Sienna Miller’s ‘new mum style’ is gorgeous – but not reality

Oh to be Sienna Miller. The actress made an appearance at the Chloé fashion show in Paris this week looking absolutely exquisite, all glowy faced, perfectly tousled blonde waves and chic lace slip dress.

Moments after sitting down on the front row, images of Miller flooded social media as the internet cooed over how amazing she looked. The hair! That skin! The most remarkable thing? She’s only just given birth.

Indeed, this was the first public appearance Miller has made since having her daughter with boyfriend Oli Green in January. Not even two months postpartum and she’s fashion week ready. Whether you’ve had a child yourself or not, I think we can all agree that’s quite something – even by celebrity standards.

As a newish mum myself (I had my second child 12 months ago, my first child is three), I’m equally mesmerised by Miller’s radiance. I even screenshotted her picture for inspiration the next time I go to the hairdresser (one can only wish). But while I support any celebration of a woman  – and a mother – when she’s looking incredible, the evident fixation that the media (and therefore wider society) has over women ‘snapping’ back after having kids is troubling.

It was 25 years ago that television presenter Chris Evans weighed Victoria Beckham live on his chat show to check whether she’d lost the baby weight following the birth of her first child. By modern standards this is outrageous and it has since been called out as such (although at the time nothing was said).

However getting your pre-baby body back at lightning-fast speed is still widely applauded. When supermodel Emily Ratajkowski posted a bikini picture to her Instagram page five weeks after giving birth, she racked up tens of thousands of likes.

Of course celebrities aren’t quite the same as us ‘real people’. They have personal trainers, nutritionists, make-up artists and stylists to help them look their best. They’re not wet-wiping their armpits because they haven’t had time to take a shower, or desperately concealing eyebags after endless nights of broken sleep. I’d guess there’s a night nanny to take the twilight shift.

Miller will have an entire army of people who make the newborn months run smoothly and will have ensured she had the time and resources to hop on the Eurostar to Paris and give her best A-list self. I’m sure if I popped around to hers on a regular morning, she’d be in banana-splattered joggers like any other new parent. Her’s would probably be cashmere though...

Nevertheless this Hollywood version of what a postpartum woman looks like, however staged it may be, has become very normal and gives the non-celebrity mothers among us a ridiculous standard to live up to. The pressure to not look like you’ve had a baby when you just have, is very real. It’s one of the reasons I’ve launched a new newsletter, Mumish, this month – to speak to those who, like me, have kids and want to look stylish but need realistic shopping suggestions rather than unattainable ideals.

In the weeks after giving birth, on both occasions, I exclusively wore elastic waistbands. Jumpers were huge, pants even bigger and I couldn’t even look at my jeans until I’d crossed the three month mark. Comfort and ease became all important and there were several occasions when I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognise myself.

At a time when the responsibility of looking after a brand new human felt overwhelming, and both my body and lifestyle had changed, knowing how to get dressed was impossible. Something I’m by no means alone in feeling.

“The first few months after giving birth were quite tricky for me. My boobs were huge and I’d gained a bit of weight so none of my clothes fit,” says Thandi Maqubela, a Deloitte Legal Director and style influencer known as The Sartorial Lawyer. “I didn’t want to invest in a whole new wardrobe so I stuck to oversized button-down shirts, chinos and shirt dresses.”

Two years later, Maqubela had become an expert at finding stylish yet practical pieces that work when you have small kids. Her current everyday go-tos are square-toed Chelsea boots from Jigsaw and a quilted coat from cult Californian label, Doen: “it’s warm, stylish and has loads of pockets for all the things I constantly card around like oat bars, toys and wipes.”

For stylist and mum-of-two Florrie Thomas, an on-trend footwear choice is the style note that elevates her playground look. “I’m in love with my Salomon trainers. They’re comfortable for walking around the park and the elastic cuff means they’re easy to pull on. They make me feel cool even when I’m wearing something with baby snot on.”

She also recommends styling out the new-born months in leggings by Stockholm-based maternity brand, Ilouity: “they look like trousers and made me feel pulled-together”.

My daughter turns one next week and I’ve begun to get a handle on my post-baby wardrobe. I’ve just added Aligne’s horse-shoe jeans (£95) to my online basket, which I’ll wear a grandad cardigan and chunky loafers on the nursery run. I’m thinking of upgrading my mum bag to Arket’s curved leather number (£179) which is big enough to stash nappies and snacks in.

While I can’t pretend I’m anywhere near Sienna Miller-levels of chic – and stretchy trousers still feature in my outfit rotation – by no means do I, or any of the other mothers I know, look frumpy. Something that is so often what mum-style gets passed off as.

In fact, I’ve just been to the local soft play where it was a veritable feast of off-duty cool –  think Ganni joggers and Samsoe Samsoe knits.

Take that fashion week, the best looks are being served next to the ball pit.

Five practical and stylish new mother must-haves

Cotton blend cardigan, £160, Samsoe Samsoe, Gold vermeil and recycled sterling silver earrings, £120, Otiumberg, Curved leather bag, £179, Arket

Horseshoe jeans, £95, Aligne, Wide leg trousers, £195, Ganni