I first met Pat Gillespie, owner and designer for Carry Maternity, at the Toronto BabyTime Show this April. It was my first baby expo and her booth was the first I visited. With the gentle confidence of a seasoned mother, she ushered me out of the hectic aisle and into the calm of her booth, helping me demo and explore two of the new brands her boutique have just introduced for baby carriers and innovative nursing clothing which can also double as natural skin-to-skin baby carriers. During our brief visit at the BabyTime Show, she spoke with me from the heart about how she had come to own the boutique (formerly Rhonda Maternity) for which she had long been a designer – explaining as she did the concept of how as a community we all carry one another and our children, which was the inspiration for the boutique’s new name under her heart-led management style.
“It’s about self-esteem,” asserted Pat, when I visited her at Carry Maternity and we first sat to discuss her approach to business. “A lot of women feel that during pregnancy they sort of let themselves go, but truly, that’s when they should be taking the time for themselves, that’s when they deserve it the most.”
Indeed, I have been surprised to see how many women I know personally who have struggled with issues of self-esteem after becoming pregnant. To me, women are at their most beautiful when they become mothers – it’s not just the glow, or the full, womanly figure that develops, but also the pride in their eyes, the badges of honour in their wrinkles, stretch marks and white-streaked hair, and the wizened expressions they wear.
“You don’t have to be ‘barefoot and pregnant’ these days,” explained Pat with a smile. “We design easy to wear clothing that looks modern and fresh while still being classic enough that a woman can continue to wear these pieces over the next few years after her pregnancy and even later if she becomes pregnant again.”
“When you’re pregnant, you want someone to say ‘Wow, you look fantastic!’ and not ‘. . . even though you’re so big and pregnant!’”
The inside of the boutique, located right in the heart of Toronto’s trendy Yorkville neighbourhood, is a calm and elegant oasis from the busy energy of the streetscape, yet maintains that same level of dignity and confidence not typically felt in a maternity clothing store. Beneath the dazzling chandelier an endless array of colours and textures extend back into the surprisingly well-stocked boutique, which then opens into a separate changing area with large comfortable seating and well-equipped changing rooms.
For Pat, her own mother played an essential role in her evolution as a fashion designer and now business owner.
“My mother – a very practical, fashionable woman – taught me to wear clothes that can always serve three purposes. Her advice made a great impression on me and now when I design dresses for the Carry Maternity brand, I always keep that in mind – how can a women wear this outfit in three different ways to make the most of the pieces in her wardrobe?”
This versatility is especially important during pregnancy, explained Pat, because they want to ensure that their clients are able to fully enjoy those new pieces they buy and to not feel stuck in a fashion rut or that when their pregnancy is over they want to burn all of their ugly maternity wear.
With that in mind, Pat ensures that all of her Carry Maternity signature pieces are designed to transition from day to evening looks, with a casual option for the weekend too. She also endeavours to offer a variety of options for every budget, as she appreciates that while many of her clients will be able to spend a lot on a whole new wardrobe, others are more budget-conscious and so will be looking for just a few keys pieces that they can incorporate into their existing wardrobes.
While I was in the shop, I had the wonderful opportunity of trying on nearly every item they carried, with Pat becoming more and more excited with each new piece she wanted to show me as she listened carefully and asked questions about my work and home lifestyle, my personal tastes, and my body confidence so as to discern what the best possible pieces would be for me. Instead of feeling as though she was pushing items on me or trying to sell me on clothes I didn’t want or need (as I have felt in most other clothing stores, maternity or otherwise!) I felt as though I was shopping with a friend, or indeed, with my own mother – a person who was there with me to offer an honest opinion of how I looked in horizontal stripes (not as bad as I had thought I would!) and to suggest other pieces that I might not have seen or thought to try on.
With each piece, she worked together with me to show me how to wear it (wrap dresses can be very flattering on a developing bump but you need to know how to tie them properly in order to wear them with confidence!) and she also offered ideas for how to accessorize the look in multiple ways, demonstrating with a variety of shoe styles, layering pieces such as blazers, and belts and ribbons to ensure that I would know how to make the most of my pieces once I got home and was “on my own” with my new clothes and my new body.
Of the many pieces I tried on, I loved almost every one and could easily see myself feeling comfortable and confident as I wore them for work (as the owner of a luxury natural cosmetics company, I am relied upon to keep abreast of the current fashion styles while also maintaining an ear to the ground for companies and brands which uphold those same values of quality, ethics and style which my brand upholds); entertaining at home with friends or family; or attending special events like the weddings I have been invited to this summer and my upcoming Baby shower my dear friend is planning for me (I’ve already got my eye on a knockout Carry Maternity ruched coral cocktail dress for the weddings!)
I was so pleased to receive for review the Carry Maternity Small Dot Wrap Dress (a signature style in a current fabric design), which was actually the first dress that caught my eye the moment I came in the store, and also the first dress that Pat picked out for me based on my body shape and lifestyle! It’s a gorgeous little wrap dress that is incredibly soft, silky and lightweight to wear, which flatters my natural curves perfectly and is in a great bold print that can be dressed up or down no matter where or when I want to wear it.
It features short sleeves and a low v-neck cut that can easily be wrapped to show more or less of your décolletage depending on how comfortable you are or in what context you will be wearing the dress. The front wrap has ample fabric for an overlap that actually overlaps – ensuring that even in the windiest TTC station, my modesty will always be protected! My favourite design aspect of the dress is actually the subtle curve to the cut of the front dress flap, which allows the fabric to glide over my sweet belly bump and flutter in a very flattering and feminine curve at the bottom – Pat has clearly thought of every detail in this dress, and it was fabricated to a very high standard unlike most of the other wrap dresses out on the market for maternity wear which are typically simple-cut silhouettes with straight lines and as little fabric as they can get away with.
The dress design is also very clever for ensuring that it will grow with me (Carry Maternity dresses should typically be purchased in the same size as you would normally shop for pre-pregnancy). When I first tried the dresses on in-store, I was just at the beginning of my third trimester and was only starting to show that sweet curve of a growing baby. I felt pretty and loved the way the dress gently curved around my baby bump. Today, I’m thirty-one weeks along and baby has definitely gone through a couple of growth spurts! I still feel fabulous in my Carry Maternity wrap dress, and love the way the soft fabric hugs my baby bump without any pulling or stretching of the fabric (it is a huge pet peeve of mine to see patterned fabric stretch and distort!)
It was a close decision on which dress I would come home with, as I also loved the Carry Maternity signature little black dress, which hugged all of my curves in a very sexy yet sophisticated way. It was a perfect example of the way in which you can dress up or down their pieces, with the addition of a cute skinny belt below my bustline and some glam gold sandals to give me a fun look for shopping, or pairing it with a sleek blazer and pumps to create the perfect pregnancy power suit for any business meeting or event.
One thing was clear with every piece: this was clothing that can stay with you post-pregnancy and in subsequent pregnancies because every piece is a classic cut that is designed to suit a woman’s body type (they offer styles for women who are petite, women who are full-figured or curvy, and everyone in between), not just the most current fashion trends. What this translates into is a classic and timeless line of clothing like a little black dress that you can wear throughout your entire pregnancy and afterwards, supplemented by well-designed classic styles of wrap and shift dresses cut in a continually evolving selection of patterns to keep current with trends and to ensure that your wardrobe is full of beauty and excitement rather than dull, boring “in-the-meantime” pieces you can’t wait to get rid of after your pregnancy.
All Carry Maternity signature pieces are designed personally by Pat, who also picks out the patterns and colours for her wonderfully soft, lightweight and scratch-free fabrics. Her manufacturing is all local within the GTA and adheres to strict ethics and sustainability standards.
In addition to the Carry Maternity signature line, Pat also sources and sell a wide array of premium brands of maternity clothing, accessories and personal care products to give you a complete service. Sarah, Pat’s assistant and protégé, is always on the look-out for hot new brands and high-quality products that uphold the same values and style aesthetic as Carry Maternity clients have come to depend on.
The boutique even offers very reasonably priced custom tailoring services in-house – and will do many alterations for free! Pat is always happy to work together with you to customize a look or style using her classic designs and your colour palette for special events such as weddings to ensure that each and every Carry Maternity dress is not just perfect, but perfect for you!
You can shop the entire collection and learn more about Carry Maternity, including the dynamic team behind the brand, their ethics, standards and practices and incredibly helpful style tips online at http://carrymaternity.ca, or visit them at their Yorkville boutique located conveniently at 110 Cumberland Street – they’d be more than happy to meet you and help you to discover your most beautiful pregnancy style. You can also stop in for a quick break from tired swollen feet or to nurse in a comfortable and supportive environment, or to take advantage of their frequent in-store events and workshops – and don’t forget to take a look at their well-stocked sale rack while you’re at it – they really do sell something for every women, with any budget!