Cold weather fashion tips from the creator of Yummie Tummie

It's not every day (or ever, really) that I get the chance to hang out with a fashion designer to the stars, but sometimes mommyblogging has its benefits, and last week I had the honor of meeting Heather Thomson, founder of Yummie Tummie. YT, for those uninitiated (aka those who didn't attend BlogHer 09), is a line of shapewear and fashion basics that promise to slim flabby mummy tummies and make you look thinner and more toned without all those pesky sit-ups. And Heather, in addition to being the designer and founder of the company, is a fellow working mom to two children about the same age as mine. When I sat down with her on Friday after our company holiday party, she was looking forward to heading home after a busy week on the road and regretted she would be missing sundown on the first night of Chanukah.

Yummie Tummie got its start shortly after Heather gave birth to her first child. She was looking for something to hold in her post-partum jiggle but was astonished by the ugly, ill-fitting garments in the fusty, old-fashioned shapewear department. She was so disappointed by what she'd bought she ripped them up and patched the stretchy fabric together to sew a tank top for herself. She liked it so much she went to a fabric store and made more tank tops in black, pink, nude and white. Now Yummie Tummie sells dozens of control tops, bottoms, slips, and lingerie. Heather even confessed her body shaping teddie has helped women ashamed of their bellies turn the lights back on in the bedroom.

I actually bought a Yummie Tummie tank early this year, and while it's really well constructed and battles back my muffin top, I wasn't totally sold on it. It crept up when not tucked into my pants or tights and I just wasn't convinced it was sucking in $62.00 worth of flab.

Turns out I was wearing the wrong size. With a quick up and down glance, Heather pronounced me a small and hello, my new small tank feels much, much more snug. It holds onto my hips and really sucks in my gut. I think it even make me stand up taller. I wore it under a belted purple sweater to a couple of holiday parties on Saturday and 5 people told me I looked like I'd lost weight! (I haven't.)

So the Yummie Tummie works, but it's not worth it if you're hiding under jeans, a hoodie and a down parka, right? I needed to pick Heather's brain for stylish, flattering looks for those of us facing a long winter of sub-zero temps. Heather recommended dressing monochromatically and spending money on a couple of coats and a wardrobe of cold weather accessories. She suggested navy or cream hats and gloves for dressier occasions and pairing funky striped gloves with jeans. Matching my mittens to my clothes and boots never even occurred to me before! She also showed me how you can vary your look without buying anything new; grabbing her own gray hat, she demonstrated all the different ways you can style a simple fold-over skullcap. She added that scarves are great accessories that can be worn lots of different ways while also keeping you warm outdoors and in.

Heather also stressed the importance of choosing a warm coat that's not overly bulky and complimented me my fitted black Lands End down coat. She told me I should try belting it and I did so today, giving myself a bit more of a waist with the addition of a wide, elastic and pleather belt I picked up at Forever 21.

You can get more cold-weather fashion tips from Already Pretty, a fashion blogger from Minneapolis. Check out this post on layering without lumps.

Also in this picture, a hat from Etsy, gloves from H&M, a scarf from Loehmann's, jeans from Forever 21 and my new Frye boots

Disclosure: I received a free Yummie Tummie tank top during my interview with Heather

Shuella: How do you like my shoe umbrella?

I've been meaning to splash around in my trial pair of Shuellas, and today the weather finally cooperated! I'd worn black leather sandals to work, and by 5pm it was raining buckets. So, feeling a little excited and more than a little self-conscious, I sat down and slipped on my size 8 hot pink "shoe umbrellas."

Designed by a local Chicagoan, Shuella promises to save our sandals, our kitten heeled peep toes, our precious suede pumps from certain ruin. (They may even save a few of us from finanical ruin at the hands of Zappos and Piperlime!)

Shuellas come in a zippered pouch about the size of a cosmetic bag. Stash it in your purse whenever there's a chance of rain. Then, when the sky opens, unfold and put them on--right over your regular shoes.

I felt conspicuous as I headed west on Lake Street. Was everyone looking at my floppy rain boots? Why did I choose pink? They're so bright! Are they falling off? I caught a glimpse of myself in a store window, and my humiliation subsided. At least sideways, they looked halfway normal. A little bit cute even. And my feet were dry and comfortable. As long as I didn't shuffle too much, walking in my Shuellas was no different than walking in any other pair of boots. There's even a no-slip sole!

Practically speaking, Shuella is a home run. Stylistically, I need more input. So take a look at my feet in the picture above and tell me, are you laughing with me...or at me?

Shuella retails for $49.95. You can find them online (with free shipping) at Shuella.com or at Nordstrom on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.

Postpartum fashion: What I'm wearing right now

It probably isn't a lot of fun to design clothes for the postpartum gal. We've got massive breasts, saggy stomachs and our hips and asses are wider than ever. We need quick and easy access to said breasts and with piles of soggy onesies, you better believe we're not prepared to deal with dry cleaning or ironing. And since spit-up a daily--sometimes hourly--occurrence, our clothes must be wash and wear. If they can disguise stains with ease, all the better!

And did I mention we don't want to look like whales any longer? At three weeks postpartum, I've still got 15lbs to lose, but I'm down 25lbs from my delivery date and I don't want to look at my maternity clothes any more, much less wear them. I don't want to be mistaken for knocked up, thank you very much!

So last week I packed my new addition into her stroller and walked across Oak Park to Majamas (909 S Lombard Ave., 708-524-9668), maker of cute clothes for new moms. They've expanded into maternity wear, but what really distinguishes this local gem is their nursing clothes. They make cute tank tops, shirts and dresses with built in flaps and support that make nursing bras redundant. You can breastfeed discreetly without worrying about positioning a blanket over your kid's head and, best of all, the poochy stomach stays under wraps. I wear my Majamas gear--particularly my three dresses--more than anything else these days. They're comfortable, stylish and effortless. And they're built with the new mom's body in mind.

As Baby A grows, I trust I'll continue to shrink. And perhaps then I'll have the guts to try on regular clothes in a regular store. Until then, I'll just thank my lucky stars that this cool company is headquartered in my home town.