Photo: Pexels/Cottonbro Studio
Becoming a mom changes every aspect of your life, including your overall style. Bringing your new little one home is an incredible opportunity to explore the exciting new ins and outs of parenthood, but it’s also a time to discover who you are as a mom—and that includes your new mom aesthetic! To rediscover your style as a new mom, start with what you have, take stock of the clothes in your closet, and get ready to reinvent yourself!
Embrace Your New Shape
Motherhood changes your body. From your tiger stripes to the new curves that suddenly exist, these changes are a beautiful thing. Waiting around for your pre-baby body to reappear is a waste of time and an exercise in self-torture. Besides, even if you resume your workout routine as soon as you can, there’s no guarantee that your body will ever be exactly like it was. That’s okay, too! As long as you eat healthy foods and stay reasonably active throughout the day, you’re golden.
Embrace the changes in your body and the new shape that motherhood creates. Take stock of your figure to identify your body shape — be it apple, hourglass, or pear. Dressing for your body shape is the best way to show off your unique style and beautiful frame.
Sort Through the Clothes in Your Closet
Since you’re dressing for your body type, you need to go through your closet and your dresser to sort out what fits and what doesn’t. You can donate, store, or toss your maternity clothes. It might be a good idea to get rid of any “regular” clothes that you wore during your pregnancy, as well, if they’re stretched out and misshapen.
It’s also possible that your tastes may have changed entirely since having a baby, making this your opportunity to get rid of any items that no longer match your vibe. In addition to tossing out clothing that doesn’t fit you or flatter your body, you can ditch anything that simply doesn’t feel like you anymore. There’s no shame in that!
Photo: Kassandre Pedro/Pexels Keep what you love, such as your favorite flannel shirt or those pre-pregnancy skinny jeans that still fit perfectly. You can replace anything else to fill the holes in your wardrobe. Who can pass up an excuse to shop?
Refresh Your Underwear Drawer
While you’re busy cleaning out your closet and all of your drawers, focus on your underwear drawer, too. When was the last time you went through all of your old bras and panties? Once again, get rid of any underwear that’s ripped, torn, or stretched beyond its ability to fit. The same goes for your bras.
Not only do you need underwear for your new body type, but you need to fit yourself into a new bra, as well. You already know that giving birth changes your body. Your breasts, in particular, maybe fuller, or their overall shape may have changed. Buying new panties and, in particular, a new bra that fits like a dream will help to ensure that you look smart and stylish in every outfit that you wear.
Dress for Your Complexion
Eye color, hair color, skin tone—your coloring should be a consideration in every new piece of clothing you choose as you rediscover your style as a mom. Aim for colors that will flatter you and make you blossom. To begin, check to see whether you have a cool or warm complexion. You may even want to splurge and head to the makeup counter at your local department store to have an aesthetician help you figure out whether you’re a fall, spring, summer, or winter.
Once you know your coloring, you can select color palettes and patterns that bring out your natural beauty. For the sake of convenience and chic style, you may choose to make much of your wardrobe as monochrome as possible. Black, grey, and navy are easy to keep clean and hide stains which, after all, is a must for moms who are busy with their babies.
But if you want to inject color into your new wardrobe, moms with a cool complexion can rock pastels and shades of blue. Warm skin tones are made to wear color, so don’t shy away from vibrant shades of orange, yellow, and rich rose pink.
Bring On the Basics
The basics are anything but boring. As a new mom, stocking up on wardrobe essentials can guarantee that you always have something fashionable-but-functional to wear. While you sort through the clothing you currently have set aside any of the basics that still fit properly. You can keep those, then add to them to fill out what’s missing.
For each individual woman, the basics will look a little different. At the end of the day, it all comes down to taste. Many basics are universally recognized, though. In addition to a pair of jeans that you love, stock up on solid-color tanks and tees, button-down shirts, comfortable cardigans, leggings for days, and a few skirts and dresses to round out your closet. Curate a capsule wardrobe that fits your new life as a new mom.
Photo: Pexels/Liza Summer Avoid High-Maintenance Fabrics
See any tags that say “dry clean only” or “wash by hand”? Hard pass, mama. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
Jokes aside, for the most part, you do need to steer clear of delicate fabrics and high-maintenance materials. For one thing, you probably won’t have the time or the extra money to head to the dry cleaner regularly. New moms don’t have a lot of time to hand wash fragile fabrics like satin and silk, either.
Furthermore, cashmere will never stand up to a little baby. Your soft sweaters and silky shirts will be magnets for dirt, spit-up, leaked breast milk, and who knows what else. Stick to sturdy, serviceable fabrics, instead. Swap the cashmere for cozy cardigans and the silk for cotton.
Photo: Eye for Ebony/Unsplash Celebrate with a Haircut
Finally, consider haircuts and styles that are easy to maintain but still look fabulous. Your hair can change after having a baby, as well. Long hair can appear thinner, stringy, or oily. Some short styles may be hard to style because they take a while to shape. Choose something effortless and flattering to celebrate your new role in life.
How has your style changed as a new mom? Let us know the clothing items and styling tricks that you rely on as you navigate this new path with your baby!
