The Frump Factor: Nursing Attire Part I

Thank goodness I have a gorgeous newborn with a full head of hair, because her beauty helped to detract from my feelings of frumpiness last night when I toted her along to a meeting. In preparation of a visit with the flatiron that never happened, my hair was pulled back. I wore a black sleeveless wrap front jersey dress from James Perse, BCBG black patent d'Orsay pumps, and a Donna Karan pink wrap cardigan. Nothing worked. The dress didn't seem to fit my postpartum body, the cardigan hung listlessly, and my hair looked dated and frizzy. Yuck.

In a way, dressing as a nursing mother is more challenging and more fraught with opportunities for disaster than maternity fashion. It's hard to keep from looking disheveled while nurturing another human being. Somehow, it always seems to show. So, for myself and the other nursing mothers out there, I plan to research some of the options for nursing mothers, from the conventional to the not-so-obvious, and I'll start with the upiquitous nursing cami.

The Glamourmom Nursing Tank: Let me start by saying that I ordered this in a size too big, a medium instead of a small, based on the company's own sizing information. I recommend ordering according to your shirt size and not according to your bra size, unless your breasts are extremely large. Because of this, the tank is just a little too big throughout the whole body. Otherwise, these offer great style (there are now longer, tunic-length versions available, as well as some trimmed with lace), great fabric, and great versatility. They're comfortable and reasonably stylish, and can be worn as underwear or outerwear, and even to bed. I do have a couple of gripes, however. First, the nursing closure is tricky at best, and requires two hands sometimes, which is tricky when you have a hungry, crying infant to deal with. Second, I wish it wasn't so obviously a nursing tank, but the straps very clearly show the nursing closure, taking away some of the glamour and putting the emphasis on the "mom" part of the name. Otherwise, I consider these an essential.

Check back for more nursing fashion reviews!