A lot of women discover dressing their post-baby body is a completely different task to before they became a mother. Finding the time to go shopping can be tricky too, so we've asked Personal Stylist and mother-of-three Lisa Talbot for her top tips for capsule wardrobes for busy mums.
Post-baby
- Tops that skim the tummy: empire line dresses and tunics are great.
- Leggings are your best friends.
- A darker colour can be slimming.
- A great piece of jewellery will draw the eye away from the tummy.
- A scarf will add a blast of colour and draws the eye upwards and away from the tummy.
- A boyfriend blazer will hide the tummy and draw the eye line down, this has a slimming illusion.
- Same goes for an asymmetrical cardigan.
- A Snazzy nappy bag (like this one from Oi Oi).
You may want to hide your post-baby body shape under shapeless garments, but please don't! Shapeless garments just make your body look shapeless.
Pre-school mum
- Jeans, Linen trousers, Cords.
- Leggings.
- Long sleeve T-shirts, T-shirts.
- Boyfriend blazer or military jacket.
- Vest tops.
- Cardigans (the high street is full of fab ones).
- Dress (jersey dresses are the best for dressing up or down).
- Glitzy belt.
- A lightweight scarf.
The school-run mum
- Jeans.
- Leggings.
- Smart pair of trousers.
- White shirt.
- Long sleeve T-shirts, T-shirts.
- Boyfriend blazer.
- Tank tops.
- Cardigans.
- Dress.
- Glitzy belt.
- Scarf.
- Handbag to suit your personality, and big enough to fill with anything you'd need.
The working mum
Depending on your job will determine on what you wear to work. Do you need to be formal for work? Are you customer facing? Is the style of your place of work business casual?
- Blazer/Jacket.
- Suit (the ones in the high street are great, not too masculine).
- Smart pair of trousers.
- Dress.
- Shirt.
- Skirt.
- Jumper, wool in winter, cotton or silk in Spring/Summer.
- Belts.
Obviously a lot of the suggestions are duplicated across the capsule wardrobes, so you'll be able to invest in a few key pieces that will see you through the years.
Lisa Talbot is a personal stylist and mother-of-three who fully embraces the wearing of jeans as a stylish yet practical method of dressing. For further style advice, you can check our her website.