When the leggings are dirty, you’re sick of the saggy maternity jeans, and you’ve still got a 2nd trimester looking belly- what do you wear for a much needed afternoon out with your girlfriends? Today I’m sharing one of my favorite postpartum outfit that is comfy, flattering, easy to nurse in (I’ve got a great trick!), and makes me feel like I’m put together when in reality things are a hot mess with a new baby!
Keep reading for outfit details and a trick for making any shirt nursing friendly…
Photography of me in my favorite outfit by Sara Albers. Graphics by Loren Croiser
What I love about this outfit: An over-sized black sweater paired with skinny black jeans (or leather leggings?), brown booties, and a colorful necklace. Flattering, easy, comfy and it doesn’t hug anything around your waist you aren’t comfortable letting it hug. Those over-sized black sweaters are my saving grace in postpartum months! Here’s a confession: my jeans aren’t even buckled here thanks to a rubber band (another benefit of an over-sized sweater!)
Over-sized black sweater (love this one!)/Black ripped jeans/Brown booties/Lauren Olivia clutch/Rowley sunglasses/DIY necklace
My nursing trick: Button-up shirts are great of course, but who wants to wear one everyday? They’re not casual enough for postpartum lounging and cuddling. And when I’m wearing baby, I always feel bad if their face is pressed up against a button (sounds silly but really!). My trick is that I always wear a tank top underneath my top, like this black sweater I’m in above. I can pull the sweater up with my tank top still down, and then pull the tank top down from the top to nurse discretely without flashing skin and having the sweater to hide any skin on top. Easy, peasy.
Do you have a favorite outfit for postpartum?
Also, in case you missed it: 12 wardrobe essentials for every budget from last week, and thoughts about surviving the first three months of postpartum , and a new series I started: Secrets of Stylish Moms
My favorite, favorites for nursing are always ‘easy up’ tops with a layer under! Such a lifesaver, and not as hard as trying to rebutton or snap with a wiggly or possibly noisy baby in your arms.
You look fabulous! I’d love to see more posts on your outfits, Liz. They are always so casual-but-polished. 🙂
I had my daughter in late November 2012, a long winter ahead of me and I was somewhat afraid of having to show too much of what I might not want to show. I ended up trying different nursing shirts. The “StillLeben Shirt Langarm” I found at http://stillleben.info (a Berlin-based, small mail-order firm run by two former midwives, I believe) was quite a revelation and worked great, was easy to combine with all different kinds of sweaters or stretchy chemises for extra warmth, and it was flattering, comfortable and discreet even when worn without any of this. Plus, I think it looks pretty cool! (AND I know that the definition of discretion might be a bit different in Europe than in the US -and quite different again throughout European countries!- but I’m positive I would have met US standards with this. 🙂 ) This is not supposed to be a plug for the company, and I don’t even know if they ship to the US, but I just cannot recommend this shirt enough!
Oh I’ll definitely check it out! Sounds awesome
you look lovely!
can i ask what lipstick are you wearing?
Hi! It’s Revlon Apricot 🙂
I am due with babe #2 on May 1st, so I am excited to see these postpartum tips in both the post, and the comments! I remember being a huge fan of the tank underneath top trick too- I am not even a fan of the designated nursing tops (price/short term clothing/most styles are not a great combo), and a BIG fan of making regular clothes work.
With my first (who is now 11!) I don’t remember “belly bands” being an option at all, but I jumped on those for the first two trimesters while I was still fitting into my regular pants, and plan on jumping allover them postpartum too- they are a SUPER trick during and past the rubber-band-button stage while pregnant, and I am planning on using them too the max once again while everything is still settling back into place. I found my first belly band at Target, but they were synthetic, which I am not a big fan of at ALL, but I then found a vendor on eBay that makes/sells cotton ones in tons of colors for a great price. I highly recommend them!
Great tip about the bella band. I never really considered to wear them postpartum!
You look fantastic!
I’m due to give birth to baby number three in five weeks so I’ve been looking into nursing friendly outfits a lot lately. Being very petite there’s not much out there in nursing wear land that comes in my size so I’ll be doing the whole tank under loose tops thing quite a bit. Showing off that squishy post baby belly is definitely the worst part about nursing in public so tanks are a life saver!
I do have my eye on this nursing dress from Au Lait though and I could totally see you wearing it too 🙂
http://www.aulaitshop.com/the-tee-dress/
A nursing dress, what a smart idea. I like it!
When I was nursing, my favorite outfit was a t-shirt or tank covered by an open cardigan. When I needed to nurse, I would just put the cardigan on backwards and then it would act as a nursing cover without all the tacky bright designs and apron style of nursing covers. And the open cardigan always covered that extra muffin top from post-baby.
What is it with the horrible patterns on those nursing cover thingies? I was discussing this with another pregnant friend a few days ago and we agreed that they look like you’ve just grabbed the ugliest apron you could find in your kitchen and slipped it around your shoulders!
The backwards cardigan is a much better idea – although neither of my kids liked having anything at all covering them when they fed. Maybe number three will be different.
Oh i know! Nursing covers, you’re killing me. Just give me a simple chambray or something!
Smart! Love that cardigan idea, and I hear ya on the muffin top
Love this post! And love your honesty about the rubber band. I’m 30 weeks pregnant with my 2nd and daydreaming about non-maternity clothes! I definitely did what you did with my first born in late fall…but I’ll be postpartum in the summer this time so I’m thinking instead of a nice baggy sweater I’ll get a tunic or just wear a baggier tank over my nursing tanks.
You look amazing, great nursing tip!
hot mamma!!! can i be postpartum so i can look like that? 😉
I am 3 months 2 days postpartum myself. I love this post. You look fabulous!
After my last pregnancy, I broke down and bought my self a pair of “postpartum” jeans. They are 3 sizes larger than my “regular” jeans, and have been a life saver. I also wear tanks under everything as to not flash my pasty leathery belly on any unsuspecting passerby. I love Undercover Mama tanks. They hook onto my nursing clasps so I don’t have to pull down so hard on a tank.
Yes! I agree, I went out and bought new jeans too that fit me. So much better than living in leggings for months! These were just an old favorite that only work with a rubber band!
Love this look, Liz! I’d probably swap the jeans out for leggings but otherwise i’m in!
You look so great liz. I love that your pants aren’t buckled, ha! I had a lot of that happening too
I lived in outfits similar to this in the months after my daughter was born. I have to have go-to uniforms to feel semi put together! 🙂
~Mary Keller