Image by Jessica Dalene Photography of Zuzanna von Salm
This is an excerpt from Garment Rack Chat Series #11. For more on "mother sizing" and styling with Mother Oxford, make sure to check out our latest episode in the GRC Series in our highlights @MotherOxford
There’s this phenomenon that happens when we become pregnant. Our body becomes up for grabs, and that’s a big deal. What is “mother sizing,” and why would we even talk about it?
From comments about our body (size, shape, how we carry) to the meticulous tracking of our weight at every doctor’s appointment, we cannot stop noticing we're being sized up and we have a long road ahead. Bounce back culture is real. This idea we may or may not “get it back” teaches us to live in an energy of loss rather than what we've created.
When it comes to fashion, pregnant and postpartum women get boxed in, either in the expectation we will return to our pre-baby size or we will need to be corseted in and boosted up to makeup for what we lost or gained. It is stressful to consider our wardrobes and figure out what specific size will work right now, only to realize we might not be that tomorrow, or in a few weeks. Numbers distract us from tapping into our incredible power. If we really want to emphasize ourselves, we need to create a mindset and a wardrobe that removes size as a limitation and recasts it as an opportunity to create in a state of flow.
Enter Mother Oxford. How are we different? “I don’t think I fully knew how big “mother sizing” was until I started a company around it,” said Lydia, founder of Mother Oxford. “We have a team of women who really relate to being sized up. I know Mother Oxford is side stepping that very tight category and what it means to have a figure of a certain size and shape.”
Typically, changing bodies means changing clothes and a constant rotation of "this may fit when" culture. Mother Oxford is flexible, with each size accommodating a range of 4 industry standard sizes. The MO woman should wear it before becoming pregnant, while pregnant, postpartum and forever, children or not. “One of the things I know we’re really proud of and will continue to grow is the size range we offer. We’ve created flexibility versus one specific number you have to stick to," says Kelsey, MO Creative Director. Welcome to our bodies, ourselves.
