I'm really excited that our next guest post is from Elaine of Clothed Much - a modest style and fashion blog she started in 2009 when she was a poor, married college student with a closet full of clothes but nothing to wear.
I'm Korean and married to a tall, skinny white guy. We live in Sacramento. I'm a new mom and don't know what I'm doing. Eating is my favorite besides chasing our shy, chubby cat. I think I'm funny but no one else seems to think so.
I recently had my first baby earlier this year (a 9-pounder!) and with that, my first experience with a whole new body. I mean, why did I still look pregnant? Were the docs sure there wasn't a lost twin in there?? Those first few months are tough and rough and basically suck. You want to show off this cute new babe of yours but you don't want to show the aftermath... (Us.) I'm still learning what looks good on this new body of mine and what I should store for that one day I'll fit into my old skinny jeans. Here are some of my go-to items that helped me dress my postpartum body:
1. Control that tummy!
As a C-section recoverer, the belly binder was my life!!!! I had to wear it or I couldn't stand or walk. Even after I was able to do those activities comfortably, I still wore it at home. I bound it as tight as I could to squish all that flesh in. And you know what? I saw my waist whittling down a little each day. Plus, if it worked for Jessica Alba, it should work for all of us, right?
Under all my clothes for the first few months, I wore shapewear, including at home so I was wearing shapewear AND the belly binder. Shapewear helped to smooth those inevitable lumps and bumps under my clothes fooling the mirror and my eyes that I looked good. And it worked. I was less self-conscious when I knew my body was a little more streamlined.
2. You're still pregnant.
Okay, you're really not, but the way I thought of dressing my new body those first few months, I thought "How would I dress if I were X months pregnant?" Because when you're pregnant, you usually want to dress up and dress that bump. I went through my closet to find the clothes I kept going back to while I was pregnant and got inspiration from them. Instead this time I wanted to hide the bump..
Some of my favorite pregnancy clothes were black leggings, full/A-line skirts (the skirts that fall away from your body), baggy t-shirts, and loose stretchy pants.
3. Accessories are everything.
Say you were wearing black leggings and a white t-shirt. Nice and simple, right? Now add chunky boots, a sweater, and a scarf. It's completely different!
When choosing accessories, imagine you were someone on the street who saw your outfit - what would catch your eye first?
4. Outfit combinations to remember:
Here's a cheat sheet for you when getting dressed!
Fitted shirt + full/A-line skirt (that hits right at the smallest part of your torso)
Loose pants (think boyfriend fit) + loose t-shirt + cropped jacket/blazer
This is genius. Four months postpartum and I still have a little bit of a bump to hide!
ReplyDeleteThis post is exactly what I needed to read today! I've been bummed out my post baby body and wondering how I'm going to survive style wise until I loose the weight. Elaine looks fab!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips and examples!
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