Are your clothes made for your female body? Here’s how to choose clothing that supports your reproductive health
Did you know modern fashion styles and synthetic fabrics may harm your hormones, impair your detox capacity, reduce your fertility and suppress your womb vitality?
If you're perusing your favorite online shops, you might be filtering clothes based on price and style points but I'd encourage you to add a couple of filters to ensure that the choices you are making are in line with your health goals, especially if you are working to improve your overall hormone balance and fertility (and FYI- this all applies to men too!)
Chemicals such as:
Phthalates
Formaldehyde
PFCs
Flame retardants
lurking in synthetic fabrics like polyester, nylon and acrylic can disrupt your hormones, impacting fertility and have been associated with reproductive harm
Most clothes today are tight and compressive
Compressive clothes can restrict blood flow to the reproductive organs and limit the lymphatic system from effectively eradicating bodily waste. When wearing tight-fitting bras and tops, you can also restrict healthy breathing patterns and reduce the strength and stability your body would need to "hold up your breasts on its own" by outsourcing to a piece of clothing.
And on the topic of compression, if you're planning to conceive and want to take care of your man's fertility, make sure he's keeping these synthetic fabrics off of his nether regions too! Both because of the endocrine-disrupting chemicals but also because of the heat trapping that comes with compression.
Clothing tips for preserving male fertility and improving sperm quality:
Opt for flowy boxers instead of tight-fitting briefs
Choose breathable, temperature regulating fabrics like wool (like these wool boxers made locally in Seattle!)
A good compromise: Stud Briefs-Mesh briefs made from a cotton/polyester blend that provide cooling support to testes that are proven to improve testosterone levels, male fertility and varicocele- learn more about Stud Briefs here
But it’s not just your clothes!
Most shoes contribute to poor pelvic health and core stability
Elevated heels
Narrow toe box
Rigid sole
These features of modern shoes limit the wide base of stability you create when you’re standing and shift your center of gravity forward, leading to compensatory patterns that may result in joint pain, back pain, shoulder pain or poor pelvic floor functioning.
Listen to this podcast my husband and I recorded with a functional podiatrist, How Our Footwear Shapes Our Bodies with Dr. Ray McClanahan DPM, on the Resilient Fertility Podcast (Formerly Woodall Wellness Podcast).
Replacing your wardrobe with natural-fiber, movement-friendly clothing can be done over time!
My top recommendations/priorities to get started are these:
Ask these questions for hormone and body-friendly shopping:
Was this made from a natural resource? (Wool, hemp, cotton, silk, linen)
Can I breathe, squat, run, climb, bleed and/or breastfeed in it comfortably?
Am I feeling squeezed from this?
Will I feel good wearing this- on the inside and outside?
Opt for clothing that allows for unrestricted movement
Choose movement-friendly items like:
Wide legged pants
Joggers
Flowy shorts
Skirts
Dresses
No bras (or at least ones without an underwire)
Loose-fitting tops
Look for shoes that are movement-friendly
“Zero drop” heel (no elevation)
Wide toe box
Flexible sole
Comfortable
You don't have to change your movement patterns to keep them on (ie. instead of has a heel strap)
These are some of my favorite “barefoot” shoe brands/shops:
Vivobarefoot (affiliate link) (and Revivo):
I wear their Chelsea boots 70% of the year (my kids and I both wear them)- I add some sheepskin insoles and they are 🔥
I also love their tall Ryder “riding” boots for colder winter days which are a blend of neoprene and leather.
I use their Primus Trail II SG shoes that have extra traction on the bottom as replacement soccer shoes (they’re not perfect as the top could use more protective layers, but they’re the best soccer shoe replacement I’ve found.
Earthrunners: These sandals were able to keep up with my busy outdoor adventures last summer and I’m very happy with how they worked. They were slightly uncomfortable with a rigid strap the first few uses (I though I was going to have to return them 😭) but one day at the river softened them right up.
Xero Shoes (affiliate link) Their winter/snow boots have successfully kept my feet dry and warm for the last 3 or 4 winter seasons now and I’m thrilled to have a boot with a wide-enough toe-box leaving my feet feeling great after busy wintery adventures.
Replacing your whole wardrobe all at once can be expensive and overwhelming so here are some tips to keep it budget-friendly and realistic.
Tips for replacing your wardrobe considering what's ideal and what's realistic:
Ideal: Donate everything synthetic and replace with all natural fibers
Next best: Gradually build a small capsule of versatile clothes beginning with replacing/eliminating the items closest to your reproductive organs first such as underwear, period underwear, and bras.
Ideal: Replace/remove clothes made from synthetic fabrics that you sweat in
Next best: Wear wool undergarments under loose-fitting workout clothes made with synthetic fabrics
Ideal: Avoid/Minimize use of water-resistant fabrics, using naturally-water-resistant wool outer layers instead
Next best: Wear a natural-fiber clothing layer between water resistant items.
Ideal: donate whatever items are not special to you or you don’t wear enough.
Next best: reduce frequency of use of synthetic fabrics
Invest in your future
I will always recommend replacing items second-hand first but some items (like undergarments) you'll want to buy new.
Choose second-hand first
So be sure to check Mercari (or something like it) first because I'm often finding some MAJOR GEMS on there for much more affordable prices (part of me is hesitating sharing this because I want to keep the deals to myself 😆
Here are my favorite search terms:
"hemp/cotton blend"
"women's organic cotton"
"mamaowl women"
"women's athleta wool"
"women's linen *insert clothing item*"
"merino wool women's"
"women's cashmere"
"women's silk"
"women's flowy dress/pants"
"gaia conceptions"
"women's minimalist/barefoot shoes"
If you're visiting a local thrift store, work on developing an eye for identifying natural fiber clothing. Touch it, smell it. Does it feel like a machine created the fabric? (it's pretty easy to tell once you practice and have a baseline to compare it to.
My favorite online shops to peruse for natural fiber clothing
Nui organics (cotton and merino wool clothing for the whole family)
Woolly Clothing (merino wool clothing for men and women, made in Seattle)
Icebreaker (merino clothing for the whole family)
Pact (get 20% off with this link): (Organic Cotton clothing for the whole family
Men's boxers: Stud Briefs, Woolly boxers
Sweet Skins Hemp (hemp undergarments and women's clothing, made in Oregon)
Una Pluma (cotton undergarments, swimsuit and apparel for men and women, made in Oregon)
Branwyn (wool undergarments)
Cottonflower (cotton and muslin women's clothing)
Gaia conceptions (custom-made organic cotton and hemp women's clothing, botanically-dyed)
Siskin/MamaOwl wool items for women and children
Athleta: (wool-blend, linen and cotton items for women and girls, although be sure to read the labels, not all items are exclusively natural-fiber)
The best linen items I've found have been at local boutiques or on Mercari
Period Underwear: Beija Flor Botanical Wear
If there's a brand you love and recommend, I'd love to hear it in the comments!
Reducing your toxic burden in the preconception period is just one (BIG) part of improving your overall fertility and detox capacity.
To learn more on this topic, check out these episodes on the Resilient Fertility Podcast:
If you're looking for more ways to support your hormones, learn how you can work with me 1:1
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