Clothes that Shrink With Me

An open letter to the fashion industry.

Dear Madames and Sirs,

Something wonderful has happened to maternity wear in recent years. Clothes that cling to new curves, clothes that emphasize the bump, clothes that say “I am woman to the hilt” have emerged. Most importantly, these clothes draw so much attention to the pregnant silhouete that all the observer can see is belly. So distracting is this belly that no one notices how fat the wearer’s ass has gotten over several months of pregnancy.

However, one problem remains.

Women have to wear clothes after delivering their babies. Now, I for one, enjoy nothing more than lounging around in an oversize t-shirt with jogging pants and/or flannel pyjamas all day long. Unfortunately, I had to leave the house after having my baby. And the last thing I wanted to do was emphasize my poor, water logged, stretched out, empty bag of skin of a belly. My regular clothes were just not an option.

Granted, things are better now. I can wear my other clothes, but for those first six to eight weeks, I needed something that would shrink with me. Some clothes that were machine washable, of soft fabric that would shrink with me that were also no-ironing required. Something with a great neck line that would let me nurse without a flap that waved “hello, nursing over here!”

And mostly, I wanted a few pieces that celebrated my new state of motherhood while letting me hold on to the rest of my life.

Now, I know we consumers like to complain that the fashion industry doesn’t understand us, our lives or what we need, but I believe you can take care of this, for me, for other new mothers and women who will one day bear children.

Go forth, design, cut on the bias. Come out with a line of post-partum fashions that are wearable and make us feel fantastic.

Yours truly,

Kate Baggott at Babylune