There are certain style milestones that you hit during the course of a pregnancy — the 16 weeks the-rubber-band-trick-is-no-longer-cutting-it milestone, the 24 weeks look-at-my-cute-maternityclothes milestone, the 35 week my-cute-maternity-clothes-don’t-fit-anymore milestone followed shortly by the is-it-insane-to-buy-new-maternity-clothes-for-the-sake-of-public-decency milestone.

Then baby comes along and you don’t really notice what you’re wearing because you are so engrossed and tired. Plus, your body is…doing its thing and those cute maternity clothes fit again. Bonus.

Then you hit the 3-month postpartum milestone and proceed to absolutely freak out. You want to wear real clothes again, but whose body is this and where did you put your old one. You’ve likely spent the past 20 or 30 years learning what styles flatter your body, what to stay away from. And now that body is gone for a while and you have a new body. You need to learn to dress the new body.

At least those of us who stay home can experiment with postpartum style within the confines of our play groups and library story times. If you’re headed back to work, the freak out may be especially dramatic. You need to take care of this little human being and be a professional woman who wears real pants?  With zippers and button closures? And drops things off at the dry cleaners, like some kind of proper grown up?

A familiar face is here to help: San Francisco Banana Republic’s Style Consultant Service. (Also available in New York and Chicago.) It’s completely free, and doesn’t require you to buy any minimum amount. And no, I haven’t gotten paid for this recommendation (HA), but a good friend of mine just went through them and sounded almost euphoric after.

Like many women postpartum, Sarah isn’t the size she wants to be, but with a new job starting up, she doesn’t have the option of waiting until she is to buy new work clothes. She needed an entire work wardrobe ASAP.

She made an appointment with the San Francisco Banana Republic store, then headed over there one Saturday. THREE HOURS LATER, she emerged with a new wardrobe that she was actually excited about.

When Sarah arrived, the style consultant had already selected clothes for her to try on based on their previous phone conversation, and Sarah was able to try everything on in a private dressing room. Then, it was a flurry of different sizing, trying on different shoes, and perfecting her new work wardrobe.

Judging from the outfits the style consultant put together, she knew exactly what Sarah concerns were, and found pieces to minimize them.I found the key to postpartum shopping was opening myself to styles I never would have considered before. The consultant also showed her how to mix and match the pieces. As Sarah put it: “she was basically my personal shopper. I’m so pleased everything actually goes together.”

(Sarah did spend over three hours with the style consultant, but said it seemed like she could have spent as little as an hour if she wanted to. There was no pressure to buy anything or stay longer.)

Here is a sample outfit that the stylist created for her:

Here we have:

1. BR’s Linen Boyfriend Blazer — Blazers give you some structure, and a long blazer elongates your frame

2. Sparkle Lariat Necklace — Ok, this wasn’t actually one of Sarah’s finds, but I like long necklaces like this to emphasize the long lines of a jacket and take some emphasis away from the stomach area.

3. Mixed Stripe Ponte Sheath — Ponte fabric is very mom-friendly. Stretchy yet thick, it provides a lot of structure. Sarah said the pattern made this dress very flattering.

4. Ribbed Cropped Sweater Tank — The stylist recommended wearing this over the dress, and it’s a great idea for covering up a postpartum stomach. The boxy crop will cascade a bit away from your stomach area, and then the form-fitted dress underneath will look sleek and trim below it.

5. Alani D’Orsay Flat — Y’all know how I feel about d’orsay flats. This is a colorful, preppy pair, and Banana Republic sells them in a wide assortment of colors/patterns.

Here’s the alternate way to wear the outfit:

Mostly the same except the dress has been replaced by a pair of slim-fit, straight-leg pants. (The Sloan Fit Straight Leg) Again, the crop top is doing a lot of the work here — pulling fabric away from postpartum trouble areas, while the fitted pants slenderize the rest of you.

And this is what postpartum shopping is all about, and why a personal style consultant may be the way to go. I’m sure none of us would have thought the solution to a stomach pooch was a crop top, and yet here we are.  Stylists know how to dress the body you actually have, even if you aren’t comfortable with it. The fact that Banana Republic gives this service away for free is almost too good to be true.

Would you try Banana Republic’s personal shopper service? If you do, let me know how it goes!