Hello dears.  So I arrived in Barcelona, Spain on Sunday with the 5 kiddos and as few clothes as I thought possible for a long trip.  We are visiting family and friends here (my Mother is Swedish and has a huge extended family, with cousins in Spain).  Even though it goes against my nature (I’m a confirmed over packer), I tried hard to include only a few things.  Why?  First of all, it’s super hot here and anything other than a light summer dress is going to leave you drenched.  Second, the prices are great and I thought I would try to hunt for some new looks should time permit.  Fingers crossed.

All that being said, my first Mom Fashion Post of the summer had me stumped because I was missing two crucial elements: 1) an outfit, and 2) my on-staff photographer, my husband Marc.

Looking in the closet of our small rental apartment (where I have about 4 dresses hanging), my eyes settled upon this cute tennis dress that I purchased last summer at a women’s tennis dresses sale at the tennis place around the corner.

Full disclosure: I DO NOT PLAY TENNIS.  However, last year I saw this dress on sale and thought it was just so light and comfortable that I could not resist.  Plus, I LOVE red.

The kids are actually playing tennis at a place around the corner so when I went to pick them up after their lesson, I asked their teacher — this adorable guy named Rudy — to snap a few photos of me.  Gotta have the racket too, just to make the whole look seem authentic, right.  This is my oldest (Hedley’s) racket actually.

As Rudy began snapping some photos, next to some on-lookers who were wondering what the he** we were doing and who the he** we were, the girls and I just started cracking up.  Trying to pose and look serious, I couldn’t keep a straight face.

I found the girls tennis outfits down the street in NYC at Century 21 discount store (they were running a girls tennis clothes sale).  Annaliese’s is Nautica and Marielle’s, Hello Kitty.  They don’t really know how to play tennis either, but why let that be a barrier?  For them, these kids tennis clothes also make a lot of sense for summer: comfy and light, they are a kids version of a baby jumper.

This dress is a dream because the fabric is airy and silky.  Plus it has these nifty little undershorts, meaning you can be super active.  Imagine yourself climbing stairs, playing in the park, and getting on and off the swing.  After this initial intro photo shoot, I plan to wear it on the weekends with sandals for roaming around this hot city and playing with kids in the parks.

So mamas, if like me you don’t play tennis but you happen upon a tennis dress sale, don’t assume it’s not for you.  Therein might be lurking a key element to your summer wardrobe.

Hope you liked my first summer Mom Fashion Post and tune in next week for more from Barcelona.

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Melissa