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| Literally the best dress EVER |
Ever since I started limiting my color palette, I found shopping for clothes much more difficult. I also started shopping online (mostly on Amazon) much more than shopping in person. The main reason for this was that I could search for the colors I wanted, which were sometimes difficult to find in stores. I've been lucky that olive green is so popular these days, but cream/ivory and brown have been more difficult to find. I thought it would be fun to share some of the items I've found that have been really useful in my wardrobe, in the hopes that it might be helpful to someone else. Most of the items are available in multiple colors, so a person of another color seasonal palette could likely find something at the same link.
I'll put my color palette here again for reference:
There could of course be other colors in the autumn seasonal palette, but these are the ones that I have chosen.
Being a pear shape, I'm looking for A-line dresses and skirts, wearing lighter colors on top and darker colors on the bottom. I aim to wear only cream, teal, olive green, coral, or burnt orange on top and only brown, dark denim, and olive green on the bottom. Olive green can be used as a color with a dark neutral on the bottom or as a pseudo-neutral with a lighter color on top, so that is the only color I wear on the top and bottom.
Dressing my postpartum body has been the most difficult part of my clothing journey. Typically pear shapes have small waist, so we would draw attention away from our lower half to accentuate our waist. Since my waist isn't so small these days, it's a lot harder. Most postpartum dressing advice (like the link I posted above) focuses on wearing leggings and loose tops. It's just not a good look for me to draw attention to my legs. I definitely wear leggings around the house for comfort, but usually not out of the house. I think the hardest thing for me is that, this time around, it's taken me longer to lose the baby weight. So I'm still looking for easy access for breastfeeding and hiding the belly, but my baby is almost a year old.
1. Olive
green faux wrap dress
Hands
down the absolute best thing I've found for right now is the olive green faux wrap dress from the picture above. I found it on
Amazon looking for breastfeeding friendly dresses, and it's from one of those random Chinese brands that you wonder if the
quality will be ok. The faux wrap is incredible both for nursing and
covering the belly. It's more of a jersey material, so not quite as
elegant as it looks in the picture, but so comfortable and flattering. It
hits just below the knee, which I know is not the best length for me (just
above the knee or maxi would be better), but it's so practical for wrangling a
baby. I don't have to worry about keeping my legs together or tripping
over it when I walk up the stairs. I think maybe the best thing about the
dress is that it requires zero adjustments while I'm wearing it. I've thrown it
on to run to the grocery store (both alone and with a baby in a carrier).
I wear it to the park, to church, to teach in, and I've even worn it to a
wedding. I can wear it by itself when the weather is warm or add a
sweater/scarf when it's cold. I can wear it with sandals, flats, ankle
boots, or even tall boots (if I can ever find some to fit me). I also
bought the same dress in a smaller size in teal from another brand. I've worn it
some, but I think it will look better after I lose a little bit of weight.
2. Yoga
shorts with pockets
The
second most amazing clothing item I've found lately are these Yoga shorts with pockets. I bought them because I wanted something with pockets to
wear around the house in the summer. I used to always wear gaucho pants,
but I kept getting annoyed, because without pockets I could never remember where I put my
phone. I needed them to be long enough so that my legs wouldn't rub
together, but still not be too hot. However, I've also discovered that
they are also the absolute best shorts I've ever worn under a skirt or
dress. For the first time in my life, I actually feel more comfortable
wearing a skirt/dress than jeans! The best part is that not only do they
not ride up, they also don't slip down (at least not too much) at the
waist. The high waist is perfect for holding in the postpartum belly, and
they don't show anything in the back if I bend over or sit on the floor.
I also tried another brand of these, but they slipped down at the waist.
This brand is perfect.
3. Brown
ankle-length skirt with pockets
I bought
this brown ankle-length skirt with pockets mostly for the pockets. I used to have a navy maxi
skirt, but since I decided to wear just brown instead of navy, I hadn't found a
good replacement. I wasn't sure whether to buy the ankle length or the
maxi length, but I opted for the ankle length since I'm only 5'3"
tall. It turns out that the waistband is only flattering if you fold it
over, so the maxi length would've been better. But like how the olive
green dress is more practical below the knee, this length is more practical because
I don't have to hold it up walking up the stairs, while
also holding a baby. One downside though is that I have to adjust
it a lot, because it only looks good if the waistband is in the perfect spot,
not too high or too low. Wrangling a baby and a toddler tends to make it
move around where it doesn't look as good, so I have to adjust it. Also, the pockets are big enough to hold a phone, but it pulls the skirt down a bit.
4.
"White" t-shirt
Now for the most basic of all: the "white" t-shirt. I had an extremely difficult time finding an ivory/cream colored basic t-shirt that wasn't see-through. I finally found this oatmeal fleck t-shirt (sold as a 2-pack), which I absolutely love. The color is perfect for me, and it is so versatile. It isn't see through, and it is fitted but not too tight. It really is an incredible find for an autumn. I've started looking for more pieces in this oatmeal color.
5. Dolman shirt with side shirring
Left: 20 weeks pregnant, Center: Coming home from the hospital,
Right: Recently
discovered I can overcome the belly problem by tucking it into a skirt
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I first bought this dolman shirt with side shirring when I was pregnant in my first trimester with our daughter, three years ago. Reading the comments, it seemed it would be the perfect shirt to cover a first trimester/postpartum belly. I'm not sure why, but for me it seemed to accentuate my belly instead of hide it. But it turned out to be the perfect shirt for my entire pregnancy (long enough even when I was huge) and to pull down to breastfeed. I wore the teal and brown ones throughout both pregnancies, breastfeeding my daughter for 4 months or so (had to stop for medical reasons) and now breastfeeding my son for almost a year. I bought the olive green ones last year when I was updating my maternity clothes to reflect my color palette. The shirts are *just now* getting stretched out at the neckline. Even though they aren't the best at hiding a belly, they are so easy to breastfeed in that it is worth it. I'm thinking about buying a new set that will hopefully last for the rest of breastfeeding my son.
6. Cropped cardigan
I love
this cropped cardigan.
I have it in ivory (though it looks white), coral (no longer available), and
burnt orange. When I was looking for colors, I also bought from another brand.
There doesn't seem to be any difference between the brands. I wear it all
the time. It is just a great basic piece, looks nice, and so comfortable.
7.Leggings
Although
I don't often wear them out of the house, I practically live in these leggings in the fall/winter/early spring. I have them in
brown and olive green. They are high waisted and incredibly soft.
They are very similar to a pair on Lularoes I received as a gift a while back,
but they are solid colors and easy to find on Amazon. I also love these fleece
leggings for when it's really cold outside. However, I'm considering trading them in if I can find some leggings with pockets like the yoga shorts. The tricky part is finding the right colors.
8.
Swimsuit
This is
possibly the best swimsuit I've ever owned. It is two separate pieces
that I wear together, this olive green tankini
and olive green high waisted swim bottoms. It is so flattering, easy to breastfeed in (I just
slide the strap off my shoulder and pull it down), and I don't have to adjust
anything while wrangling kiddos. I love it.
So, those are some of my favorite pieces. Maybe some of them will be helpful for you! :)
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