12 weeks post baby...hideous haircut..tired face ..feeling rotten..and i keep buying jumper dresses..

[beansontoast]

which do not suit my comedy pear shaped body...not one bit!

i havent felt this glum about my appearance since my teens and now it seems im torturing myself by reinviting the blimmin eighties into my life.

i fear my next 'shape mistake' will be my bid to look minxy in a pencil skirt.

Q.can a woman with a big bottom and wide thighs EVER wear a pencil skirt?

Beans - your pear-shape is great and very foxy - be proud that you have a shape at all. Skirts with nipped-in waist that flare out at the hem are good - really hour-glassy and mermaidy and shapely...

boo, its horrible going thru a patch of feeling rubbish about yourself.

what about going for sexy underneath? nice underwear, mmmmmm. when i was at my lumpiest, underwear and shoes were all i bought cause that way shopping didnt depress me ...

and also nails done if not, and smothering yourself in cheap body lotion.

glad you are feeling a bit better beansontoast!
I wear my pencil skirt with a fitted shirt for work. I like polo necks but with my norks they don't suit me!

gel bra to balance things out on top if you are really light there?

I agree with fitted top lark fwiw, you don't want to go swamping yourself with anything bulky or TOO flowy
look at trinny and susannah's book (usually can get from library) - whatever you think of them they are good on shapes normally - they might not recommend pencil skirt but I think can look much better on someone with hips and an arse than on a more twiglike shape

Beans on toast I feel for you. I'm pear shaped too. Agree with all the great suggestions especially wrap tops/dresses. Smock tops fine for when you really must hide the tummy but for the rest of the time forget 'em! Not flattering for our shape. Wide legged black trousers with a fitted jacket work really well. Personally I couldn't do boyfriend jeans as my thighs filled them up too much and looked awful. Jeans cut for women's shape are better. Try H&M.

Despite my ant-smock stance empire line dresses can work really well if the skirt part skims your body and is not too voluminous. Wear with a knitted fitted bolero top that you can do up or wrap under the bust to give a nice fitted look.

Don't be too hard on yourself. I SO agree about buying a few items in next size up so they fit. I reckon if you want to diet/exercise back down in weight it takes about a year to get back to pre-preg size. If you are breast-feeding you really need to eat. I didn't start to lose weight properly until I stopped bfeeding and my appetite went down from permanently hungry to normal greedy.

Magic knickers (Trinny & Susannah from Littlewoods catalogue) and if you want to splash out Agent Provocateur post preg knickers are good.

Best of luck!

not quite so trendy but a very well cut A line skirt in say black moleskin would look good especially with good chunky boots

Message withdrawn

Hi beansontoast, I feel your pain...DD is 5 months now and I'm back in my jeans, which at 3 months I thought would never happen, had no money for new clothes so I did the following: wear anything longish on top, kept in maternity trousers, fine so long as the by then baggy waistband was not showing, also started wearing jeans undone at waist, again hidden under long top. Found the time to go through my wardrobe to properly sort what was useful and what wasnt, so dressing each day wasnt a major pain. You probably are like me in that having been preggers last winter, I didnt seem to have much winter stuff in the first place, I have now bought a new coat and trainers, and hurray, I can fasten my jeans now, thanks to lots of walking carrying big heffer baby in sling.

So in a nutshell, my advice is dont spend too much cos your shape is still changing, and keep getting your use out of the maternity clothes....and walk, lots, it will make you feel more sparkly.

Oh and I did get my hair done, and that was a very good decision.

fake tan! especially the daily moisturising type- makes you feel instantly glam AND helps disguise eye bags

I went out and bought a nice pair of boots as old ones really about to fall apart. Legs & feet OK to show off & distract from tum.

My top tips
Pluck your eyebrows
Book a facial. (you can get a free facial if you buy two products at most department stores that sell decleor or similar.)
Go to sleep when baby sleeps.
Go easy on yourself - if i am honest, i don't think I was even out of pjs with first baby for the first few months!!
Have a PJ day or two in a row
Book a restyle haircut.
Lipgloss
Buy jeans that fit - you can't see the puke stains on jeans!
Go shopping and buy loads - then go anti shopping and bring it all back - stopping off for a coffee and cake or a big glass of vino
Buy a new bag! but this is harder than you might think as you have to think of all the stuff you need to cart about and will it work with your buggy!!
Do buy a beady necklace that has knots in between each bead. Yes it will be tugged but the baby will just pull your lovely new hairstyle if you don't have a necklace.
The first few months are the hardest and it will get better.

I find H&M a good pace to shop for post-baby clothes.
They have a good returns policy, lots of things in different colours including pretty loose tops which are flattering post-baby (skim the tummy) and easy to breastfeed in and the prices are good, so its not the end of the world if something no longer fits in 6 months time or gets weed/puked on....
A fitted coat and bright silky scarf are easy ways to look more pulled together, which is one benefit of this time of year...

hello...i have read ,considered and absorbed all your advice!...thanks

am planning trip to h&m...for pencil skirt and green leather bomber jacket.(very practical)

feeling much better...may be due to a week in enormous sunglasses? or cos my hair as grown a bit? (thank frick)

x

My top tip is get yourself into somewhere like Primark - I bought myself a couple of pairs of jeans 4 or 5 weeks after my son was born so I could feel normal again. They didn't fit for too long then I had to go for the next size down, but they only cost me £6 and I can always sell them on Ebay! Same goes for tops - cheap and cheerful, especially if you're going to be puked on all day!
Mind you, we don't go out too often so evening wear's not been a bit problem