L-R ASOS, ASOS, River Island
Fashion Do’s and Don’ts For Dressing A Post-Baby Bod
• DON’T be afraid to go a size bigger in traditionally fitted pieces like jeans. You’ve had children. It’s okay not to fit into stuff you used to. Plus, sometimes things one size bigger can actually make you look smaller.
This doesn’t mean you should swan about in baggy styles – no mumu’s please! I’m talking about going up a size in fitted clothing, for example, a pair of tailored pants or a pencil skirt. Don’t go for oversized, tent-like pieces, just a size bigger in tailored clothes.
• DO go nuts on accessories. What I’ve given you above is a basic list from which to build. You can make anything look different by adding a scarf, hat or giant necklace. Scarves are especially useful for wearing long and disguising a mummy tummy.
• DO invest in some shapewear. Oh before you tut tut that you wouldn’t be caught dead in Bridget Jones undies just think about it! An instant, flatter stomach? Yes please. Smooth thighs? Yup. Hold down those love handles without actually working them off? Sign me up. It ain’t embarrassing cos everyone is doing it. Even Eva Longoria and she hasn’t even had babies.
• DON’T go nuts spending money you don’t have on clothes. Op shops and vintage stores are just as likely to have great versions of the above list as new stores. Truly. We’ve discussed the lack of financial freedom as a new mum and I’m very aware this can continue for a number of years. So. Be inventive. Improvise. Whenever I’m broke and need a pick me up I head to my nearest Vinnies and usually find a treasure that I’m happy with.
• DON’T drink n’ shop. As in shop online after a few sneaky glasses of merlot when the kids are in bed. If you can’t help yourself, give your credit card to your partner so you don’t go late night shopping, or do as Daphne Guinness does and stick your credit card in a plastic bag full of water then freeze it. While I’m sure we wouldn’t do half the damage she does (her favourite designer is Alexander McQueen) we can all spend a little too much on Shopbop when we’re under the influence. The general online shopping rule is: put the item in your cart/on your wishlist then go back to it the next day to see if you still like it or are thinking about it. If you’ve forgotten about it then good! If you can’t stop picturing yourself wheeling the pram about in glam new boots then fine, go for it.
• DO think about tops and dresses you can breastfeed in, if you’re still at this stage, especially if this is your first baby. Tops that will pull up easily from the bottom or dresses you can unbutton are paramount.
• DO buy a pair of wedge-heel trainers. Groan groan, aren’t they for 15-year-olds, you ask? Well no, actually. My wedge trainers saved me through a very heavily pregnant winter and make my legs look thinner and longer (necessary at 5”4!) while keeping me comfortable. After the baby they were pretty much the only footwear I wore when going “out”. As in, to my parents, friend’s houses, bbqs. Of course, not for a posh dinner. Perfectly acceptable attire for the local pub or your favourite casual restaurant. They are a miracle invention and you need a pair in your life. Trust me on this one. Team with leggings, skinny jeans or even shorts, and away you go, elevated.
• DO choose longer tops. Whereas before you might have gotten away with something waist-length, you now need extra fabric over your belly, to sit on the hips. Think about length when buying t-shirts, blouses, blazers and singlets.
• DON’T, I repeat, don’t automatically go for the baggiest or oversized thing you can find and think that will hide your size. Sure, you might not see your bulges but you’ll also look like the size of a house. Fitted, not tight, is the best look on bigger bodies.
Kate Winslet shows how dressing in fitted clothing, rather than baggy, oversized styles, can help flatter and shape a beautifully curvy figure.
2. How to Clear Out Your Wardrobe
My clothes were four to five years old by the time I’d gotten my body back after child number two. That’s like, 40 in fashion years! The plan? Clear. It. Out.
I used to hoard old clothes if I couldn’t replace them with shiny new things. But I’ve learnt it’s better to have five pieces you love, on high rotation, than 500 unnecessary items you can’t picture yourself in anymore. Store garments that might come back into fashion or be “vintage”, in vacuum sealed bags. Then you can slowly, gradually, add to those pieces you’ve kept and build a brand new wardrobe.
Book a market stall and sell the things you don’t want. Shazam! Money for new clothes. Give the stuff that doesn’t sell to charity. You might also be a different size or shape after having kids and there really is no point keeping that midriff top from the 80’s. Chuck it. I hung onto a pair of bootleg jeans for years, thinking I’d fit into them one day, but now, that shape is outdated. The new bootleg is different, and I can’t wear these jeans at all.
Now the fun bit. Time to re-organise your wardrobe!
I have everything hung in sections (I may be a mess everywhere else in the house but a complete neat freak when it comes to my closet). It’s the only way to get dressed in a hurry in the morning! My clothes are categorised as thus:
• Tops which are then divided into long sleeved, short sleeved, singlet style.
• Skirts and pants
• Jackets (short)
• Dresses
• Coats (long)
Jeans are folded, along with casual pants that won’t crease. My drawers are then divided categorically. The neatly folded piles are categorised as follows:
• Bras and knickers
• Lingerie and shapewear. If you don’t own some, time to invest.
• Socks and hosiery
• T-shirts
• Singlet tops
• Undergarment singlets
• Shorts
• Long sleeved tees
• Jumpers
• Cardigans
• Hoodies
• Tracksuit pants/leggings
• Gym gear
• Swimsuits
Keeping your wardrobe organised is a lifesaver. And a timesaver. If you put things back where they belong, onto their correct pile, you will always know where to find that favourite skirt and won’t spend an hour tearing up your room looking for it. Trust me on this one. Even when I’m at my messiest, my wardrobe is a beacon of hope because it’s so freaking organized.
It also becomes easier to get ready in the morning because if you’re in a dress mood, you head for the dresses. If you feel like wearing pants you rifle through the pants and then pick a top from your neatly hung top selection. Voila. Easy outfit. The more clothes you can see, the more variety of things you’ll find yourself wearing, naturally building your mojo as you do so.
Andrea Michelle, superblogger from Fox in Flats and creator of the style, dare a day challenges, tells us what she does to keep her Mama Mojo: