Workwear for Pumping Moms
Launch Katie Jane Co's first collection
Project Description
Katie Jane Co’s mission is to give moms professional wardrobe options to feel empowered in the workplace while providing them with practical pumping access. Our clothing line of workwear for pumping moms includes two styles of chic professional dresses that are ethically made in the US and make pumping (or nursing) easy at the office or on the go.
Here's the problem: When returning to work after maternity leave, moms have two options: either wear their professional dresses from pre-pregnancy, which require them to strip down in order to pump, or stop wearing dresses entirely. There is a clear gap in the market as existing nursing dresses are almost entirely cotton and casual, which is not what working moms need in a professional environment. We knew there had to be a better way.
Katie Jane Co. solves this problem by providing a solution that:
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Gives moms classic professional dress options with pumping access
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Saves moms time and discomfort by making pumping at work easy
Moms deserve clothes that look and feel good while pumping with ease. The fashion industry is designing clothes that are not practical for pumping moms, but by combining a chic aesthetic with pumping access the perfect back to work dresses were born. Enter Larissa and Yvonne…
The Larissa Dress: $145 $155
Our chic 3/4 sleeve style is an effortless yet elegant dress that can take you from pumping at the office to nursing your babe at home easily and comfortably. This is a pullover dress with pull up pumping access in the front. This versatile style can be dressed up or down with jewelry, a belt, jacket, and heels. The Larissa dress is available in Grey, Black, and Burgundy and in sizes XS-3X. The Larissa dress is available for $135 as an early bird special for those who order by Thursday 10/20, $145 for those who order before 11/17 and for $155 after our pre-sale ends.
The Yvonne Dress: $185 $195
Our sophisticated sleeveless style is a business formal dress perfect for pairing with your favorite blazer to take you from the board room to the pumping room. This dress is incredibly flattering and most importantly, it has pockets! A gorgeous gold zipper down the back cinches this tailored look when worn without a jacket. To pump, simply lift up the hidden magnets and unzip the invisible zippers on each side of the bust and voila! The Yvonne dress can be ordered in Burgundy, Black, and Nightfall Blue and is offered in sizes XS-XXL. The Yvonne is available for $175 as an early bird special for those who order by Thursday 10/20, $185 for those who order before 11/17 and $195 after our pre-sale ends.
Early bird discount of $20 off each dress ends at midnight EST Thursday 10/20/22 EST. Pre-sale discount of $10 off each dress ends with our ifundwomen crowdfunding campaign on 11/17.
Materials, Manufacturing and Care
Machine Washable - Our dresses can be machine washed (woohoo!) and hung dry. You can use a steamer or iron on low heat as needed, but these dresses do not wrinkle easily!
Sustainably Sourced Modal - Both the Larissa and Yvonne dresses are made with fabric that is 47% Modal, 47% Polyester, and 6% Spandex. The modal fibers are extracted from naturally grown beech wood by an environmentally responsible production process.
Ethically Manufactured - The dresses are being manufactured ethically in the United States by a small woman-owned factory in Brooklyn where the employees are paid competitive salaries with benefits including healthcare and paid leave. The majority of garment workers are women, most of whom are mothers. Even in 2022 many large and well known companies still use exploitative labor practices by underpaying and/or overworking their employees. Katie Jane Co refuses to make a product for moms while exploiting other mothers during the manufacturing process. When you purchase a dress from us, you're investing in more than a piece of clothing, but a commitment to transparency and a healthy workplace.
Donate a Dress
For those who want to support our launch, but who are not in need of a pumping dress, there is the option to donate a dress to unemployed moms who are looking for work and need professional clothing for interviews and later for work once they land a job! We have chosen to donate these dresses to Dress for Success, a non-profit organization that empowers women with job training and outfits them with the workwear they need for interviews and work. Your support in helping Katie Jane Co deliver professional dresses to pumping moms and promote job growth and fair wages in the United States is so appreciated!
Purchase a Tumbler
Another way you can support our launch is by ordering one of our Katie Jane Co tumblers! These 30oz stainless steel, double wall insulated tumblers are a fun way to both show your love for Katie Jane Co and stay hydrated or caffeinated. Check out our two options in the rewards section.
Katie Jane Co's Origin Story
When Katie Jane Co's Founder, Molly McKee-Seabrook, went back to work in a government office after maternity leave she was very uncomfortable with her clothing options in a business formal environment where she needed to be able to pump. So many friends had shared stories with her of their co-workers walking in on them when they were pumping with their dress pulled up around their neck like a scarf or zipped down and hanging around their waist! Feeling both cold and exposed was not something Molly was comfortable with, so she sacrificed her personal style and professional dresses for the ability to pump easily. She began thinking of ways tailored professional dresses could also have pumping access and bought a few dresses at the thrift store, literally ripped them up at the seams and sewed them back together with the mechanism she was envisioning.
Years of work went into perfecting these designs with pattern makers, while also sourcing the perfect fabric and finding a manufacturer. Molly hopes these meticulously designed dresses help ease that burden for moms today and in the future, helping them feel confident when returning to work after maternity leave. Molly named the company Katie Jane after her two daughters' middle names: Kathryn and Jane, which are her own mother and grandmothers' middle names. It is the past and future generations of women in her family that lead her to pursue ideas, question the status quo and demand a higher quality of life for all women.
Molly is raising $15,000 to fund Katie Jane Co.'s first production run to get these dresses into the hands of moms who need them. Women who go back to work after maternity leave already face the weight of meeting work expectations while also balancing pumping and they deserve to do it in stylish, timeless dresses, but can you see venture capitalists choosing pumping dresses over the latest tech innovation!? Your purchase and support is truly making this needed product a reality for pumping moms.
Thank you so much for all of your incredible support and encouragement, the pumping mom community is like no other and we (and future pumping moms) are so grateful!
Updates
The Campaign FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Can you talk about your sizing? All of our dresses are made with material that has 6% spandex so there is some stretch to each garment. Like any dress purchase it's usually best to make sure your largest measurement guides your size choice. That being said, our Yvonne dress is loose in the hips, so when ordering an Yvonne dress you can focus more on making sure the bust and waist measurements work for you because there is more room in the hips, but with the Larissa it's important to make sure all 3 of your measurements are on target for the size you order.
- What are your shipping plans? We plan to send out all our dresses in December of 2022 and at this time we can only ship domestically, the cost of which is included in your dress purchase. If you are outside of the US and interested in our dresses, please email at [email protected] so we can learn how we can potentially ship to your country in the future! We are hopeful the dresses will be ready to be sent out in early December and will update as soon as we know when they will be ready to ship.
- Are you manufacturing ethically? Yes, the dresses are being manufactured ethically in the United States by a small woman-owned factory in Brooklyn where the employees are paid competitive salaries with benefits including healthcare and paid leave.
- What kind of fabric are you using? Both dress styles are made with a gorgeous rich fabric that is 47% Modal, 47% Polyester and 6% Spandex. It is both thick and stretchy, giving it a luxurious feel while also performing well. This modal is a sustainable plant based fiber and we hope to increase the percentage of sustainable materials in future collections.
- What is your policy for returns and exchanges? A return or exchange must be initiated within 21 days of receiving your order by emailing [email protected]. We understand postpartum bodies are hard to shop for, so with that in mind we will exchange a dress with tags still intact (if one is available in the correct size at that time) and we will pay shipping costs. Because our margins are tight as we are just starting out, the customer must pay shipping for any returns.
- Do you have plans for a resale model? Yes, many fashion brands have started a resale option, which is both sustainable and just a great idea! Especially for moms who may only need these dresses to pump for a year or less, this is something we would love to do in the future when we have the customer base and inventory out in the world to try it!
Our chic 3/4 sleeve style is an effortless yet elegant dress that can take you from pumping at the office to nursing your babe at home easily and comfortably. This versatile style can be dressed up or down with jewelry, a belt, jacket, and heels. The Larissa dress is available in Grey, Black, and Burgundy and in sizes XS-XXL. Please note your color and size preference at checkout. Email [email protected] for any sizing or other questions.
Just Because I Care
If you believe in our mission and want to see us get this plane off the ground then this is the place for you. Thank you for your incredible support and encouragement!!
Hydration and caffeination are every working mom's best friends! Now you can accomplish both by using a Katie Jane Co tumbler. These 30oz stainless steel, double wall insulated tumblers (with a straw of course!) will keep your water and iced coffee cold or your hot coffee and tea hot while you go about your day. There are two design options, just let us know which one you'd like at checkout. Both have the Katie Jane logo on one side and then you can choose between "But first water..." or "Moms get sh*t done" on the other side.
Our chic 3/4 sleeve style is an effortless yet elegant dress that can take you from pumping at the office to nursing your babe at home easily and comfortably. This versatile style can be dressed up or down with jewelry, a belt, jacket, and heels. The Larissa dress is available in Grey, Black, and Burgundy and sizes XS-XXL. Please note your color and size preference at checkout.
Our sophisticated sleeveless style is a business formal dress perfect for pairing with your favorite blazer to take you from the board room to the pumping room. This dress is incredibly flattering and most importantly, it has pockets! A gorgeous gold zipper down the back cinches this elevated look when worn without a jacket. To pump, simply lift up the hidden magnets and unzip the invisible zippers on each side of the bust. Voila!
The Yvonne dress is available in Black, Burgundy, and Nightfall Blue and in sizes XS-XXL. Please note your color and size preferences at checkout.
Our sophisticated sleeveless style is a business formal dress perfect for pairing with your favorite blazer to take you from the board room to the pumping room. This dress is incredibly flattering and most importantly, it has pockets! A gorgeous gold zipper down the back cinches this elevated look when worn without a jacket. To pump, simply lift up the hidden magnets and unzip the invisible zippers on each side of the bust. Voila!
The Yvonne dress is available in Black, Burgundy, and Nightfall Blue and in sizes XS-XXL. Please note your color and size preferences at checkout.
Not in need of a pumping dress for yourself? Donate a dress to unemployed breastfeeding moms who need professional attire for interviews and work once they land a job!
As a thank you for generously supporting our launch, we will name our next dress design after you or a working mom you love and admire.
Rewards
Our chic 3/4 sleeve style is an effortless yet elegant dress that can take you from pumping at the office to nursing your babe at home easily and comfortably. This versatile style can be dressed up or down with jewelry, a belt, jacket, and heels. The Larissa dress is available in Grey, Black, and Burgundy and in sizes XS-XXL. Please note your color and size preference at checkout. Email [email protected] for any sizing or other questions.
Just Because I Care
If you believe in our mission and want to see us get this plane off the ground then this is the place for you. Thank you for your incredible support and encouragement!!
Hydration and caffeination are every working mom's best friends! Now you can accomplish both by using a Katie Jane Co tumbler. These 30oz stainless steel, double wall insulated tumblers (with a straw of course!) will keep your water and iced coffee cold or your hot coffee and tea hot while you go about your day. There are two design options, just let us know which one you'd like at checkout. Both have the Katie Jane logo on one side and then you can choose between "But first water..." or "Moms get sh*t done" on the other side.
Our chic 3/4 sleeve style is an effortless yet elegant dress that can take you from pumping at the office to nursing your babe at home easily and comfortably. This versatile style can be dressed up or down with jewelry, a belt, jacket, and heels. The Larissa dress is available in Grey, Black, and Burgundy and sizes XS-XXL. Please note your color and size preference at checkout.
Our sophisticated sleeveless style is a business formal dress perfect for pairing with your favorite blazer to take you from the board room to the pumping room. This dress is incredibly flattering and most importantly, it has pockets! A gorgeous gold zipper down the back cinches this elevated look when worn without a jacket. To pump, simply lift up the hidden magnets and unzip the invisible zippers on each side of the bust. Voila!
The Yvonne dress is available in Black, Burgundy, and Nightfall Blue and in sizes XS-XXL. Please note your color and size preferences at checkout.
Our sophisticated sleeveless style is a business formal dress perfect for pairing with your favorite blazer to take you from the board room to the pumping room. This dress is incredibly flattering and most importantly, it has pockets! A gorgeous gold zipper down the back cinches this elevated look when worn without a jacket. To pump, simply lift up the hidden magnets and unzip the invisible zippers on each side of the bust. Voila!
The Yvonne dress is available in Black, Burgundy, and Nightfall Blue and in sizes XS-XXL. Please note your color and size preferences at checkout.
Not in need of a pumping dress for yourself? Donate a dress to unemployed breastfeeding moms who need professional attire for interviews and work once they land a job!
As a thank you for generously supporting our launch, we will name our next dress design after you or a working mom you love and admire.