Jennifer Lawrence has been hailed as the new monarch of an emerging fashion trend dubbed 'momboy style', symbolising how contemporary mothers are radically redefining postpartum dressing. This movement sees women blending practical, tomboyish elements with high fashion, creating looks that accommodate their new lives while expressing personal identity.
The Evolution of Maternal Style
The concept of 'motherhood style' is undergoing a significant transformation, moving far beyond traditional expectations. Where once maternal fashion meant sacrificing personal expression for practicality, today's mothers are finding innovative ways to merge both. Fashion's perception of motherhood is broadening, with influential newsletters like Blackbird Spyplane highlighting this shift towards what they term 'cool mom style'.
This autumn, Blackbird Spyplane's newsletter featured interviews with new mothers including designer Zoe Latta, designer Ellen Van Dusen, and writer Natalie So, showcasing their distinctive approaches to postpartum dressing. Their wardrobes feature unexpected combinations like Pro Force martial arts pants paired with Marimekko-bright patterns, Marni clogs, and oversized yellow leather jackets. Footwear has particularly evolved, with practical playground boots replaced by performance trainers like Salomon 'Snowclog Mid' sneakers, Nike Air Rifts, and Asics Gel-Kayano 14s that combine style with functionality for busy mothers.
Redefining Identity Through Fashion
Motherhood brings profound physical and emotional changes that inevitably influence style choices. As the article's author, a mother herself, explains: 'Changed bodies, changed priorities and forced hands led to roadbumps but sometimes they also led to less preciousness – more of a carpe diem approach to style.' This represents a significant departure from past generations, where mothers often lost elements of their personal style identity.
The transformation isn't always immediate or straightforward. Many women struggle to align their wardrobe with their new identity, finding that old aesthetics feel as restrictive as old waistbands. However, after navigating the survival mode of early parenthood, dressing the 'new me' becomes an engaging side project to child-rearing. This process often sparks a more 'Yolo' attitude towards fashion, accompanied by fresh levity and increased enthusiasm for dressing up.
Brooklyn-based photographer and mother Sunny Shokrae attributes this shift to cultural broadening: 'The way moms are portrayed in the media has expanded and so with that people feel better taking more liberties.' This expanded representation has created space for diverse maternal style expressions.
Style Icons Leading the Movement
Jennifer Lawrence has become the emblematic figure of this trend, with The Cut coining her distinctive look as 'momboy style', characterised by contrasts between luxurious pieces like leopard-print calfskin coats and practical 'gorpy Salomon sneakers'. Her ability to transform graphic T-shirts and forgiving silhouettes into elegant ensembles has made her an aspirational figure for fashion-conscious mothers.
This movement extends beyond everyday wear to red carpet appearances. At the recent CFDA awards, Rihanna described her Alaïa suit as 'postpartum-forward', signalling how motherhood is influencing high fashion. Other prominent figures like Beyoncé, Laura Marling, Adwoa Aboah, and Simone Rocha are similarly centering motherhood in their public personas and style choices.
For designer Zoe Latta, who has both a four-year-old and a four-month-old, motherhood has prompted style experimentation: 'Your body is changing every day – or your perception of your body and how you want to be seen is changing – and that has made me be a lot less invested in a certain sense of style, and possibly more experimental.'
Defying Stereotypes and Expectations
This style revolution represents a form of defiance against societal expectations of maternal self-sacrifice and the tabloid criticism often directed at school-run mothers. Rather than conforming to traditional 'mum style' tropes – exemplified by Rose Byrne's character in Platonic or the stereotypical Lululemon leggings and puffy jackets – contemporary mothers are embracing individuality.
Some women, like Latta, are even reclaiming terms like 'frump' through fashion choices like muumuus: 'The misogyny of what's frumpy is actually really freeing – to ignore the idea of what's sexy or unsexy to an external gaze and say: "I'm wearing this muumuu, and it rocks".'
As Shokrae powerfully concludes: 'There is no rule for how moms 'should look'. That's made up, and I think there's a good number of women dismantling that old way of thinking. Mothers are dynamic, like all people, more tired, yes, but they are defined by more than just their role of 'mother'. So, too, is their style.'
This cultural shift represents more than just fashion – it's about mothers reclaiming their identity and finding joy in self-expression during a transformative life chapter.
