I promise, this post isn't even sponsored (like I've got the clout for that anyway). I had to buy this dress with my very own money! But I'm calling it money well spent.
I have been nursing a baby for almost two of the last three years. When you're nursing a baby, everything you wear revolves around making sure that it's still easy to nurse in. I've gotten most of my wardrobe pretty dialed in by this point, but dressy clothes (for things like church and weddings) have still been tricky to find something that flatters my figure (especially that after-baby squishy belly business) AND can still be nursing friendly. Dresses have almost always looked nicer on me than a skirt and shirt, and even more so now- when tucking in a shirt or wearing a cute belt at the waist doesn't work well for nursing.
A while back, a blogger that I follow posted a dress that she sewed to be nursing friendly, so it had a zipper in the front. I loved that idea! I have such minimal sewing ability that I wasn't about to make my own dress, so I started hunting for one I could buy.
But wait, I'm really tall, and I prefer to wear things that fall just below my knees (especially when I have wiggling kids on my lap). I also don't wear sleeveless dresses. So where was I to find this unicorn of a dress?! I searched for a couple of weeks, off and on, and never found anything. Every Sunday I would get dressed and a little part of me would wish that I had a dress to wear instead.
Then I remembered a site that I loved, back before Marty and I got married, called eShakti. First of all (for no extra cost!) you get to specify your height when you order a dress. When you're 6'1'', it's pretty nice to know that your "knee length" dress won't look like a mini dress once you put it on. Then, if you want, you can pay an extra $10 and customize the dress- you can change the neckline, change the length, add sleeves, remove pockets, AND give your exact measurements instead of picking a standard size. Pretty awesome, right?
And guess what? They had a zipper front dress! They also have a had a coupon going for a while now (that I used) so that if you register your email address with them, you'll receive a code for $30 off your order and free customization. Be still my heart.
I paid a total of $30 for this dress, custom made and shipped to my door. Can't beat that.
This is just a iPhone picture that I took in my bathroom, but here's the dress:
Let's take a moment here to bullet point all of the characteristics that make this the perfect mom dress:
- The length is below the knee. Even if you're children are grabbing at your clothes and wiggling in your lap, you are unlikely to inadvertently flash someone.
- The sleeves are elbow length, because let's be real here, that upper arm is not the most flattering feature.
- The fabric is structured, but still has a little stretch, and is nice and soft. It's comfortable, and flattering, but also forgiving.
- It is fitted on top, but has a slight a-line to even out all that post-baby-bumpiness down below. I'm hoping this also means it will still look nice for those months 1-4 after a baby when things are still shrinking back down.
- It zips open in the front! I can nurse in this! Yay! (And zippers are much faster than those pesky buttons, for your impatient and hungry baby)
- It has pockets. Nuff' said.
- It's neckline is high enough that I don't have to layer with anything; again to avoid any inadvertent flashing. (Though I will add that wearing a nursing tank underneath still helped me to feel less exposed while I was nursing.)
- Lastly, it fits me SPOT on! Thanks to that free customization, I gave them my exact measurements- even the arms fit perfectly.
I know it doesn't look like much to sneeze at, but it feels a little bit like finding a needle in a haystack.
Insert heart emoticon here.
Labels: Fashion, Motherhood
