In honor of World Breastfeeding Week 2021 (August 1st – 7th), this week’s post is about breastfeeding in style. If you nurse for two years and beyond, you probably can’t afford to outfit your entire wardrobe in designer maternity-wear. I learned a while ago that most of us have to get creative and work with what we have, or can affordably find. There are plenty of beautiful clothing labels designed specifically for breastfeeding mothers who favor style, such as Pink Blush and Envie de Fraise. However, you don’t need to purchase nursing-wear to breastfeed your baby with ease (or even with class). There are plenty of shirts that aren’t categorized as nursing tops which fit the bill just as well. You only need to pay attention to the style and comfort. If you want to breastfeed in fashion, your options extend farther than you may think!
Check Your Own Closet First
Before you go on a shopping spree to buy all the cute breastfeeding clothes meant to flatter and complement your figure while you nourish your baby, check what you already own. Of course, if it is comfortably within your budget, go on that shopping spree and enjoy it! Early motherhood is not a time of endless liberties so any splurge is a welcome excursion. But it pays (literally) to put some of your own clothes at the front of the closet if they are already comfortably suitable for nursing. Do you own button-down blouses? V-neck shirts? Shirts with a low-enough neckline and stretchy fabric? All you need to do is try on your shirt or dress and test its nursing capacity by pulling down the fabric on the neckline to see if it will cup under one breast. If that is easy enough to do, you can nurse in it.
Obviously, your morale is important so do yourself a favor and pass over (or sell/donate) any clothing items that make you feel frumpy or hideous. Those are not worth your time and will not help you feel like a goddess in your own post-partum figure. As much as possible, only wear clothing that you truly feel delighted to wear (or at least that doesn’t make you feel frumpy). This may mean wearing the same handful of outfits every week. So long as you can manage a small load of weekly laundry, there is nothing wrong with that. Within the first several months post-partum, I had only a few clothing items that fit comfortably (and I am still in an ever-changing ‘in-between’ size, two years later).
Buy Versatile Pieces
When you buy clothes in which you can easily breastfeed, whether they are specifically nursing tops or regular tops that happen to work too, try to buy things that you can picture yourself still wearing after your baby is weaned. This is simply efficient shopping: spend your money on things that last. If you buy a shirt solely for nursing that you won’t want to wear any time after your child is weaned, you will later have to sell it or donate it. Of course, that’s fine and there are plenty of mothers ready to buy used clothing for a better price (hand raised!). But for your own sake and so you do not have to replenish your wardrobe later, it’s smart to buy pieces you will continue to enjoy.
Button-down Tops
Most traditional button-down blouses are made from a non-stretchy fabric so they don’t top the list for post-partum comfort, but they are a classic wardrobe staple and the buttons allow easy access to nursing. Snaps are even quicker and therefore more convenient (but at least buttons cannot accidentally rip apart!). Most everyone owns at least one button-down shirt for professional or semi-formal occasions. There is no reason these need to go into hibernation during the time you breastfeed.
Wearing loose-enough, classy button-down blouses are a great way to breastfeed in fashion. You can also find beautiful and comfortable button-down maternity tops for more comfort.
Low-cut Tops
Low-cut tops tend to flatter fuller-chested women more than smaller-chested women. This is because fuller breasts fill out and support the top’s structure and better secure the fabric in place. Besides when I was pregnant and the first several months after having my baby, I’ve never had much luck with low-cut tops due to the shape of my chest. Since I don’t fill them out very well, the fabric tends to go wherever it wants (and not always where I want it to go!). But for many other women, low-cuts are quite flattering. And as long as it fits correctly, what’s important is how you feel in it, regardless of chest size! The good thing about low-cut tops is that it’s a ubiquitous style found anywhere and worn any time. You can don a short-sleeved maternity top during warmer months and a long-sleeved maternity top during cooler months.
Nursing tank tops are a great staple. There are many great styles and options, such as this maternity tank top and this maternity tank with a wider shoulder. Some tops are not as low cut as others but the stretchy material still provides easy access, like this short-sleeved maternity top.
Low-cut Dresses
A comfortable low-cut maternity dress was another nice staple that I wore while pregnant. It is an elegant dress (I wore it to my baby shower) but cosy enough to wear anywhere. It would have been perfectly comfortable during the newborn stage as well, except the maxi skirt wasn’t a convenient length during that time! Now, like low-cut shirts, low-cut dresses just don’t fit me as well as when I was pregnant and newly post-partum. Women whose natural figures still fill out low-cut styles post-nursing can, however, both breastfeed in fashion and continue to enjoy these types of beautiful and stylish dresses.
Zip-up Tops
Shirts that zip down in the middle to at least the center of the chest are a more versatile option for women of all chest sizes. I ordered a short-sleeved zip-up top post-partum that works perfectly for breastfeeding while not looking like an exclusively breastfeeding top. The material is thin and nearly see-through, at least for the lighter pink colour I ordered, so I wear a light-coloured bralette underneath. There are also plenty other darker colours and patterns from which to choose. And while the style flatters a fuller chest, it looks good on a smaller chest as well. The fabric is stretchy and comfortable and the zipper makes nursing very convenient, while also looking playful and sexy. An even nicer option is a maternity top with a zipper.
A softer alternative to the more modern-looking zipper is a button-down shirt with buttons that only go down to the middle of the chest. While there aren’t enough buttons on polo shirts to expose a breast for nursing, you can find plenty of shirts with more buttons and stretchier fabrics in this style, including this comfortable shirt-sleeved maternity shirt.
Stretchy Fabric
If a fabric is stretchy enough, you can comfortably nurse in crew-cut tops as well. I have even nursed in a very, very stretchy turtleneck. Of course, the same applies to dresses. I wore a very comfortable maternity dress while pregnant but can still wear it post-partum because the cut is low enough that I can easily stretch it over one breast to nurse. Soft, stretchy fabric is typically a win because it is comfortable to wear around the house and the right cuts are flattering enough to wear out and about as well.
Buy Fun, Comfortable and Flattering Pieces
Even nursing tops that are specifically for nursing can look great on anybody, any time. One of my favourite nursing top styles is the type of shirt with an extra layer of fabric fitted over the chest. The bottom layer underneath is a V-cut that provides easy access to nursing. You only need to lift up the top layer and push aside one side of the bottom layer to nurse. This style works well for women with smaller chests or women who prefer more chest coverage. Even after you are no longer nursing, the tops look like any other cute top. I doubt anyone in public will look at your shirt and think, ‘that’s a nursing top’ when they see the top layer of fabric fitted discreetly over your chest.
On that note, it doesn’t matter if you wear a nursing top, however old you are. It’s simply a shirt that provides that extra function. Even so, nobody would care (and if they did, that’s quite obviously their problem – not yours!). Plus, the only people who might even recognize that function are other nursing mothers.
The Takeaway: You Can Breastfeed in Fashion with Multiple Styles
I’ve heard from many older women comments like, ‘I wish we had such cute maternity clothes in my day!’ The consensus is that maternity style has come a long way. And we appreciate that! Thankfully, there are many nice styles we can choose. We can also appreciate the variety of necklines that expand our options so we don’t even have to buy maternity-wear. The most important features for breastfeeding while wearing any garment you like is the cut and stretch of the cloth. Is it cut in a way to allow access to the breast, or is the material stretchy enough to pull aside? If those criteria are met, you have a top in which you can nurse! Don’t feel confined to awkward or unflattering pieces while breastfeeding. Find what styles suit you and allow you to feel fabulous while nursing. It is every mother’s right to breastfeed in fashion!