We have another great guest poster today for the Postpartum “trimester” of Mother to Be, Being, Been! One of my best friends turned me onto this great fashion blog called Aint No Mom Jeans, and I’ve been hooked since! Ain’t No Mom Jeans is a fashion and lifestyle blog for moms. They cover everyday mom style, as well as how to dress a bump with non-maternity clothes, disguising a postpartum pooch, nursing-friendly fashions, as well as baby and kid gear reviews. I’m sure you can guess why I asked them to contribute some opinions about postpartum fashions to help inspire all of you!
Before we head into today’s inspiration post – here’s where you’ll be posting your pooch hiding entries – Mother Been Flickr Group. This portion of the competition is a lot more open to interpretation – if it disguises, cinches in, or minimizes a postpartum jiggle belly – we want to see it! If you have any trouble getting your project uploaded, please feel free to send your photo and description to me at deshazer(dot)jennifer(at)gmail(dot)com.
Shana Draugelis of Ain’t No Mom Jeans:
Hello, little baby. I can pat you, and rub you and hold you in my arms…..
I’m talking, of course, to my poochy stomach. Who, as of six months ago, is babyless. The actual baby is now one of the lights of my life…but the resulting poochy stomach is currently the bane of my existence.
So when Jenn asked me to guest post with a little post-partum style inspiration, I knew it was right up my alley. I’m living it these days.
But then… intimidation set in. I realized that Jenn’s reader base is made up of very talented, very crafty mamas. Mamas who design. And then make. Yikes and double yikes. I’ve always been impressed with those talented enough to make a curtain here and there…but clothes? I’m positively green with envy. (Once in a while, one of these very talented, crafty moms will insist that I could learn. No. I could not. Really not. I’m pretty much stuck in the safety pin and staples stage.)
But having a platform to (hopefully) inspire these very talented moms to make something that solves post-partum pooch-hiding issues? Yes! Sign me up.
Post-Partum Problem 1: Maxi Dresses
Finding pooch-hiding maxi dresses has been problematic. Anything with an empire-waist only emphasizes the pooch. To illustrate:
So cute for a pregnant mamma. Not so cute post-partum.
Here’s what I’m looking for:
C’est possible? Maybe? For more pooch-hiding maxi dress inspiration, check out my current finds here.
Post-Partum Problem 2: Booooring Tops
I’m so tired of the typical empire-waisted top. Some (like the empire-waist maxi dress) actually accentuate the pooch and others…snore. The good news is that styles today are trending away from an empire-waist to a slightly oversized, fabulously drapy shape. The only problem? These fabulous drapy styles are often made of a very thin fabric that, on its own, is often too sheer to hide the pooch. I need one with a little somthin-somethin strategically placed to hide. that. pooch. Here’s my own version of DYI (NOTE: it involves standing still and holding things in place).
Bustle It: Remember being a bridesmaid? And you had to bustle your BFF’s dress after the ceremony? I did that to the peach maxi dress (pictured above) with a safety pin so I could wear it with flats. Not recommended. The safety pin put a hole in the back of the dress. Sigh. But I think one could do something fun with little bustly-like tucks and sews to make a top more interesting and, most importantly, pooch-hiding.
Bubble It: Hearken back to the days of early 90’s prom. Oh, bubble hem dress, I loved you so. Now I’m loving bubble hem tops. They do wonders for the pooch – why aren’t there more bubble hems???
Band It: A flowy top, reigned in at the hips with a belt is so flattering. But rarely stays nicely tucked in. Banded tops are a post-partum mama’s best friend. And so easy to find!! snort. If you don’t mind shopping maternity. GROAN…
There you have it, stylish and talented mamas!! Now that I’ve amazed you all with my crafty add-words-to-photos skills….show us whacha got!
Wait! Wait! I just learned another one: big collage!! Ooooooooo……
Good luck! And a huge thanks to A Jennuine Life for this fun opportunity to guest post!
xo,
S
This gives amazing insight into how to dress our postpartum pooch. I love how Shana gives us some tips to create fashions that she has imagined, but aren’t readily available in stores!
One of our entrants in the maternity category gave really great descriptions of the three “trimesters” – per Miranda of One Little Minute: “pregnant: the expansion stage, nursing: the quick-access stage , and postpartum: the muffin-top stage.” How very apt!
I can’t see any of the pictures!