One of my very favorite things about blogging? Hearing from our fabulous readers. And one of our readers sent in a pic so gorgeous, I knew I had to post it!!
Girls, meet Amy. Amy is (obviously) pregnant, and rocking a very cool version of a daily mom uniform.
Amy says she's been trying to "stretch the wardrobe I already have through these months of maternity madness--an infusion of scarves, cute shoes (that are actually flat), blousy dresses, and a few extra pieces that will work from now all the way through postpartum and nursing".
She's right. Cozy dresses, accessorized with an array of tights, scarves and flat shoes are one of the easiest and most stylish ways to get dressed in the morning. And so flattering for new moms.
When describing her outfit, Amy says:
"It's pretty much my uniform these days with all of this snow--drapey cashmere dress, cute tights, snow boots, and a big scarf. I love this outfit because I can carry all of the stuff in my purse to make it a "nonsnow" outfit--a pair of ballet flats and a light silk scarf. I seriously wear some manifestation of this getup at least 3 or 4 times a week. And...none of it is maternity!"
This mom uniform works for both pregnant, new moms, and experienced moms alike. For a non-pregnant version of this look, see our post on Gwenth Paltrow's Daily Mom Uniform. (Amy, you're in great company, style-wise!!)
For moms chasing a toddler around, swap out the tights for leggings - they'll give you a bit more coverage.
Amy is wearing a cashmere blend dress from Banana Republic, funky purple tights from J. Crew, Nordstrom's cashmere scarf and armwarmers (I love these things!!), and J. Crew Galoshes.
Galoshes (or rain boots) are a really great way to start transitioning winter outfits into Spring, and would probably be my first choice for rocking this mom uniform now!
Here's what I came up with, using Amy as inspiration:
I'm loving American Apparel's Chambray Henley Shirt Dress, $62. It's completely on trend, and would look equally amazing this summer with a pair of nude platforms for date night as it does all cozied up here. Wear this dress with a pair of black tights (Gap's are shown here), and some fabulous rainboots. I can't stop thinking about Hunter's Original Gloss in Violet, $115 at Zappos.com.
To make this look winter-friendly, add in some fun armwarmers (I'm showing Michael Kors, on sale at Nordstroms for $29) and a gorgeous wool scarf. I tend to wear lots of solid color clothing, so I like to add in a bit of pattern with a scarf. The 100% Merino wool Gray Floral Scarf pictured above is a more interesting twist on the standard gray scarf, and can be found at SFMoma online for $65.
If things are still really chilly in your neck of the woods, you can further cozy this outfit up by adding thick wool socks over the tights (showing above the top of the rainboot), a long-sleeve layer under the chambray dress (let the sleeves peek out from underneath the chambray's rolled sleeves), and throwing the whole look on with a warm parka.
Ugh. I hate that I'm still talking about parkas....but March is often Denver's snowiest month.
Amy, thanks so much for sending in this gorgeous pick -- we just LOVED it. And congrats on the new baby! I remember well the "grandama-sized panties" you mentioned in your email...here in Denver the nurses referred to them as "sexy panties". snort. And as awful as they are....I LOVED them. "soooooooo comfortable....aaaahhhh." Disposable or no, I washed and wore mine more than I'd like to admit.
xo,
S
Pic is courtesy of Jennifer Wilson of jennifer/brooks photography. Offices in Washington, DC and Seattle.
Loving that outfit. And I'm sure I can pull that off. One question though, could I substitute rain boots for more "Ugg like" boots? Or is it too close to Spring for that?
Posted by: Tegan and Tage | March 11, 2010 at 09:20 AM
One thing about this outfit - unless you go with a Henley-like dress (like the AA one you suggested), it's going to be hella hard to nurse in that.
Posted by: Jess | March 13, 2010 at 03:28 PM
Tegan -- YES! Ugg-like boots would be great!!
Jess -- SO TRUE. That was THE most annoying thing about nursing: dresses. And true nursing dresses? [shudder] Pretty bad. I think I'm going to do a piece coming up on dresses you can nurse in for Spring/Summer. If you know of any, let me know!
Amy - I looked back at your dress in the pic, and the scoop-neck looks big enough (and stretchy enough) that I'll be you can nurse in it!
Posted by: Shana | March 14, 2010 at 08:38 PM
Yes, the dress is one of those stretchy scoop necks that can be pulled down. Thank goodness!
And I would LOVE a "nursing dress" post! I just looked in my closet and realized I have no spring/summer wardrobe--because all I usually wear is dresses!
Posted by: Amy | March 20, 2010 at 08:25 PM
Amy - I'm on it. That was the HARDEST part of my summer(s) nursing. I never could find great dresses (and if you google "nursing dress" the results are horrifying). Last summer we did a post on how to make maxi-dresses work for nursing...but YES. I will work on a summer nursing dress post.
http://www.aintnomomjeans.com/2009/05/maxi-dresses-for-nursing-moms.html
Posted by: S | March 21, 2010 at 04:06 PM