Professional Bump Blog

Pregnancy at work – liberating or alienating?

2009-05-27T01:25:00.003+01:00

Professional Bump are running a survey of women who have experienced, or are experiencing, pregnancy whilst working in a white collar environment.

Our founder, Melanie, is an ex-solicitor who started the company after experiencing a significant shift in attitude towards her, which she believes was down to her not being able to wear a business suit whilst she was pregnant.

If you wish to share your views with us simply click here

The purpose of the survey is to find out how professional women are experiencing pregnancy at work. You will not be asked to enter any personal details and it is only 10 short questions.

Cost Per Wear

2009-03-04T09:41:00.001Z

How much does that expensive coat cost you each time you wear it ?

Your clothes are an investment in yourself and in your image. This principle applies whether you are male, female, adult or child. Your image is non-verbal communication, both generally as you walk past people in the street, and specifically in a meeting.

In the 1970s, Dr Albert Mehrabian published a study called “Silent Messages” where he concluded that 55% of our communication is non-verbal, 38% is the tone of voice used and 7% is the actual words used. Translated into clothing issues, this means that even before you have opened your mouth to speak, you are being judged.

If you are being judged, make sure that your clothing creates the image that you want to portray. Identify the main things that you’d like your image to convey about yourself and then look at your wardrobe and see if it agrees.

If you are considering your image in the workplace, you probably want to include professional, responsible, motivated and reliable. In the same way that a multi-national company has an advertising budget which it uses to create an image of itself, you have a clothing budget which is used to create an image of you – even if you have never thought about it before !

How much did you spend on your wedding dress ? £700 ? £900 ? or more ? What about that stunning outfit for your best friend’s wedding ? How many times do you plan to wear each of these items ? How much did you spend on your current top coat ? How many times have you worn it ? What about your favourite work suit ? Studies have shown that you should spend the largest percentage of your clothing budget on work clothes rather than party clothes because that is where you spent the largest percentage of your time.

Cost per wear (“CPW”) is a concept that is thrown around frequently in relation to clothing. It is used to determine whether an item will be a good investment. Will it help you portray the image that you want it to ? To be a good investment, an item needs to match other pieces already hanging in your wardrobe so that you can begin to wear it immediately, rather than being forced to buy other items before it can be worn.

The generally accepted formula that is used to calculate CPW is the price of an item divided by the number of days that you plan on wearing it in a year. Some calculations also include an element relating to the number of co-ordinating pieces you can wear it with but that gets a little confusing.

If you invest in a winter coat for your pregnancy you will use it to help you maintain your professional, smart image. Assume a cost of £200 for the coat. Divide the cost of the coat by the number of days it will be worn over the winter (say mid-October to March - 118days Monday to Friday only ) and it calculates to £1.70 per day. If you invest in a coat that can be worn AFTER your pregnancy, as well as during, then even if you only wear it Monday to Friday for one more winter then the cost per wear reduces even further to £1.70 ÷ 2 =£0.85 per wear ! Add into this weekends when the easiest thing to do is to wear that all enveloping winter coat, rather than a pre-maternity coat which do longer fits and doesn’t keep you warm, and the cost drops even more !

£200 might sound alot for a maternity coat and might feel alot as you click the button to buy, but based on these calculations, it has a very reasonable Cost Per Wear. Is it worth a spend of £0.85 per wear to create the image that is important to you ? Is the image that you want to create and cultivate worth £0.85 every time you wear your coat ?

New Range of Trousers

2009-01-27T15:26:00.002Z

We have a great new selection of business maternity trousers coming onto the site shortly. They are just trousers, no jackets so they are a great extension to our “separates/smart but not formal” range.

They come in 5 patterns, although all in the same style.
· Black
· Black with pinstripes
· Dark brown with pinstripes
· Mid grey
· Dark blue with pinstripes

They are very reasonably priced and will be coming in at around £75.00 to £80.00. They are so stylish and will co-ordinate well with the tops and shirts that we have available. They feel so comfortable to touch that I have no doubt that they will be easy to wear with no uncomfortable bands or belts or zips to cut into you as you expand. I might even be tempted to wear them myself, although without the bump !

They are great for business maternity wear, although I don’t think the office will be the only place that you will end up wearing them !

Mixed messages

2009-01-24T12:30:00.003Z

This last week has seen some really varied news about legal employment. There have been high numbers of redundancies in the major city firms, at various levels. In total contrast, there have been a number of hirings which seems to fly in the face of what the government is telling us. All sorts of reasons are being given for growth, but there are alot of firms staying very quiet about the reasons for reducing numbers.

How many people in these numbers need business maternity wear ? I would imagine very few but let me know and prove me wrong !

Top Coat

2009-01-15T14:50:00.003Z

One continuing query that I have that raises its head at this time of year ( as I look to order stock for next winter/autumn ) is whether to stock a smart winter coat to keep our customers warm. This is particularly a question for those of you who commute and spend time walking en route to work. Do you want a maternity coat ? Would you buy one for a few cold months or would you make do with a pre-pregnancy coat ?

Let me know and I can take your views into consideration when I am ordering.

Dressed For Success in Times of Recession

2009-01-08T10:40:00.000Z

There was an article in one of the Sunday papers recently entitled “Dressed for Success in Times of Recession”. Did anyone see it ? How true that comment is.

The perennial problem that faces the working mum-to-be should now be addressed by all other members of the work force as a priority. While there are various retailers offering office clothing for the rest of the work force, maternity office wear is still supplied by few retailers. As the recession bites and redundancy numbers are growing, the last thing any new mum wants to be is worrying about her job still being available when she plans to return to work at the end of her maternity leave. You need to be able to enjoy that special time with your new baby before the grind re-starts.

Presenting yourself properly at work, creates not only an impression of you while you are pregnant and still in the office, but if done properly, it creates a lasting impression that will be at the forefront of minds should your name be considered for redundancy at any stage.

Look professional. Look efficient and effective and do everything you can to ensure your job is still there at the end of your maternity leave.

New Colours

2008-11-14T17:35:00.000Z

As the dark days of winter continue to get shorter and shorter, our new delivery of stock includes some fabulous new warm reds and pinks. I can't wait to see the new stock on the website. These tops will look great with the maternity business suits or with jeans when you are not at work. I just need to get the photography done first.

Welcome !

2008-07-17T14:45:00.000+01:00

Hi,

I'm Melanie, and as you can see this is the first entry on The Professional Bump Blog. I suppose the best place to start is with a bit of background on where the website came from.

I have practised as a commercial property/banking lawyer for more years than I care to remember. During those years, I was pregnant three times. I worked full-time through each of those pregnancies and I searched high and low for business maternity suits that would enable me to continue to work, and more importantly feel like, a lawyer. I failed. Instead I ended up wearing what can only be described as a flowery tent during the summer months with a pre-pregnancy jacket. I had, I think, three slightly more formal skirts for the cooler months but no suits or anything even business like.

My youngest son is now 10 and during his pregnancy, the idea of setting up a business to bring together a selection of maternity business clothes came to me. However it has taken me 10 years to get that idea off the ground.

BUT - here it is!

Welcome to The Professional Bump and it's Blog. I hope that our selction of clothing will enable to you find whatever maternity business clothes you need to see you through any business situation that find yourself in during your pregnancy. If you have any ideas for clothing that you need but can't find, please drop me a line. I would love to hear from you and welcome your suggestions.

Melanie

http://www.theprofessionalbump.com/