When Shirley Fan was pregnant with her first child, she found herself “growing” into her husband’s clothes.
“I had a hard time looking for something suitable to wear. The maternity clothes available were all too tent-like for me. So I started wearing my husband’s T-shirts and pants instead,” she says, adding that she had no choice but to choose comfort in place of style.
Nonetheless, the fashion faux pas came as a shock to her friends and family, not least her sister-in-law and clothes-shopping companion, Christine Shih.
“Shirley used to be a very fashionable lady – a clothes-shopping queen. When I first saw her in a men’s top, I couldn’t believe my eyes,” says Shih, 31.
You’ve heard it all before – how the lack of stylish maternity wear has driven women into looking for practical alternatives, some of which simply border on the outlandish. But for mothers like Fan, the worst was far from over, post-baby.
“I couldn’t fit into my old clothes. Nothing I saw in the shops made me feel good about myself. I just wanted to stay home all the time. I was also breastfeeding and it didn’t seem all that convenient to do so in public,” Fan, 35, recalls.
That was five years ago. Today, the mother-of-two has no qualms about breastfeeding her younger, eight-month-old child, Isabelle Tan, in a mall or at the park, ever since she discovered the wonders of well-designed two-in-one maternity and nursing wear.
In fact, she now wears her own designs from Maternity Wearhouz (maternitywearhouz.webs.com), a clothes depot that she operates with Shih at Tropicana Medical Centre in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The outlet, which opened in 2008, started out carrying imported labels; only recently did the two owners venture out as self-taught designers.
The idea for Maternity Wearhouz came about when Shih realised that Fan was wasting the most part of her motherhood by spending it all at home.
“Women shouldn’t have to be afraid of facing the world after motherhood. After seeing what Shirley went through, I swore to myself that I would never fall into the same situation,” explains Shih, who has plans to start a family with her husband.
Still, Maternity Wearhouz is not all about fashion-forward mothers. The brand, in combining fashion with function, has found its way into the heart of a bigger cause: To encourage mothers to take up breastfeeding in the long run. And so together, Fan and Shih started a range of outfits that is fitted with discreet nursing access to help mothers deal with the initial challenges of breastfeeding a newborn.
According to Shih, the same pieces can also be worn pre-baby, due to the pliability of the 100% cotton materials used. They are priced from RM69 to RM300.
There are casual Polo tees, spaghetti-strap tops and ruched blouses; at a glance, one wouldn’t suspect that the garments are equipped with tiny slits that serve as ingenious access points to accommodate nursing mothers.
The ruched blouse, for instance, is tailored with double layers; the first layer hides the nursing openings in the second layer of fabric. To breastfeed, a mother only has to lift up the top layer, and not the entire hem of the blouse. Exposure is at a minimum – perfect for mothers who have garnered rude stares in their attempts to nurse in public.
“Convenience is an issue. A lot of mothers are simply giving up breastfeeding because they can’t find clothes that are discreet enough for the purpose,” Shih says.
Star support
For local model and actress Dynas Mokhtar, who had her first child, daughter Khyra Khalyssa Hafizy, in April 2010, she found it truly troublesome to breastfeed in public.
“There aren’t many good facilities available that help support nursing mothers,” says the 28-year-old who is moving into her fifth month of pregnancy with her second child.
She only stopped breastfeeding her first-born, now aged one year and 10 months, recently upon finding out that she was pregnant again.
The nursing rooms encountered by Dynas, who hosted the TV3 programme Si Kecil Ku Chak! 2010 for young mothers and mothers-to-be, were always too small, or lumped together with a badly ventilated diaper-changing room.
“You wouldn’t want to feed your baby where there’s diaper stench all around, right? And being uncomfortable will affect the mother’s milk flow as well,” says the star known for her roles in the movies Cinta Kolesterol, Gerak Khas The Movie, I Know What You Did Last Raya and Impak Maksima, and TV series including the supernatural-themed Susuk and Di Bawah Ketiak Isteri. She currently hosts Adoi Mak Kahwinkan Aku, a new programme on TV2 about relationships and love.
Dynas’ experience as a breastfeeding mother inspired the enterprising celebrity to launch her own line of two-in-one maternity and nursing wear in May last year with the aim of helping women feel comfortable enough to breastfeed any time, anywhere.
Labelled under DnA by Dynas (DnA being the acronym for Dynas Nursing Attire), her creations are available at her shop, DnA Boutique (www.dna.com.my), at the Curve in Petaling Jaya. Retailing between RM50 and RM499, the designs include a selection of formal evening wear that exudes comfort in the midst of sophistication.
“You may not bring your baby to a dinner function but you’ll definitely have your (breast) pump with you. And since you’ve got to use the pump every three hours, it pays to wear something comfortable,” says Dynas who in 2010 did a series of photos depicting her breastfeeding her daughter (including in public) to promote her boutique.
Minimal exposure
Equally intent on quashing negative notions associated with breastfeeding in public are Sue Neoh and her sister Karen, the joint owners of Autumnz (autumnz.com), an online maternity and nursing wear boutique.
Having resided in Britain and Germany during her years working as an auditor and later as a Montessori teacher, Neoh, 35, says it was a common sight to see mothers breastfeeding in public spaces overseas.
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