Aeline Collective was originated in 2020, although the company did not come to fruition until 2022. As a lifelong lover of fashion and beauty, 2020 was the year that I became a mother. My first daughter was born in January and shortly after the world shut down, I found myself in the trenches of postpartum. I was engulfed in motherhood, all while trying to navigate the new state of the world. I was also adjusting to life outside of a 9-5 job as I had just become a stay-at-home mom. Needless to say, my world was turned upside down. I stayed in the comfiest clothing I could find, barely had the time to wash my face and would go days without makeup. These were all very foreign things to me. As someone who previously worked in an office, I was used to being dressed in business casual with a full face of makeup and hair done by 730am daily. These were things that were engrained in me, part of me, something I took pride in. I loved getting dressed and putting an outfit together and putting my best foot forward. But this was different, I found that I no longer knew how to do that. So I looked to the internet, as we do, and started ordering what the influencers were telling me to. Orders and orders would come in, most of the clothes either ill fitting or just didn’t feel like me. I really didn’t know who “me” was at the time but I wasn’t succeeding in finding her with this strategy. The inability to find myself again led me down a dark road which I feel can be common in new motherhood. Fast forward to my second daughter being born, March of 2022, I knew a lot more than I did before. I knew how to take care of a baby, but I also had learned how important it was to take care of myself. The saying of not being able to “pour from an empty cup” definitely came from a mother, or was at least about one. My mission after Maya was born was simple, don’t lose yourself again. So I set off on a new postpartum journey with a clear idea of what I wanted out of that experience. Soon enough I was met with defeat. I tried so hard to not change myself and look like I hadn’t just had a baby that it made the struggle that much harder. I took a hard look at what was making me so unhappy and I realized it was so simple. It was so hard to get dressed. So hard to recognize my body and try to fit it into clothes of a prior me. It sounds silly but it was a huge source of anxiety and made me want to never leave the house. So I decided to make a change. Instead of buying everything I’ve been told to on the internet I did the work, I tried the clothes on. I went to the stores. I bought and returned. I did whatever it took to find things that made me feel good. I was nursing at the time so I needed clothes that would lend to that. I wanted to wear “normal” clothes that allowed for nursing, not nursing clothes. I wanted jeans that fit my new body, even if they were not the size they used to be. Once I started to get the hang of dressing for myself again I wanted to share that. Not only what I had learned but I wanted to share the feeling. After many conversations with other mothers, I knew I was not alone in the feelings I was having. I shared my ideas with my husband as we had been discussing what was next for us as he was stepping into a new role at work. We had tossed around the idea of an online store before but truly only had dreamt of it. We never really had a reason or a why. It had never felt this special and meaningful before. I shared that I wanted to create a place specifically for mothers and other women with clothing intended to invoke those happy feelings and thoughts. A place with clothes that take into consideration your new body, your new style and your new life. We truly felt like there were so many stores that offered unique curations but nothing that spoke to this specific season of life. I wanted to take a chance on creating my own curated collections of pieces that would serve the mothers that I knew , and those like me who had a tough time just getting dressed.

After a few more brainstorming conversations, a lot of research, one rejected name later, Aeline Collective was born in November of 2022.