Guest reviewer Janet Butler-McPhee is a proud Nova Scotian and not-so-recent transplant to Toronto (but confesses her heart still belongs to NYC). She is the proud mom of one sweet baby girl, and currently on maternity leave from her non-profit communications work in HIV and human rights. While not planning crazy silly birthday parties for her
now-one-year-old, Janet is working hard at enjoying every last stinking second of her time at home. All the while looking for a good daycare, of course. Sigh.
Janet received a Mooms & Soof nursing top in exchange for her honest review.
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Image currently of Mooms & Soof model. To be updated shortly with guest reviewer’s photo.
I no longer remember a time when nursing tops were not a staple in my wardrobe. As a breastfeeding mom with only two-and-a-half measly months left of maternity leave, it’s just easier to have the girls constantly, ahem, accessible. The fact that my hungry little baby has the patience of, well, a baby only compounds the matter.
But I, being the modern nursing mom I am, have always refused to relinquish all femininity and style to my milk production. Just before baby, I purchased some attractive nursing wear and pretended that I didn’t miss my “normal” clothing. But by nine months into this wondrous journey we call mommydom, the four to five nursing tops I had in rotation were getting seriously tattered and had become purely functional.
Thus, I was really excited (you simply cannot imagine how excited!) when I was chosen to guest review the Canadian-made Mooms & Soof Long Sleeve Nursing Tunic, made of a high quality, eco-friendly rayon/bamboo/cotton/spandex blend. It was time to have fun with nursing chic again — and not a moment too soon, let me tell you!
After a little sizing gaffe (more on that below), I received a lovely teal tunic by mail. Full disclosure? I originally ordered a grey tunic, which I thought would be most practical and get most wear, but the teal turned out to be a happy mistake.
Before we tuck in, let me tell all you nursing moms a little something I’ve (now) learned: even if you’re close to going back to work, and thus back to your regular wardrobe, BUY A NEW NURSING TOP. You will never regret it. It’s an investment in you and your style sanity.
THE GOOD
And now, PSAs aside, there was a lot to like about the Mooms & Soof Long Sleeve Nursing Tunic. First, I love that it is Canadian-made.
I love the beautiful fabric that feels like soft little kisses on my skin. (Nope, not being dramatic. That’s exactly how soft this tunic really is.)
The vibrant teal colour I ultimately received was simply gorgeous and (almost) made me rethink my heavy-on-the-black-and-grey wardrobe.
The tunic also washes like a dream and really keeps its shape nicely.
It looks luxurious, and at $90 is pretty much on par with other luxe nursing tops price-wise.
The huge pro with respect to fit is that this Mooms & Soof nursing tunic can be worn both pre- and post-pregnancy. (I’ll be putting this garment away for when baby No. 2 is on the way, to be sure!) The shape of the nursing tunic is more fitted around the bust and shoulder area, and made me feel quite feminine; it feels comfortable but also much dressier than other nursing tops I own. Loved that. (As a sidebar, this nursing tunic is infinitely nicer than the one I had previously dubbed my “dressy” top. Like not even on the same scale.)
The zippers under each breast, instead of the fabric overlap more typical of nursing tops, look much more discrete and made it look much less like a nursing top. It’s a pretty cool idea, I have to admit. But for me, both the size/shape
of the top and the zippers presented some challenges…
THE GAFFE
As mentioned above, I must confess that — right off the bat — I had a sizing issue. I’ll also cop to the fact that I’m well into my maternity leave and still carrying some unwanted baby weight. (Who isn’t, right?) When I initially ordered my tunic, I ordered a size L (large), as that is pretty standard sizing for me at this point. But when I received the tunic, it was
clearly not a good fit. I’m guessing a size chart on the Mooms & Soof website could easily fix this problem. But I’m also pretty sure the tunics run a little bit small.
Fast forward a bit: there was absolutely no problem getting a size XL. But even when I received the size XL, the nursing tunic didn’t look as swingy on me as it does on the beautiful website model. My birthing hips seem to have gotten in the way! It was still flattering, and I received a tonne of complements, but it isn’t super flowy on me. So if that’s the look you’re going for after seeing the model, you’ll need to give this some more thought.
The next gaffe was the zippers; you can tell I have some mixed feelings on them. While I loved how discrete and form-fitting the top was (largely because of said zippers), I was all thumbs when trying to undo them and hang onto my baby at the same time. Simply put, it was tricky. I’m still getting used to it, but thankfully have yet to drop my baby. The second gaffe with the zippers was that, even at a nursing B-cup (I was concave before giving birth!), they felt a little tight across my breast when they were opened.
THE GEARS
3.5/5
So…where can you get it?
- Directly from Mooms & Soof
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