she was insecure about the baby weight, but even after she got back down to her old size, she still dresses dowdy. I know that she has a broader fashion sense and I wish she would tap back into it, but I can't seem to pull her back out of her shell. Any suggestions?

Signed,

Husband of Safe Styled Wife

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Dear H.O.S.S.W.,

Your wife, like most women, has gone through quite a few transformations in the past few years. To you, she may seem a bit "dowdy" but it sounds like her perspective has shifted to putting her families priorities first - yours included.

Maybe your wife feels like she has a lot on her plate, what with getting the kids ready for school, getting herself ready for work, getting you out the door and making sure that all of this goes off seamlessly. She's probably found a routine that works but may have gotten stuck in it, which is where you come in. If she's up before you to make sure the kids are getting their day started, fixing breakfast and any of the other hundred things mom do without breaking a sweat, offer to pitch in. Maybe you should try your hand at taking on the morning tasks a few days during the week so that she has more time to think about getting dressed. Hire a babysitter and bring "date night" back into your routine so she'll have an excuse to get dolled up again.

Even encourage her to have a "girls night out" every so often so she can really let her hair down and run around like she may have in her "Sexier in the City" days. Vacations are always nice ways to recharge old batteries too, for both of you. It doesn't have to be anything extravagant; maybe just a weekend away while your in-laws or friends watch the kids (i.e. free childcare) while you and your wife go someplace to get back to your old selves.

The woman you knew and fell in love with is still there, she's just buried underneath all the new responsibilities and pressures of being a triple threat: wife, mom and career woman. Helping her to remember to focus a little more on her needs will get her back to her old self - and old style - in no time.

Have a fashion question? Need sartorial advice? Email me: Dwaun@shoppingsavage.com

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