Raise your hand if you're braless at school drop-off

When I scored a 5-minute, one-on-one interview with Bethenny Frankel (head of the uber-successful SkinnyGirl brand and star of the Real Housewives of New York), you better believe I asked the hard-hitting questions. Like, “How bad do you look at school drop-off?” The good news is, she’s just like us. Because #momproblems do not discriminate. (Scroll to the bottom of this post to see a behind-the-scenes clip from our chat!)

Pajamas.

Braless.

Dark eyes.

Bedhead.

The list of accepted looks at preschool drop-off sounds more like an all-night-bender-gone-bad. And that’s because 2 potty accidents, 4 rounds of toddler breakfast and a missing Spiderman sock drama have single-handedly stolen any hope of me getting dressed, properly bathed or, let’s be honest, looking at a mirror before we load into the car at 8:15am to start school drop-offs.

Seriously, how bad do you look at school drop-off?

Well, apparently we aren’t alone.

Because even uber-mompreneur, and Real Housewives star, Bethenny Frankel looks a hot mess when she heads to her daughter’s school. Like, she Instagrammed it.

“Because not everybody is ready to face the world at [drop-off] time,” Bethenny dished in a one-on-one interview with me in a back conference room at the new Tampa Premium Outlets a couple weekends back. (Yes, I was dying. Just me and B in a room.)

And so, like old friends (not really), we talked about the universal #momproblem that is our sad, last-minute, I-just-woke-up-and-helped-my-kid-get-ready-but-had-no-time-for-myself wardrobe at school drop-off.

“I don’t brush my hair, or my teeth,” Bethenny dished. (Love her.) “I sleep in sweats, sometimes, and a T-shirt. So, my pajama pants can double as pants. And, thank God, it’s getting cold so you can cover up. Like, not even a bra,” she said.

Yes, Bethenny.

YES.

(Seriously, raise your hand if you’ve gone braless to school drop-off. Just do it. I won’t tell.)

So, let’s dissect the look.

First, pajama pants. Because, obviously. They’re comfortable and cozy and didn’t take much (any) effort. Obviously, yoga pants are the best because, well, Did I wear them to bed? Did I wear them for the last 3 days? Who knows? I’ll never tell, and they won’t either. This is why every mom’s uniform rotation should include at least 9 pairs of yoga pants. All black, though. This way, no one can tell you’ve been wearing the same pair since last Thursday. All they think is, Wow, she just hit the gym before school? That’s awesome. The truth is you haven’t exercised in weeks, and they’re covered in oatmeal and baby snot. #ourlittlesecret

Now that we’ve established that PJs are totally acceptable, the rest of the look is easy. It’s simply a matter of throwing on a coat, or even loose-fitting sweatshirt, to cover the rest. Just put that amazing piece of outer wear over the top, and you are good. Am I wearing my pajama shirt underneath? Am I wearing a bra? Who knows? I am a mystery, and I’m now dropping my kid off at school. He is groomed, well-dressed and clean. I, on the other hand, am a hot mess who smells like spit-up and hasn’t seen the inside of a shower in 4 days. Buuuuuut, all you see is this amazing black peacoat.

“Just throw on Uggs, and put a good jacket on and that’s it,” Bethenny added. (Because she’s a genius. And now, so are you.)

What’s that? My feet? Please, pay no attention. Those are just flip flops. Yes it’s cold out, but what do you care? Stop looking at my feet and get on with your business. Seriously, move along. I no longer have any feeling in my toes, but I’ll be fine.

As for my face… well, that’s why you never linger at school drop-off. Keep it movin’ and no one will notice that you’ve had zero time for personal hygiene this side of 2012. Throw the kid and his half-finished homework at his teacher, and immediately retreat to the car. Make a direct beeline. (Run, if you have to.) And, definitely, make no eye contact with the put-together, blow-dried-hair, makeup-wearing moms who sit outside school, talking for 30 minutes just to gloat that they’ve had time for personal hygiene and I haven’t. Nope. My hot mess of bedhead is still in yesterday afternoon’s ponytail, and I’m wearing a huge pair of sunglasses to cover up the fact that I was awake 6 times with 2 different children last night.

Here’s hoping for a shower before pick-up.

A huge thanks to Bethenny for our amazing one-on-one convo, and I hope we meet again! Maybe even work together? (Seriously, I drink LOTS of liquor.) Scroll down to watch the behind-the-scenes video of our chat!