I dumped the contents of my extra large suitcase onto the bedroom floor and began to panic. I looked at the mountain of dresses, shorts, and tops, took a deep breath and did what I’m assuming all postpartum women dread: I tried on my pre-baby summer clothes.
About halfway through my pregnancy, I decided to store everything that didn’t fit me in a massive suitcase, because the stress of seeing all the clothes I couldn’t wear on a daily basis was beginning to ware on me. One chilly November evening, I tucked my summer clothes away, knowing that on the other side of having my first baby, they likely would fit a lot differently. Or wouldn’t fit at all.
Here in Ireland, we typically have a few heatwaves every summer. It’s nothing above 30 degrees thankfully, but our homes are built to keep the heat IN and do not have air conditioning. So when the heat makes its yearly arrival, it can become unbearably difficult to stay cool.
Back in June, we had our first heatwave and after assessing the mountain of clothes on the floor, I unfortunately came to an overwhelming realisation. None of my summer clothes fit me (apart from one dress that was now very short and two pairs of pyjamas).
As much as I didn’t want to bulk buy any clothing this year, I knew that with the summer ahead of me, I had to give myself some grace and allow myself to spend a bit of money or else I would literally have nothing to wear. I needed to add items to my wardrobe quickly, but that didn’t mean I had to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I still wanted to consider my purchases and be realistic about which items of clothing would best fit into my lifestyle needs at the moment.
I decided that first and foremost I needed:
Comfortable lounge shorts
Lightweight t-shirts
“Dressy” shorts
Breastfeeding friendly tops
I turned to my most reliable (affordable with good quality materials) retailers these days which include Dunnes, Marks and Spencer, Uniqlo, and Next. I’ve found these brands to be high quality, fast to ship, and easy to return. With a baby, I have absolutely no time to go into stores and try on. So at home try ons will suffice for now.
So far, these items have helped me create a mini capsule wardrobe for these hotter weather days. I’m even feeling dare I say confident in some of them??? My body is continuing to change now that I’m three months postpartum. Even in the last month, a few of my pre-baby summer clothes have started to fit. Hallelujah. I know that’s not the case for everyone, but I’m so grateful.
I also spent a lot of time thinking about what I would wear to my baby’s christening and I’m really proud of how I dressed. I didn’t want to just buy an expensive dress I would never wear again. I wanted to find a two piece set that I could wear multiple times over the summer. I landed on this dusty blue waistcoat from Dunnes, a white cotton skirt, and wore my silver kitten heels I’ve had for years. Side note - a moment for my baby’s beautiful christening gown which was actually made from my mother in-law’s wedding dress.
I’ve slowly built up some hot weather uniforms that I can wear on repeat this summer, including our upcoming trips to America and Greece. I’m on my way to having a collection of clothing for the summer that will hopefully deter any panic buying of ‘holiday clothing’ that I wear once and then donate after the trip.
I’d be lying if I said it has been easy to watch my body change. Right when I had given birth, I felt so much gratitude for my body. I felt lighter and slimmer when my bump slowly went down after a week or two. But then, things settled and my postpartum body confidence began to waver. There have been many days where I’ve just wanted to put sweatpants on and hide myself away, but unfortunately that isn’t possible in a home without air conditioning right now.
As I said in my first newsletter in this series, I want to find clothing that feels comfortable and practical, while also helping me feel confident and put together in the body I’m in right now. As much as I would like to hide away sometimes, I’m not. I’m learning to be proud of this new body. It grew and birthed my baby girl and since I’m breastfeeding, now it’s keeping her healthy and fed.
I’ve shared the pieces of clothing I added to my wardrobe, but there were many pieces I didn’t keep. I vowed to go into each try on session open minded and kind. If I caught myself being mean about the way I looked, I snapped myself out of it. We’re taking all the small wins we can get these days.
Because it’s never really about how our bodies look, is it? It’s about our perspective.
I’d love to know… how did you approach your wardrobe the summer after having a baby?
Did you rebuild from scratch? Could you make your old clothes work? Did you live in the same three outfits on repeat?
Because that’s exactly where I am…
At the end of the day, I’m learning how to dress a body that feels familiar and completely different all at once, and slowly building a summer wardrobe that fits this season of life.
Getting dressed when… is a seasonal series of this newsletter where I write about the process of rediscovering my personal style after having a baby. Getting dressed over the last few years has felt like an endless cycle of trying and failing to locate myself. I’ve finally decided to do something about it. A lot has changed since I was twenty-five. I’m older. Six years sober. Married. I no longer commute to an office or classroom every day. I’ve traded city life for the Irish countryside. And now, I’m a mom. Yes, it’s about the clothes. But moreso it’s about identity, change, and learning to recognise myself again. Follow along with me on this journey. I’m sure I’m not the only one going through this!
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90% of my closet either doesn't fit me or isn't fit for BF purpose 🥲
I've kept 4 kg from my pregnancy (2 months pp), but my "chest area" is way bigger than before, which essentially means I've gone up a size on top lol.
I've decided to take the opportunity to do a big triage of clothes I know I won't wear anymore, even once I'm done BF. I've explored Vinted a lot, too.
I feel lots more confident, weirdly. Just trying not to freak out at my wardrobe getting smaller ahah
I'm in the same phase as you right now--just had a baby and am kind of in-between sizes for a lot of things! Luckily a lot of what I was wearing 2nd and 3rd trimester are still working postpartum because I got a lot of elastic waist bottoms and looser tops. And now that it's warm sundresses are an option, and if I wear them with shorts, then they also work well for breastfeeding.