Help a just-had-a-baby saggy tummy and milky boob mum buy a capsule wardrobe - I'm going shopping tomorrow!!

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Dh is looking after the dcs for a couple of hours and I'm hitting the shops tomorrow! I'm not back to pre-preg clothes and so am wearing 2 pairs of trousers and 3 tops in constant rotation... I've got a limited budget (couple of hundred £) and need tops that are good for breastfeeding and bottoms that are forgiving of muffin tops..
I have no idea where to start and have totally lost my sense of style. I guess I'm between size 14 and 16 at the moment, I'm about 5'9.. ask whatever else you need to know, and please help!!

Well, I have no style at the moment but for the 6 months since baby was born I have been wearing...

• H&M breastfeeding vest tops (I honestly think these are the best after trying a number of different brands) - white and black

• Black Sweaty Betty roll down yoga trousers. They have some nice grey ones as well.

• Cardigans of all varieties, but the nicest I have at the moment is an £8 "waterfall" one that I got from Berschka (I am thinking about going back for more colours)

I am also wearing my jeans etc but the above is my comfortable at home and supermarket outfit.

Mind you, this has got me through cooler months and I am thinking that some drawstring linen trousers might be good as the weather warms up...maybe also some nice long shirt-style tops/dresses, which could work for breast-feeding and hide the muffin top!

How old is your baby?

How long do you think you will be bf for? (ball-park figure!)

I rushed out after DS2 and bought loads of stuff which was way too big 3 months later.

I found skirts easier than trousers to get into (if you get a-line then it doesn't matter if your thighs/hips expand/reduce).

Vest tops under other tops are good, more tummy coverage.

In fact I lived in the bravado vest tops under all my normal tops for months - no tummy on show.

dd is 3 months, hopefully will bf for a year..
have a couple of vests, not special bfing ones, just ones that i can pull down to get boob out.. i really want to get some pretty, quirky things to wear, all my maternity stuff seemed to be black or grey!
yoga pants sound good - do they pick up much fluff?? 'm always crawling on the (cream) carpet with ds and worry about being a fluff magnet..

skimummy - have you spotted any shirt-style long tops? i need to have a clear idea of where to go tomorrow so my 2 hours are put to good use!!

I'm 5 months post 2nd baby, 5'11, size 14.

For first 2-3 months I lived in total comfort clothes - yoga pants/jersey pants and tunic-style tops with Uggs (it would be flip flops if had had a summer baby!).

Last month or so I no longer look pregnant (although still got big tum and muffin top. Gah!). My new style is dresses over leggings, with boots (but will swap to gladiator sandals or flip flops when weather allows).

Leggings have to be black and extra long. Dresses need to either be wrap dresses or have a deep v neck (emphasise norks while I've got them!) and 'drapey' front ie. not tight/clingy around tum, but also not totally loose/baby doll-style like a maternity dress (live in fear of people thinking I'm still pregnant!). Patterns in bright colours or black are best (other 'blocks' of colour don't seem to be very slimming on me).

Check sales at White Stuff / Fat Face. Also Great Plains website is OK. Warehouse. New Look, Oasis, Primark, Dotty P's all go up to at least a 16 and have reasonably trendy styles. Topshop & H&M have some OK things among the 80s-tastic teenybopper monstrosities!

Get some cheap jewellery and scarves etc from any of the high street shops to jazz up all-forgiving black if you aren't brave enough for anything more.

Topshop or M&S for best quality leggings/thick tights.

Forgot to say - you can breastfeed so easily in wrap dresses or any dress that is made of stretchy material, really, if you have a cardi or shawl for discretion.

Yes, H&M seem to have a few. You could also try Gap and Zara. There are lots of shirt dresses around, which could go nicely over jeans or leggings I think.

The yoga pants I have don't seem to pick up fluff and I too spend alot of time on the floor!

Enjoy your two hours!!

MrsM - thanks- your list is a good place to start.. I have avoided leggings so far because I fear them but maybe need to just go for it with longer tops -- and I think I've got some wrap dresses I can dig out that might still fit, but I just hadn't even considered..

However I have just trawled the white stuff/ fat face/warehouse / topshop websites and am a bit overwhelmed. I find myself looking at tops thinking - could I bf in that? - not do I like that? and then I just give up.. so if you have any specific clothing items to inspire me....

The best yoga pants i've come across are from the white company, they do not pick up fluff or dog hair, are very soft and wash/tumble dry really well. You can pull them up high or roll them down, they also do 3/4 length ones. I lived in these after the birth.