Photo-illustration: by the cut; Photos: Retilers
In the final months of my first pregnancy, i’ve been bombarded with Advice and Warnings about the monumental transformation that is Becoming a mother for the first time. Amid all the quips about the lack of sleep and the pain of breastfeeding, more than a few seasoned moms have cautioned with about something consequuential but still bleak: “Most moms have terrible style,” They tell me. “Prepare for a Fashion Crisis.”
I Consulted a Group Chat of Friends who were all newish moms. One Told with She Had Bowht and Returned 15 Dresses before She Found One She Was Happy to Wear to Her Brother’s Wedding. Another said that when she was back to the office after the birth of her first first child, her style was so outdated that hert sat her down and said that if she wants to get promoted, she needs to be fix her wardrobe. A third friend said that even while she managed to overhaul her work cloths after first babe, she is stressing knowing she plans to have another Kid soon. “By the time i need to go back post – Baby No. 2, The Styles Will Have Changed Again,” She Said.
The moms in my grup chat weren’t alone in their frustrations. While any Number of Life Events, Like Moving Cities, Changing Careers, Or Simply Getting Older, Can Trigger a Fashion Crisis, Motherhood Wreaks A Special Kind of Havoc on Your Sense of Style – Sometimes for Years. At first, there’s little time or energy to think about getting dressed. Most moms are in survival mode: Sleep-deprived, dealing with spit-up, breastfeeding, or recovering from Birth. “You prioritize more basic hygiene than putting together a look that you have feel good in,” Said Laurel Pantin, A Mom of Two Who Writes About Fashion and Motherhood in Her Substack Newsletter, Earl Earl and Your Mom. And in the months and years after that initial newBorn phase, “What Feels Good” Often Changes. Maybe Your Weight Fluctuates, Never Returning to What It Was Before Pregnancy; Maybe the Shape of Your Waist or Breasts Changes or Your Feet Get Bigger. The Transformations Aren’t Just Physical: Becoming a mom also usually triggers a massive identity shift. Suddenly, that pre-baby closet Becomes a symbol of a person who no Longer exists but probably doesn’t yet fully know her new self, eather.
Danielle, a mom in new jersey, haad her second daughter in 2021 and afterward live exclusive in big sweatshirts and leggings. Looking back on pictures from me, she felt like she has gievage up on style. “It really was this crisis of Who am i? And that was reflected in the cloting that was wearing and with swimming to invest in Certain Pieces, ”she Said. ABOUT Two Years Ago, Danielle decided to stop chasing her pre-pregnancy weight her leggings for workouts only. Zara suddenly seamed Too Young for Her.
Anna Newton, A British Fashion Influencer Who Also Writes About Mom Style on SubstackSaid Her initial instinct after Having Her Son in 2021 was to Hide in Leggings, Baggy T-shirts, and Chunky Sneakers. When she was ready to think her wardrobe again, she starts by trying on every closet and “Being really, really honest with myself aser, or where he was like anymore,” she Said. Newton Ended Up Taking the Closet Clean-Out Process in Stages: First Around Six Months Postpartum, THEN AROUND A YEAR OUT, AND AGAIN AT 18 MONTHS. It wasn’t unil that third session that she felt she is understood “What mum look like me.” Before Having a baby, Newton’s Style was “Super-Elevated and Polished,” Meaning Lots of Heeled Boots and Tiny Handbags. Now she’s adapted a more practical version of that style – Meaning More Leather Ballt Flats and Loafers (She’s Currently Loving A Pair From Monde Beryl). “I’m Not Going to the Park in My Toteme Kitten Heeled Boots Anmore.”
Like every other mom i’ve spoken to about their personal style in recent Weeks, newton ended up getting rid of almost every pair of pants she shawore bemboming a mom. Jeans were the toughest category for the Most Women Becuse the Can Become a Depressing Reminder of Your Pre-Pregnancy Body. “If there is something to be closet that you’re like, This Will Fit with IF I JUST LOES FIVE PUNDS OR TEN Pounds – Don’t that you are to yourSelf, “Said Pantin. Bepport Becoming a mom, pantin’s style was maximalist and ill-eequipped for chasing afterdlers. Now that Her Kids Are Older, Pantin Has Found Her Back to A New Version of Her Expressive Style.
Her Advice for Moms Finding Their Way Out of A Postpartum Style Crisis: Regularly Audit Your Closet, and Invite a Friend Over You Do SO SO LESS OF A CHORE. “Start Back Out with Classics, like a great pair of denims and a great button down and a blazer, and then let your style and the things you like evolve from,” Pantin Said. And stop taching your cues from influencers who Lead a Different lifestyle. “If you are followed by People which style you admire, and they’re 21 years Old, they don’t have Kids, and they’re on a yacht – that not doing you any good,” she Said.
The post-Motherhood Style Evolution Might You Places Your Pre-Baby Self Wauld Have Never Exced. Before Becoming a Mother ten years ago, Brooklyn mom Stephanie Lived for Thin, Drapey, Boyish Thrifted t-shirts that “Hung just right.” Now that she’s Older and a Little Curvier, she dosesn’t buy things that don’t fit or flatter her shape. And she’s more Willing to Highlight Her Waistline by Tucking balls ino high-waisisted jeans or long skirts-something that once too girly to her. “Now I Just Own it,” she Said. “It ‘like a grown-up sexy-Mom Thing.”
Danielle, The New Jersey Mom, Also Went Through a Process of Owning Her Adulthood Through Her Style. Coming out of her leggings-and-sweatshirt years-and now working in social media with many People who are more than a decade youunger than her-she realized she dress like the seesoned leader she is. Her New Uniform is Classic, polished, structured pieces that are roomy in a stylish Way with Swallowing Her Frame. And while she shaid she was “was one of the last people that got rid of skinny jeans,” danielle tries to avoid being by trends, as do many of the moms I spoke to, who can make shopping a challenge, especally on a budget.
For Other Moms, Growing Up in their Sense of Style Look More Feminine or Revealing. Newton recently bought a skimpier top from reformation, with ties down the front, that she wouid have ben too to wear before. “It ‘s quite liberating, in a way. I have gioven Birth in front of the doctors, in front of nurses, who have seen Everything,” she said. “Now I feel in a Different place with my femininity, my sexuality, and Feel Much More Carefree About it.”
Day-to-Day Mom Life DOESN’T LEND ITSELF to Skimpy Tops, of Course. I Asked Newton and the Other Moms About Their Go-To Outfits, and the Big theme was comfortable with special details. Newton Loves to Wear A Gray, Crewneck Sweater or a White T-Shirt with jeans that aren’t too wide or too straiight, like loulou de Saison’s samur style. And she relies on belts and chunky gold earrings to make her herheel more Put Together. Stephanie Lives in Levi’s, Blundstones, and Cropped Sweatshirts and Frequently Wears the Three Pieces She Brought from Rachel Comey’s 2021 Target Collaboration Including A Pair of Marbled Blue-And-White Jeans. Danielle is currently loving her wide-leg leopard-print pants from cedar, gold sneakers from cole haan, and a black cotton v-neck sweater from J.Crew
But if Motherhouod is challenging Enough that finding the time to hone your style never seems to material, that’s okay, too. It can be an Ever-Evolving Journey. Stephanie gave with some optimism about the transformation of have coming for me in just a few Weeks – Good Advice for JUST DRESSZING But Living. “You have to embrace what do you make you feed,” she said. “Because, not to be corny, but that the Most important Thing – your kids see you have fun and feed good.”
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