I didn't use to wear clothes.

The whole business of dressing at the start of each day was never as prosaic as putting on mere clothes. I liked to think that I wore costumes.

One day, I was a 1970s socialite in a Pucci-esque printed shift, big plastic yellow beads and orange platform sandals. The next, I channelled Park Avenue Princess in a pink faux-fur coat, a fuzzy pink beret and trippy heels.

Nothing could stop the fashion masquerade in my head.

Those days of dressing up, however, have come to a halt since I became a stay-at-home Mum. In fact, full-time motherhood has thrown a right spanner in the fashion works.

What do you wear to run after a naughty toddler all day or to wash milk bottles? Certainly not dry-clean-only vintage dresses.

Behold, then, my quest - my struggle - to find the perfect housewife style.

Now, you're probably wondering why housewives even need to dress up because all they ever do is hang around the house, right? Wrong.

Housewifery is a profession like any other, and the right wardrobe really lifts the mood and dispels the drudgery of housework.

Besides, my duties include chauffeuring my husband to and from work. So to be dressed and ready to leave the house at the drop of a hat is part and parcel of my work.

The stylish housewife's requirements are stringent. Clothes have to be comfortable (all the better to scrub floors in). They have to be easy to put on (try doing up a button-fly when a screaming child is tugging at you).

Once on, they have to stay tenaciously on - for when said screaming child starts clawing and pulling at you. Tube tops are for the brave.

The stylish housewife's operative word is cheap. Husbands tend to get angry if you blow next month's utility and grocery money on designer wear.

And with limited time on her hands, don't expect the housewife-nista to go digging in out-of-the-way cult boutiques. You make do with what you can find in suburban malls or fashion chains.

Going by these criteria, I soon found myself living in jeans and T-shirts. I stopped wearing white and delicate fabrics because I was perpetually covered in baby food stains.

For a couple of months, I schlepped around in my indigo Levi's bell-bottoms and $5 factory outlet T-shirts. As garments go, they serve their purpose of keeping me decently clad and didn't get in the way of my chores.

But boredom set in. I couldn't stand looking like an overgrown teenager in her after-school clothes all the time. I felt myself becoming bland and colourless in the presence of my funky, working-girl friends. A fashion identity crisis was brewing. Something had to be done.

Accessorising was the natural first step to take towards a speedy makeover. It proved dire. Any attempt to wear jewellery in front of my 18-month-old son only resulted in him inadvertently trying to strangle me with my necklaces or tear new holes in my earlobes with my earrings. Bracelets scratched at his young flesh when I picked him up and rings were a nuisance when I cooked and cleaned.

The only bling I could wear safely was a $15 metallic wrist-cuff I'd bought from Pull And Bear in Ngee Ann City. It looked like part of Wonder Woman's costume and was hardy enough to withstand the bashing and gnaws my toddler inflicted on it. In fact, it protected me from bashing and gnaws.

Next, deciding to improve on the tried and tested, I upgraded my staples. Goodbye pasar-malam tops and rapper jeans. Hello $300 designer skinny denim and limited-edition T-shirts from cult brands like Threadless and Poketo. There. Better already.

In search of inspiration, I turned to blogs like The Fashionable Housewife (www.thefashionablehousewife.com), on which editor-in-chief (and housewife) Sarah-Jean Ballard and a panel of contributors dole out housewife-centric fashion and beauty advice.

Ballard is also in the habit of posting snapshots of her daily outfit online, laid out and itemised on a bed. Her style is different from mine but her meticulous passion for fashion is inspiring.

Then there are the sartorial tips in parenting magazines like Cookie, which take the Mummy Uniform beyond overalls and house-dresses to minimalist chic.

Bit by bit, my old kooky dresses and retro threads re-emerged from the closet. At night, after putting the baby to bed, I surfed Etsy.com, an online marketplace for handmade, one-of-a-kind goods, for quirky apparel.

I picked up a black pencil-skirted pinafore dress in a hardy synthetic fabric from AMK Hub for $60. It is a versatile piece which swings from dominatrix to pre-schooler, depending on what you mix and match it with.

Having given up heels because of the fear of tripping with the baby in my arms, I heaved a sigh of relief when I found cute flat shoes in the form of faux ballet pointe shoes for under $50 at Novo in Marina Square.

I gleefully wore a strapless tartan dress ($25) from This Fashion one weekend. Okay, I admit, I left the toddler-lifting to my husband while I was in that dress. Still, a semblance of fashion normality - or abnormality, depending on how you look at it - returned.

These days, I no longer envy my fashionista friends and their child-free dressing. My housewife style has settled into a happy compromise.

I alternate my T-shirt and jeans look with more elaborate ensembles - usually on days when my son is sweet enough to leave me alone while I ponder over my selection in front of the wardrobe.

My quest to be a pragmatic yet adventurous dresser continues, and my housewife style is evolving (I hope).

Just think: adorable aprons, 1950s hop skirts and rubber gloves in cheery shades.

The possibilities are endless.

Do you have style tips for stay-at-home Mums? Send them to sturban@sph.com.sg