Chic Mom’s Basic Rules

Since that baby was born, you have been dying to rent a hotel room while your mom watches the baby to get a few hours solid sleep. No matter whether everyone told the newborn would turn your world upside down, now you have no choice but to face this brave new world of motherhood! When you have a little time, you find yourself choosing between shopping and sleeping. I’ll bet you pick the second one most of the time. I would. Shopping is definitely on the outer periphery of your priorities right now.

Time may feel too short, too compressed, but your body feels too wide, too wide, totally different, and new. You were a size 4 before, and a size 8 now. You were walking in the street drawing eyeballs, and now those eyeballs are on your gigantic boobs and the half-dried baby spit stain on your shoulder.

Many women, including some new moms, reflect their self-esteem in what they wear. Because many new moms gain more weight than they may ever have before during their pregnancy, they are unused to their new body shape and often become very self-conscious, and they reflect that self-consciousness in how they dress. Hiding their new body shape sounds like a good idea, but it isn’t. Facing reality is actually the best idea. You gained weight because you brought a little baby angel to the world, not because you ate too much cheese. There’s no shame in that at all.  People understand and respect that. You should be ashamed of yourself for feeling shameful.  Stop hiding yourself in those over-sized shapeless bags.

New moms become exhausted from dealing with all the many considerations that goes into raising a newborn and they become over-stressed from dealing with their new life. They barely have more than three hours to sleep. Of course they don't have time or energy to think about fashion.

Still, none of these are good excuses to dress poorly. If they care about themselves even a little bit more, they can still find ways to look great.  Women should always strive for elegance. No matter what situation you are in, you must always keep your head up and remain poised. The secret is, as long as you care about yourself a little bit more, as long as you don’t yell out “I am not a woman anymore. I am a mom”, you can always look stylish.

Remember when we just got out of college, poor and confused, but we still went through all the celebrity fashion magazines and tried to learn how to dress from them? Those celebrities you used to emulate are mostly moms now. Do the same thing, go through some magazines and see how they dress. Even if you can’t live their lavish lives – five nannies to watch one child is ridiculous – that doesn’t mean you can’t continue to emulate their fashionable looks in your special way.

Here are some basic fashion tips for new moms –

• No breast feeding in public. I am sorry and feel awful to say it, but it really is unacceptable. I am glad that I don’t see that very often, but when I do it makes we queasy. There is absolutely nothing beautiful or stylish about breast feeding in public.

• Take your baby shopping in small-sized boutiques. If you have time in a morning on a week day that would be the best time to shop in small local boutiques. There are usually few customers in the store (around lunch is the busiest time), so you will get as much help as you need. Their dressing rooms are usually larger and more comfortable, so you might even have the space to keep the stroller in.

• No need to spend too much money on one item other than shoes. The reason is obvious. You will lose weight soon, and these larger than your normal sizes are only temporary, right?

• Wear solid, subtle colors or small prints instead of bright colors or big floral prints. Bright colors and big prints make you look bigger than you are. Solid, muted colors and small prints make you look smaller.

• Cotton and jersey is better than silk or polyester. They are soft, breath well and are machine washable. Beautiful though they are, babies can be messy.

• Put anything white aside for a while, for practical reasons. Stains on white materials stand out like beacons.

• Avoid low V-neck tops, especially when you are nursing.

• No mom jeans! Mom jeans are unflattering, poorly fitted jeans having a high waist a few inches above the belly button. Ill-fitting high waist jeans make your buttocks look flat, make your stomach appear to be a robust promontory, and make your legs out to be ham hocks.  Low-rise jeans might be uncomfortable for you now, so it is okay to wear high waste jeans. No matter where the waist falls on you though, the jeans have to be flattering, fitted, and nicely washed or treated. Boot cut and straight legs are good choices. Remember, denim will stretch out after you wear them for a few hours and shrinks back after it’s washed. So, it’s okay if they feel a little tight when the jeans are new or after a few washes.

• Diaper bags don’t lie. You think nobody cares to see your diaper bag? Wrong. You may dress stylishly, but if your diaper bag is encrusted with dirt and stains, all your effort to look good is for naught. You don’t want to carry grocery bags. You don’t to carry bags that look like garbage. You want to find a couple of light weight, fun print, large-sized, machine washable totes and rotate them to match your outfits. I am talking about those real tote bags with shapes. Not those you can fold up to save five cents when you buy groceries.