Episode 34: The Kids, The Mom, and The Wardrobe
In this week’s episode we keep it light and fun with a guide to getting dressed—from the actual logistics of getting ready in the morning (anyone tried to put on skinny jeans with a baby hanging on one leg?) to how important it is to change out of yoga pants every once in a while. From fluctuating bodies to changing careers, April, Ashlee and Lesley share what they’ve learned about style since becoming mothers. Plus, April shares her favorite postpartum clothing tips, and Ashlee explains why she hopped on the capsule wardrobe bandwagon. This is an episode for anyone who needs a reminder that while fashion can be fun, it’s also not where we’ll truly find our confidence. (Phew!)
Show Notes
The Coffee + Crumbs podcast is made possible thanks to the support of advertisers like PrepDish and Aaptiv. You can support our show by supporting these brands. Thank you, PrepDish, for saving our sanity in the kitchen, and thank you Aaptiv for motivating us to exercise longer and harder. Learn more at www.prepdish.com/coffee and www.aaptiv.com (For Aaptiv, make sure to enter the promo code, CoffeeandCrumbs).
Ashlee’s favorite fashion blog, Un-Fancy, is great for anyone learning how to start a capsule wardrobe. Start here.
Lesley recommends Putting Me Together, a blog for building a remixable wardrobe. She also highly recommends a few great articles from Anne at Modern Mrs. Darcy: 13 questions to ask yourself before buying anything for your wardrobe and Two questions to refine your personal style.
Tip: look at the tags on your favorite pieces of clothing. They’ll give you a clue as to the fabrics you like on your body.
The “Robin Long” style shirt that we mentioned on the podcast is also known as a banded bottom shirt: loose fitting around the midsection with a defined waist. Super flattering! Target option / REI option / Gap option Check out “the shirt” in action by visiting The Balanced Life on YouTube. We love Robin and alllll of her workouts.
Ashlee’s favorite Sacramento boutique, and April’s favorite Redlands boutique
Ashlee's #1 favorite shopping site: Everlane
Transition pieces we love:
Gap Utility Joggers — dress ‘em up, dress ‘em down!
Gap Elastic Pleated Midi Skirt
A high rise jegging (with tummy control) could be a great pant for the postpartum months (or, FOREVER.)
Tip: Undergarments are the foundation to every great outfit. Do it right.
Soma’s high waisted, no panty line undies (perfect for pairing with high waisted jeans or skirts!)
Maternity Spanx ARE YOUR FRIEND. Wear them. Embrace them. Love them forever.
The Bralette we own and love. These run small, size up!
Lesley and Ashlee LOVE their ThirdLove bra, and April just noticed they now carry nursing bras (!). Get $15 off your first bra purchase here.
Ashlee's Style: Easy, Simple, Feminine
April's Style: Neutral, Modern, Edgy
April's favorite stores: Nordstrom, ASOS, Gap, Anthropologie, Pink Blush, H&M
Lesley's style: Casual, beachy
Other Questions We Didn't Have Time to Answer On The Show:
Your single favorite item of clothing in your closet?
“I have a green utility jacket that I bought at the Nordstrom sale in 2006. I still wear it. It’s still in great shape. I love clothes that stand the test of time. But my Rainbow sandals are my actual favorite.” -- Lesley
“The practical answer: my Madewell high-waisted jeans. The fun answer: the Free People cut-out dress I scored on ThredUp for like ... $40? Fits like a dream, and feels a bit risky and unique with the cutouts. I love it.” -- Ashlee
"My black leather jacket. Especially when paired with my leopard print ballet flats. I saw a quote today that read: Stay classy. And sassy. And a little bit bad ass-y. I feel all of those things in black leather and leopard." -- April
Amazon for clothing purchases—yay or nay?
“Mostly nay. Sizing is always weird! I don’t even want to talk about the itsy bitsy bikini that I ordered earlier this summer that was probably made for a 14 year-old.” --Lesley
“Have only attempted this once. Ordered a dress and then two weeks later I got an e-mail saying it was out of stock. Haven’t ordered anything since. I have ordered clothes for the kids (Burts Bees baby brand) and liked them.” -- Ashlee
"I have used them for quick kid purchases (Ah! When did your pajamas get too small?) but never for myself. I am not opposed to it, though." -- April
Do you help your husband shop—yes or no?
“Sort of. His ideal would be that we shop for him together but finding time to do so, without kids around, is super hard. I think it sounds kind of romantic to stroll Nordstrom Rack together but our current setup is that once a year we usually take advantage of online shopping around major sales or holidays. I have to convince him to buy new clothes occasionally because otherwise he forgets.” -- Lesley
“I do 90% of Brett’s shopping, usually at Banana Republic or Gap because I can order Medium Tall. His birthday is in November so between that and Christmas, he gets a lot, and then we usually do one big order around the Memorial Day sale. I am not kidding, that is all of the shopping that is done for Brett. Twice a year, done. Maybe a new pair of shoes once a year. He is like Lesley, capsule wardrobe by default.” -- Ashlee
"Yes. We try to make a date of it. We started dating at the mall before we had learner's permits so a mall date is a fun throwback for us-ha! A little Nordstrom, a little Cheesecake Factory. Everyone leaves happy with new pants." -- April
Best tips for keeping your family’s wardrobe in budget, on trend, and not taking over every drawer in your house?
“Ask for nicer items from grandparents at Christmas or birthdays like a jacket and pair of shoes. I shop for my kids at Target (love the Cat & Jack line!), H&M, Thredup, Gap and Zara (when they have a sale.) I do not buy expensive clothes for my kids, ever. Anything nice they own has been gifted to us. I go through their clothes about every three months and only keep what is seasonable in their drawers. I keep the best of Everett's clothes to pass down to Carson, and I’m keeping a TINY bit of Carson’s clothes in case we have another baby. I have organized plastic bins by size in our extra closet. I am kinda psycho about clothes organization, but their actual drawers on a day to day basis are a total mess.” -- Ashlee
“I buy everything from Gap/Old Navy because most of their stuff can mix and match easily. If we receive hand-me-downs I’ll keep items that already go with things we own, or if we love it enough, I’ll buy a pair of shorts or skirt that matches. I’’m trying to be really intentional about stain removal so that I can preserve Owen’s clothes to pass along to Luke. I do not believe in bulging drawers--we have big Ikea dressers-- my older two share one, and the baby has his own. We’ve finally found our groove for how many of each item we need to get through the week doing laundry once...and beyond that, I don’t keep extra stuff around.” -- Lesley
"Like Lesley, I swear by stain remover. Each kid has a drawer for adventure clothes (which means they can get as dirty as they please) and we hang up their nicer/more expensive clothes in the closet. This makes it easy to see what they need and what they have too much of. I love The Gap because I can order online. If I am shopping brick and mortar I look for Tea Collection because it can stand the test of time (and the test of toddlers). And like Ashlee, I ask grandparents for bigger ticket items." -- April