10 Outfits That I Wish Were Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Friendly

Hello there, I'm Hannah! Welcome to the blog for Real Atelier, a clothing company in the making made for women in every stage of her life. My goal is to create clothing that will flatter women during pregnancy, breastfeeding and beyond. I believe clothes should accommodate us, not the other way around. It's normal to experience waist fluctuations in our ever-changing bodies, but irritating to have to do mental gymnastics to figure out what pants are going to fit today. I'm going to create stealthily adjustable French-inspired timeless pieces, made from real materials (looking at you, beloved merino wool), sourced and manufactured in the USA.

 

In part 1 of this post, I’m excited to share with you ten of my favorite outfits that are NOT pregnancy or breastfeeding friendly. These are some of my wardrobe favs that I look forward to wearing whenever I’m not pregnant or breastfeeding (like right now). These are outfits that I missed intensely when I was pregnant and or breastfeeding one of my two children. Can you relate with you and your closet? In Part 2 of the article I'll share how my designs are coming together at Real Atelier to combat these crucial clothing frustrations, so that you don't have to keep three wardrobes (or more!) full of different kinds of clothes depending on the season of life or part of the fertility month you're in.

 

1.     1. My Mom’s Linen Sheath Dress from the 90’s that She Wore to Her Wedding Rehearsal Dinner (That I Wore to My Wedding Rehearsal Dinner, too!)

Obviously, this dress has a lot of personal significance given that it’s made it through family history, but I can only wear it when I’m not pregnant or breastfeeding because of the way it zips up in the back, and is form fitting from a non-stretchy material like linen. The light French riviera blue color inspired me to make it the color of my brand. Thanks, Mom!

 

2.    2.  Versatile Midi Dress

This was one of those rare do-a-happy-dance-because-you-found-Zara-at-TJ-Maxx finds, and is honestly one of the most versatile dresses that I own. By now, you’ve caught onto my signature color. I love the way light blue makes me feel confident the color makes my blue eyes pop and my warm brown hair appear a bit more Florentine red. I want to make a post in the future about finding your signature color!  If only this dress had hidden nursing zippers in the bodice…

 

3.    3.  Favorite Japanese denim jeans and linen vest

These Everlane 90’s cheeky jeans are the perfect French girl capsule wardrobe bottoms, ‘cause what doesn’t go with a black washed jean? They are the cutest, but they are stiff as can be (as selvedge should be). I think if I was only 4 weeks pregnant, I’d probably have to shelve them already, they’re so un-stretchy. If only they had secret adjustability in the waist! Also, I promise not all my outfits will be in light French riviera blue. ;) But come on, this is a timeless vest from J.Crew, and also on trend this year. The stiff linen definitely makes it so that when it’s breastfeeding season, it wouldn’t button properly anymore width wise, even though it has buttons. Bummer.

 

4.     4. Short denim skirt + cropped white tee

I got this Madewell denim skirt for less than $30 on Poshmark after seeing the same one at Nordstrom for $120. Did I mention that Real Atelier needs to be affordable in my book? Well, it’s a strong value for me. Anyhow, this is a no brainer combo with a TJ Maxx ribbed white tee, but as you can imagine, cropped tees aren’t exactly flattering with an over or under the bump styled maternity jean. But… what if the pants came up higher? If they did, cropped tees can actually be SUPER cute with over the bump style bottoms (or over the bump bodycon skirt for an elevated casual look).

 

5.     5. Red Linen Side Button Dress (Doesn’t it look like the solid red version of the “No Time to Die” Rouje dress? I think so at least :) )

Fun, cute, versatile dress in a rich earthy red, making it a red that’s less likely to wash you out (unless you’re a winter, but hey I’m an autumn), but the side button feature means that once a growing pregnancy bump gets past a certain threshold, it’ll pop the buttons open like the cork of an over-eager bottle of champagne! I've ordered a few things off Lintico and am overall satisfied with the quality (but careful, I had to size up one size in this dress!)

 

6.     6. Olive wide leg trousers plus denim jacket

I love wide-leg trousers (my husband does not, haha). These Everlane Phoebe trousers make for a graceful silhouette, but I’ve never seen a pregnancy edition, probably because making them over or under the bump would create a very strange body silhouette. Unless, we could do the magic of making a middle of the waist pregnancy pant! Also, sadly this versatile and year-round staple of a denim jacket (garage sale find) becomes too tight toward the end of pregnancy when my arms are swollen full of extra blood for my little one (are’t women’s bodies amazing?) Perhaps an oversized jacket would do… or an innovative utility jacket (hint, hint). 

 

7.     7. Silk midi skirt plus cashmere boat neck sweater

I’m a huge fan of the luxurious look and feel of this Quince silk midi skirt, but it has only about two extra inches of room in the waist band. However, Quince has been making a maternity edition of this, woo hoo! The Quince cashmere boat neck sweater tucks in very cutely during non-pregnant times, however I’d be afraid of it stretching out if I wore it when very pregnant.

 

8.     8. Yellow floral maxi dress

 This floral dress (Nicole Miller brand) is adaptable for pregnancy or regular time, but I don’t love how there’s a empire waist to it. When I’m not pregnant I actually belt this dress at my true waist to make it more flattering. Any theatrical romantic Kibbe bodies in the room? If so, you get my need to define my true waist or risk looking frumpy. Sadly, this dress is so snug up top that I wouldn’t recommend trying to wiggle out of it to breastfeed. I’m all in favor of dresses with multiple areas of adjustability, because dresses are so friendly to changing women’s bodies, and always appropriate no matter the occasion.

 

9.     9. Tapered gray pants + black boatneck bodysuit

These Everlane tapered drape weave pants are to me an ideal balance between that formal “suiting” look and a playful, everyday pant (great breathable, sustainable fabric too). Depending on if I wear it with a blazer or a t-shirt, heels or sneakers, it can be dressed up or down. They are snug as can be at the waist, but I can mentally picture pleated dress pants with interior buttons that can expand or retract as needed. You can’t tell from the pic but my top is a Target bodysuit, which I mean bodysuits never come in maternity version, for hilariously obvious reasons. Can you imagine trying to fasten the snaps over a big bump? But I love the flattering fitted style of a bodysuit and think that it could be a similar looking adaptable tank if we were using a fine, body hugging material like merino wool.

 

10.  “Greek skirt” plus gray cashmere tee

I call this my Greek skirt because the pattern looks like olive branches in the color Greek blue (and I got it at a beach boutique in Oregon). I tried to make this work during pregnancy, but the waist band couldn’t accommodate past a certain point. Skirts can be so cute during pregnancy, and when they’re adjustable in the waist, they are pure gold! Also, love me my Quince cashmere tees like this gray one here, but they’re not that stretchy, ya know?

 

Thanks for making it to the end! In my next post, I’m going to share what I hope to do about the frustration of having to get rid of your favorite clothes when they stop fitting and settle for second best. Until next time, keep it real!