When life gives you Monday, dip it in glitter and sparkle all day, they say.

But let’s be honest, if you’re a mom (hi!), you probably have a “uniform” that you wear a lot – every day, even – and it probably doesn’t include sparkles ;) When I don’t know what to wear, I tend to reach for high-waist jeans and a simple, silky blouse (see this post here about mom fashion). I’m not going to lie though – I also love the challenge of incorporating my “fun” pieces into my everyday wardrobe as much as I can.

So if you’re like me, you may have quite a few occasion pieces that you’ve acquired over the years. Some you snagged on Gilt for an incredible deal. Some you saved for MONTHS just to afford. Others you got from F21 during a past holiday season when you fell hard for the velvet trend, but can’t seem to let go of because you’re a sentimental sap (guilty!). There’s chiffon. There’s tulle. There’s silk. And sequins, oh yes. Be still, my heart. And they’re all just getting dusty deep in your closet.

Wearing Majorelle sequin top from Revolve, Anthropologie pants (old), Louise et Cie shoes from Nordstrom (old), Betsey Johnson bag (old) — Wearing **Majorelle sequin top** from Revolve, Anthropologie pants (old), Louise et Cie shoes from Nordstrom (old), Betsey Johnson bag (old)

But if you’re also like me (read: CMO aka Chief Mom Officer), then sometimes you look at those pieces, let out a sigh of resignation (maybe bigger than the sighs you use when your kid asks for yet another snack), and think to yourself, “When am I ever going to where these again?”

To which I would say: excellent question!

Go find any and every excuse to wear said item. To drinks with girlfriends. To a daytime playdate at the park. To the dinner party that you’re hosting at home. To eat pizza with my boys. Heck, the PTA meeting is sometimes a fun idea (although prepare yourself for a few side eyes). The trick to pulling off an EXTRA AF look for everyday? It’s all in the styling.

1. Juxtapose formal with informal, or highs with lows.

You know the saying, opposites attract? It’s perhaps one of the most important tenets of style, and you too can work this law of attraction to give you the perfect, enviable downtown-cool girl OOTD. I initially thought about wearing a voluminous, multi-layered long skirt with this sequin top, but then decided on a pair of high-waist paperbag linen pants. When wearing a formal/fun piece for daytime, make sure to tone it down with something relaxed, or mix high end designers with low-end – you’ll look as if you were just at some uptown party but decided to leave for a much cooler Lower East Side shindig. (That’s what I fancy I’m doing anyway, when I’m swiftly exiting the restaurant with a toddler code brown emergency.)

2. When in doubt, add a jacket or coat.

Layering is a style game changer and can take dull to fab the instant you pull on an oversized sleeve. In the winter, a statement-making coat is LIFE. In warmer months, a leather jacket, in my opinion, works year-round. My brown coat simultaneously tones down the sparkles for daytime, gives structure to flowy pants – and provides a buffer from toddlers who really love sequins, too.

3. The shoes set the tone.

If there’s one thing I’m not, it’s a shoes gal. Personally, I love clothes more than bags or shoes. So when I am wearing a special shoe, I especially love how I feel and carry myself – taller, more confident, with more flair. I like to think of this tip as a “What would Carrie Bradshaw do?” moment. (Wear the damn Jimmy Choos, of course!) But if you choose sneakers with your tulle skirt or sequined top, this can totally change your vibe, too, and destine you for punk princess fabulousness.

4. Add a vintage touch.

This is an easy way to dress down an otherwise modern outfit. Just a simple, well-placed vintage accessory can give you the Audrey Hepburn/Grace Kelly effect. You’ll appear casually cool in a “not trying too hard” kind of way. Vintage pieces seem designed to grow more beautiful with time – like this chocolate colored wool coat I’m wearing that was my grandmother’s. It has a well-loved, timeless quality about it that you cannot get from a brand-new piece. This coat was custom made for her in China sometime in the 60s or 70s. The cool touch of the jade green buttons, so characteristically Chinese – I love touching each one and imagining my grandma dressing as a young woman – and I can’t believe I once considered replacing them with something more modern.

It was a particularly beautiful day the day I took these sequins out for a spin. The first whiff of early spring (it lasted only a day, but oh, my toes enjoyed peeping out), sunshine touched everything, and the streets were brimming with people and life and color. A sweet, older gentleman stopped me on the street to say, “Young lady, I have to tell you, those sparkles are wonderful, especially how they catch the sunlight.” Go ahead, wear the damn sequins – I have a feeling you might just have more fun.