I’ve spent £2.4k looking school run glam & shudder seeing scruffy mums – you’d look great if you got up earlier
Opening up her three overflowing wardrobes, mum of two Sunny Andrea rifled through her £2,400 clothes collection made up of over 1,000 different items - many with their price tags still attached.
The telecoms executive selected a cool House of Fraser blouse, a pair of designer jeans, and a pair of Kurt Geiger high-heel boots, ensured her hair didn’t have a strand out of place, then started painstakingly applying a full-face of high-end makeup: primer, base, blush, bronzer, cat’s eye eyeliner, lashings of mascara and a swish of her favourite YSL designer pink lipstick.
But Sunny – who is married to Danny, 54, business owner, and mum to Harry, seven, and two-year-old Lena - wasn’t heading on a big date or a night out with the girls. She’d been up since 6.30am, glamming herself up for the school run.
“I think the way you dress and present yourself sends an important message to the people around you, and looking good on the school run gives me the boost I need to start my day,” she says.
“I have seen so many women let themselves go after having kids. I was determined to work my makeup and skincare routine around my kids’ timetable and always make time to have my nails done, have monthly massages and skin treatments. It’s not selfish, it's sensible and the payoff is huge.”
Sunny, 39, from Northampton, North Hants, spends a whopping £200 a month on clothes from the likes of Selfridges and River Island and £100 a month on makeup to maintain her school run glamour - and has no regrets.
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“I believe it makes me a better mum, more productive at work and I feel a million pounds,” she says.
Sunny uses gift cards she saves from family and friends for Christmas and birthdays, does extra part-time projects as a model and saves part of her salary to pay for her clothes and makeup.
“Danny loves spoiling me with clothing and makeup gifts. My husband always compliments my style and looks. He’s happy with whatever makes me happy.
“Danny has a skill for picking clothes and shoes I look good in and comes shopping with me,” Sunny said.
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“I look good for myself and my family - I know Harry likes that I look nice - and am often shocked when other mums show up in pyjama bottoms and bulky jumpers with their hair scraped back or looking messy. It makes me shudder a little bit.
“If that’s what some mums want to wear, then that’s fine - I don’t judge them, but I'd never follow that trend.”
Although some of the other mums do occasionally ask her for fashion or beauty advice, others are not so impressed.
“I do get dagger looks on the schoolrun sometimes,” she says. “Some mums look down their noses at the effort I put in - many won’t even say hello.
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“You’d think that since I look nice they’d love to chat with me but no! I figure you can’t make all the people happy all the time.
“My solution is to always smile and wave to everyone. I know they’ll say I spend too much time getting ready and don’t need to be ‘that glam’ for taking my child to school but I don't care. I always give off positive good vibes no matter what the type look I get. ”
After ensuring Harry is in class, Sunny then takes her toddler Lena, to nursery or to a soft play group - but even crawling around in the ballpit is no excuse for not looking her best.
“We go to a soft play centre where the cool mums go, and I like to make a good impression, even if I’m running around through the indoor maze with my little girl,” she says.
Sunny’s love affair with glamour began when she was just a child, playing with her mum’s makeup.
“I started wearing makeup to school when I was 16. Jelly lip gloss and glitter eyeliner were some of my first purchases, she says.
“Since then, I have always worn makeup and taken pride in my appearance. Davina McCall, Claudia Winkelman and Khloe Kardashian are my style icons and inspiration. Davina especially with her timeless looks and fashion sense inspires me.
“Clothes are one of my obsessions. I have more than 1,000 items and 40 percent haven't been worn and still have their price tag attached, which does sound shocking but many of them are investment pieces.
“When I went into labour with Harry in April 2016, I arrived at the birthing suite in a designer outfit, wearing full makeup and with specially done hair.
“I know the nurses were shocked but I found it empowering.”
Sunny says her labour lasted three days and tested even her best makeup products - but wearing her favourite lippy and keeping her hair nice gave her the strength to push through the most difficult and complicated final stages of giving birth.
“When I tell people about topping up my cosmetics between contractions, they are often shocked and ask why I bothered or if I was being self-indulgent. Other mums who also love their makeup and looking good understand. It worked for me! And that’s what counts.
“People always comment that I look younger than my 39 years. I have never used filler or Botox and am religious about my skincare routine cleansing and moisturising night and day,” she says.
It’s a habit that Sunny - who is currently saving for a pair of Louboutins to wear on the school run - is keen to pass down to her children, too.
“My seven-year-old son even has his own skin routine and I have taught him to use moisturiser daily,” she says. “I know some mums will question why, but it’s going to ensure he has amazing skin for the rest of his life. It's one of my secrets.”
Sunny’s advice to other mums struggling with their school run style is to invest in some key pieces and get up 10 minutes early.
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“A few pairs of well-fitting jeans, a nice white t-shirt or blouse, a well-cut designer jacket or an investment dress with boots for winter can get your school run wardrobe started,” she says.
“It then only takes a few minutes to add some lippie and put on a nice coat - the same amount of time to pull on a hoodie and stick your hair up in a mum bun. It changes your life - and it’s worth the effort.”
