Some thoughts on postpartum dressing

By popular request!

Clinically, the postpartum period is defined as the first six to eight weeks after giving birth. In my experience, that timeline feels almost laughably short. Yes, there’s an initial, acute stage of recovery—but after giving birth to my son, my body, brain, and sense of self felt deeply postpartum for months.

In terms of getting dressed, it took time for me to fit into my clothes again, but it also took time for me to even care about exercising the muscles involved in using clothes as a creative outlet. When my appetite for that returned, it felt like a homecoming of sorts. My style still felt like mine—familiar and intact—even though so many other parts of my life looked completely different.

This newsletter focuses on the process of getting dressed before that, when the realities of bleeding, leaking milk, and running on very little sleep loomed largest. During this period, my clothing choices were almost exclusively functional—but that didn’t mean I was immune to the emotional boost of wearing something that made me feel like myself. Anything in my closet that managed to conjure that effect while also being extremely practical became a prized possession.

If I have any advice, it’s to try and identify what you think those pieces will be ahead of time. In other words, if you can, pre-edit your postpartum wardrobe before you give birth so you aren’t overthinking it when you have much bigger fish to fry. Most (if not all) of what you need is probably already sitting in your closet. I recommend pulling out anything that checks the following boxes:

• Machine washable

• Soft enough that it would feel nice rubbing against a baby’s cheek

• Accommodating to a body in flux (so, nothing with a constricting waistband)

• Breastfeeding-friendly (if applicable)

• Makes you feel somewhat cute, put-together, or in touch with your sense of style

Below, I’m sharing an overview of the specific categories and pieces I’ve identified from my own closet this time around, along with some similar shopping recommendations if you do find yourself with a few holes to fill.

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Flowy, breastfeeding-friendly tops

Every time I get scared about experiencing extreme sleep deprivation again I think about how intoxicating it is to hold and smell a newborn and my brain short-circuits in a good way

Anything with buttons or stretchy smocking is a go-to for me in this category.

• I own a handful of long-sleeve button down shirts as well as a few short-sleeve button downs, and all of them will be duly earmarked for postpartum.

• Same goes for two of my old Doen blouses—one with a stretchy, smocked neck and the other with buttons down the front.

• I’ll also pull out some soft, oversized vintage T-shirts—I have a couple of men’s striped ones from Entireworld (a secondhand find on Grailed) that I’ve been wearing a lot during pregnancy and suspect will continue to be wardrobe staples throughout early postpartum.

1. Doen blue long sleeve blouse, size XL, $99 / 2. Vintage blue striped button down, size men’s S, $37.88 (fabric content not specificied so def message the seller and ask about it before buying if that matters to you!) / 3. Vintage white blouse, size M-L, $83 / 4. Vintage dark blue striped button down, check listed measurements for sizing, $68 / 5. Vintage short sleeved striped shirt, size M, $77.07, 6. Vintage Ralph Lauren pink button down, size L, $30, 7. Vintage yellow button down, size 44 DE, $83 8. Doen white short sleeve blouse, size XS, $132

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Elastic-waist pants & shorts

Entireworld boxer shorts, a wardrobe workhorse all the way from trimesters one through four

It can take some time for your bump to shrink back down after giving birth, so any pants or shorts you relied on during pregnancy will also be useful postpartum. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of clingy styles like leggings or bike shorts, so I more gravitate toward loose, mostly cotton pieces with elastic waists:

• Donni pointelle pants, which I bought to wear during pregnancy this time around. I already know they’ll be a postpartum standby as well. They’re insanely soft and stretchy and lightweight.

• Donni sweatshorts. I have them in two colors (red and green), and they’re so fun to style with while also being extremely comfortable.

• Modern Citizen’s elastic-waist Paula pants I also have these in two colors (black and white) and they always make me feel polished despite the absence of buttons or zippers.

• A couple old pairs of striped Entireworld boxer shorts.

• Gym shorts, which I love styling with a button down or blouse for contrast.

1. Donni Pointelle pants / 2. Secondhand Entireworld boxer shorts, size S, $25 / 3. Gap boxer-style shorts / 4. Donni sweatshorts (more colors not on sale here) / 5. Modern Citizen Paula Pants

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Flowy, breastfeeding-friendly dresses

Wore this a few weeks after giving birth to drive with my mom to Rhode Island and by the end of the journey the entire front of the dress was encrusted with milk 😌

In my closet, I’m earmarking:

• An old black cotton cotton dress from Emily Levine Milan with a button placket down the chest

• The La Réunion patchwork dress pictured above—which also has buttons down the front

• And a Dôen mini tent dress with an adjustable drawstring neckline that my mom got me for Christmas (she found it on Poshmark! It looks similar to this but with floral print)

1. Vintage T-shirt dress, size S-M, $65.51 / 2. Secondhand Theory floral dress, size 12, $85.50 / 3. Secondhand Nili Lotan floral dress, size L, $97.50 / 4. Secondhand NWT Ciao Lucia green long sleeve dress, size M, $130 / 5. Secondhand Doen smocked neck dress, size XS, $265.50 / Staud button down dress, sizes XS-XL, $195 (also comes in white and navy!)

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Cozy, oversized cardigans

My cotton cardigan from Babaa

A boob-accessible layering staple!

• My go-to in this category will be a loose, oversized, chunky cotton cardigan from Babaa that I already own.

• That said, if I was going to splurge on one additional postpartum-friendly item for myself… it would almost certainly be the cotton version of my favorite Nikki Chasin sweater. The shape and weight of the knit are perfect.

1. Secondhand Babaa cardigan, one size, $180 / 2. Nikki Chasin Shiloh cardigan, sizes XS - 2XL, $290 / 3. Secondhand Alex Mill cardigan, size M, $115 4. Vintage L.L. Bean cardigan, size S, $29.95

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Sleepwear

One week postpartum, when coordinating my socks with my pajama shorts was enough to give me a little sartorial thrill

Zero regrets about getting a bouncy blowout two days before giving birth

When I was postpartum with my son, sometimes “getting dressed” just meant changing into a different nightgown—so I consider this wardrobe category of utmost importance.

• My favorite nightgown brands are If Only If, P.Jamas, and Eileen West. All three nighties from my If Only If collab are breastfeeding-friendly, but this is the one I think I’ll wear most often postpartum. It has the same comfort level of a big oversized sleep tee but with the added bonus of making me feel pretty.

• I also liked having a short cotton robe on hand—last time, I lived in this one from Roberta Roller Rabbit.

• And finally, I slept in / hung out in just my bras a lot. I looked high and low last time I was pregnant for a cotton nursing bra that wasn’t super expensive and ended up buying a bunch of these ones from Old Navy. I still wore them even after I stopped breastfeeding because they are so comfortable.

1. Eileen West nightgown, sizes XXS - XL, $74 / 2. Roberta Roller Rabbit robe, one size, $98 / 3. Etsy block print robe, sizes S/M - L/XL, $68 (and comes in a number of different prints) / 4. If Only If nightgown, sizes 2-20, $189 / 5. Secondhand NWT P.Jamas nightgown, size S, $61

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It’s worth noting that both of my babies had / have summer due dates, so my postpartum capsule wardrobe is very warm weather-centric. The winter version would include:

• Lots of sweatpants (Entireworld OGs and Le Bon Shoppe Balloon Pants are my favorites)

• Flannel button-downs

• Cardigans in heavier materials like wool or cashmere

• Long-sleeved pajama sets

• Really cozy socks

Any specific questions around postpartum dressing, or postpartum in general? Meet me in the comments.

xo Harling