Jennie Monness - Founder of Union Square Play

Jennie Monness - Founder of Union Square Play on Letting the Authentic Self Play Out

Image by @michellerosephoto

You may have already come across @momommies IG in your quest for quarantine activities and answers and been blown away by the wealth of real-world information Jennie serves up every day, all day. She has a devoted following and there's one obvious reason why: Jennie shows up as herself no matter the topic or expert she's interviewing and her community can't get enough of it. In between managing it all, she took the time to share with Mother Oxford more about her journey to baring it all.

 

- How can "baring it all" get you closer to feeling amazing in your own skin? 

For me, when I think of this term I think of how I have evolved, in public through my blog Mo' Mommies. Initially I held back, was planning on just sharing my knowledge and skill set in the field of early childhood but the moment I became a mom myself, i "bared it all" with my birth story. It was so liberating and felt amazing to get an influx of messages and people connecting with me and vice versa when we hadn’t ever even met. From there I have felt that just being myself, baring it all, has helped me feel like my best most authentic self. Especially while pregnant, I joked that I didn't enjoy wearing clothes because it just wasn't comfortable and one of the most empowering photos I ever took was in an oxford button down and nothing else while 7 months pregnant. (i included that photo here!)

 

- How has your definition of "essential" changed when it comes to underwear and wardrobe since you became a mother?

This has changed so much since becoming a mom. There are so many things I felt were essential to feeling good before becoming a mom and that has shifted so much. I used to think a great pair of heels was essential, and now I crave the comfiest trendiest sneakers. Comfort has definitely taken priority as most essential for me to feel like my best self. While I still appreciate a nice pair of heels, it no longer feels essential. In terms of underwear I sort of think the opposite happened. I used to focus more on wardrobe to feel sexy and have found myself focusing more on underwear when I shifted from just wife to mom/wife. Maybe it’s a way of overcompensating since you automatically feel a bit less sexy after childbirth and that can continue on into the fourth trimester and beyond, but putting on a pair of sexy underwear can change that drastically. Also, there are so many amazing sexy and comfortable undergarments out there now!

 

- We’ve seen your style evolve during the pandemic. Has that offered more freedoms in any way? And of course, has that changed your underwear game?

Yes! I love the line people have been using, zoom on top, quarantine on the bottom! Although I do that at times, I always feel put together even if you saw my top and bottom together but I just choose comfort over style when it comes to the bottom half especially. My biggest secret isn't wearing sweats on the bottom, bc I think i've found a few awesome sweats/outfits that still look good but I have forgone thongs on the bottom for regular briefs since I'm not concerned about anyone seeing underwear lines ha.

Don't forget to follow @momommies on IG and join @unionsquareplay NYC classes online and IRL.