Mummy blogs get glamorous makeover

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/16/mummy-blogs-makeover

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Does my bump look good in this? It's a question that preys on the mind of the heavily pregnant fashionista. But help is at hand, thanks to new glossy magazine-style blogs aimed at expectant and new mums more concerned with keeping up with the front row than the hand-wringing of their ante-natal group.

At the vanguard is Romy & the Bunnies by Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, the model daughter of former French Vogue editor Carine Roitfeld. Inspired by the arrival of daughter Romy, Restoin-Roitfeld has given motherhood the Grace Coddington treatment with galleries of black-and-white shots of models and actresses looking fabulous pre and post partum, as well as designer "must-haves" to keep mother and child up with latest trends.

Other upmarket US sites include Rip + Tan, by fashion designer Jenni Kayne and The Glow which offers "a glimpse into the world of inspiring and fashionable moms". Launched by Violet Gaynor and Kelly Stuart, who met at Elle.com,The Glow talks to glamorous mums such as Zoe Buckman, British wife of Friends star David Schwimmer, who is pictured relaxing in her New York apartment with no trace of baby Cleo's sick on her Chanel boots. Such is the site's success, a book featuring mums from the major fashion capitals is out next month.

There is also the more down-to-earth homegrown School Gate Style by mother-of-three Avril Keys which offers the "fashion diary of an ordinary mum who wears practical affordable clothes".

The genre is being billed as the "third wave" of mummy blogging. The first iteration, according to the New York Times, was the pre-internet Christmas round robin, where friends and family members were brought up to speed with that year's (child) developments. The second wave, it says, could be grouped as "confessional soapboxes" – blogs such as dooce.com – where new mums won legions of followers as they tackled subjects like postnatal depression. Now the blogosphere is awash with sites featuring photoshoots that would not be out of place in Vogue itself.

Siobhan Freegard, co-founder of Netmums.com, says fashion becomes a divisive subject when broached on the website's forums. Some mums are firmly in the "can't be bothered" camp, she says. "One of our mums said asking what she wore on the school run was like asking her what she wore to take the cat to the vet," said Freegard. "They are quite happy to just scrape their hair back. Getting the kids out of the house clean and fed is enough. Others don't want to let that part of themselves go. They are still interested in fashion, but realise they are not a Cosmo girl any more."

With plenty of parenting websites for mums to browse, Restoin-Roitfeld doesn't pretend to be an expert on anything other than keeping up appearances with the blog's raison d'être "purely aesthetic". After the birth of her daughter in 2012, she says she struggled to find "a publication that spoke to me as a mother determined to retain her sensuality and femininity". "Motherhood should not signal the end of these things," writes Restoin-Roitfeld, whose mother encouraged her to pursue the project. "Rather, it should heighten them. With this as my inspiration, I decided to share my discoveries with other women."

Her discoveries, it turns out, are not frumpy tops with ventilation for breastfeeding, but lingerie, vigorous workout regimes and makeup tutorials. The fashion is predictably high end, with a mini-me section that showcases chic outfits for Romy. In one sketch the toddler has thrown together a look that includes a faux fur leopard coat, cashmere cable knit sweater and Stella McCartney jeans.

Some argue this new breed of aspirational blog threatens to feed women's insecurities about their appearance in the months and years after giving birth.

Keys defended herself in a heated debate on Netmums about School Gate Style, insisting she was "not about judging what other women wear". "I called it School Gate Style to try to capture the audience I knew the blog would appeal to," she said. "I like to make an effort – the day just seems to be easier to cope with if I feel I'm looking OK."

With thousands of mummy – and daddy – blogs, the competition for readers is fierce. Mumsnet alone has 4,200 bloggers in its network offering insight and advice on dark arts such as getting your baby to "latch on" or baking a Peppa Pig birthday cake that doesn't look like roadkill.

But it turns out even the Mumsnet audience hankers after fashion and makeup tips, with the parenting website recently launching a style hub rounding up blogs on the topic.

Mumsnet Bloggers Network editor Kate Williams says its writers offer a "funnier and more self-deprecating" view of the nexus of motherhood and fashion. "American sites like The Glow present a version of maternal style that is very aspirational and, well, glow-y. It's lots of artful shots of lithe-limbed mothers being stylish with their kids, in their enviably eclectic (and expensive) homes. We provide a platform for writers who take things altogether less seriously."