I recently made a huge life change: I had my first child, quit my job in marketing and am now a small business owner, sometime babysitter, and 24/7 Mama. The first thing I did (once I felt well enough and once I started to venture out again) was go through my wardrobe and take it from one lifestyle - to a totally different one. I packed my most-loved business clothes & shoes, and sold or donated the rest.
(Remember minimalism! I have one half of a plastic bin of work clothes in storage, the other half is maternity - if I ever work in-office again, I can add in more pieces later, I didn't believe in keeping and storing everything I had, only the best of the best)
My life used to look like this:
40% Work - Business Formal Attire
20% Exercise, Yoga & Sports (Backpacking for me)
10% Out on the Town Clothes
10% Formal attire (wedding wear, business conference/parties, etc)
20% Casual Day & Lounge (includes pajamas)
Then, my life flipped to this:
0% Work - Business Formal Attire
20% Exercise, Yoga & Sports (Backpacking for me)
10% Out on the Town Clothes
10% Formal attire (wedding wear, business conference/parties, etc)
60% Casual Day & Lounge (includes pajamas)
WHOA.
Probably the biggest wardrobe shift there is. Not to mention that after baby you must utilize your maternity clothes to transition back to your pre-preggo weight (and, if you're dumb like me, you have to buy some clothes in bigger sizes until you get your weight back down to normal - never doing that again!)
So I found myself with a completely different lifestyle and in a completely different size AND - I was a completely different shape: bigger boobs, weight around my middle, bigger butt and thighs.
Motherhood is hard enough at the beginning, and I think that is why so many women find themselves in a real pickle and are just like screw it I'm wearing sweats everyday until I'm back to normal size. Trust me, it was hard for ME to edit my wardrobe for myself and I frequently ended up in tears, so I can imagine that non-fashion types are absolutely perplexed. But fear not! I can help!
1) First thing's first
Do. not. worry. about. what. you. look. like! Seriously. This is one of the only times you'll hear me say this, but relish this precious time with your baby, brush your teeth, maybe even out your complexion with a tinted moisturizer, and call it a day for a few weeks, you aren't going out of the house, and it's totally fine to just be in lounge wear after you give birth - you deserve it! haha
2) Then, once you're feeling like a human being again
I would say somewhere around week 4 or 5 I came out from under the new-mom, no-sleep fog and decided I was ready to try a bit harder and look polished again. Polished does not mean you blow-dry your hair, or put makeup on even. All it means is that you consider what you look like as a whole, and put a little effort toward a look so you look nice. Nice for me meant a scraped my hair into a topknot bun, evened out my complexion, darkened my eyebrows a bit and threw on black leggings, flats and a slouchy top with a chunky sweater. Done, and cute, and nursing baby friendly.
3) Be Realistic
This is not my Mama look:
Sure, some celebs trot around in heels all day long with or without their babies. But then there are more realistic celebs - enter Gwen Stefani, Jessica Alba, Michelle Williams & Kate Beckinsale. Google them for inspo.
The point is, be realistic and true to you. If you want to wear heels or wedges as a mama, go right ahead! But if you are like me and have discovered that it just isn't comfy enough, then pare down your heels and stock up on cute loafers, flats, flat boots and thong sandals. (not flip flops! Those are for pedicures and the beach. There are too many cute and comfortable flat shoes out there to waste a good look with a sloppy pair of flops).
4) Reassess your Silhouette
It's imperative to reassess your figure post-baby. I, for one, had bigger boobs then I had ever had. And all my slouchy tops were no longer flattering. So, I had to go out and purchase 2-3 V neck, dark colored tops that were more flattering to the girls.
Since every women's tummy is a trouble-spot after giving birth, keep it to looser silhouettes but don't go too blousy or you'll risk looking like you're in a moo-moo.
If thighs and butt were your trouble area too (like me) stick with only dark colors on the bottom and try for a wide leg or boot-cut jean. Leave your skinny jeans alone for a little while.
If you gained weight all over (some of my knee-high boots were too tight to wear) then overall slimming is the goal, darker colors head to toe and dressing with lots of vertical details (vertical stripes, princess seams, creases down the front of pant legs, etc.) One, long vertical line should be your goal.
If you want black leggings Danskin leggings are the way to go, I'd go with their longer options and stay away from the cropped ones for the longest leg line. They are NOT see-through at all on the butt, but you really must cover your butt and crotch when wearing leggings for the best look.
5) Edit and Reorganize!
get all big maternity stuff out right away and move to storage or high up on a shelf in your closet. The front-and-center stuff should all fit you now, be flattering and you should like it. For me, this was 3 pieces for a few weeks that I wore to death, then I moved onto 3 more pieces, so on until I'm almost back into everything at this point (almost 6 months later mind you, taking your time is healthy!)
You'll feel good and look great if you take the time to do this. It won't take longer than an afternoon and you can get someone else to schlep around the clothes that need to be moved for you (a hubby/partner, your mom, a sister or friend). Having effortless style takes effort in the beginning and then putting pieces on and mixing them together should be easy! It will help your self-esteem, peace of mind and get you out of that closet in no time and with your baby.
Extra tips!
- Nursing tanks are where it's at. When you wear a nursing tank, you can essentially wear anything to nurse as you can just pull the top shirt up and the nursing tank down which creates a nice little sliver of skin for your babe and nothing else shows! I started with black tanks when I didn't want people to see my belly flab and now I'm wearing nude ones so they can be paired with any top.
- Dresses are kind of tricky while nursing, I would forget about them entirely for a while. Sure some wrap dresses can slip over to expose the breast for nursing but then you are so exposed on top you won't be comfortable to nurse anytime, anywhere (at least I wouldn't be) I have my dresses stored under plastic in my closet.
- Remember your lifestyle when out shopping. The retail industry's goal is to make you think you NEED what it is they need to sell, most of the time (like 98% of the time) you don't. Go armed with a list of the few items you do really need, your closet will thank you later (and you won't end up with a closet full of clothes you don't like thinking how did this happen again?)
- Flat shoes do not have to be frumpy. If you have short legs like me and don't look great in flats, look for a pointed toe, it'll help make you look more like you're wearing heels.
- Also, the higher your waist the longer your legs look so define that waist once it's back! I love maxi skirts at my natural waist - no one ones where my legs really start! hahaha.
Here's to Your Style Simplified!
X, The Closet Coach
No comments:
Post a Comment