Someone at the baby group said it for all of us: “Nursing clothes are so frumpy and expensive, and nothing fits my new body.” The clip-down tank is the one piece of nursing wear I would defend to anyone, because it does not look like nursing wear and it makes everything else you own work. It cost me less than lunch. Three babies on, I still own four of them and wear one almost every day.

Here are ten everyday outfits around one black clip-down nursing tank, every one pictured below. Some days it is the top; most days it is under a shirt, a jacket or a knit that opens or lifts. These are the ordinary days: the park, the shop, the school gate, the kitchen table. Buy the tank long in the body and wide in the strap, in the size you are now.

1. Under a striped shirt with black denim shorts and sandals

The black tank under a grey-striped button-down worn open, black denim shorts, black flat sandals. Shirt as cover, tank as feed. The warm-weekend outfit, and the one in my own rotation most often from June to September.

2. Under a white shirt with grey trousers

The tank under a white button-down worn open, grey tailored trousers, ivory sneakers. The outfit for the day that has a coffee in it. Three buttons if you button the shirt; open, the tank does everything.

3. Under the white shirt with black shorts

The tank under the white shirt, black cotton shorts, ivory sneakers. The park version of outfit two. Black shorts hide the handprints; the white shirt is the cover and the layer when the sun goes in.

4. Under a cream jacket with camel cargos and boots

The tank under a cream collarless jacket worn open, camel cargo trousers with a soft waist, black sock boots. The jacket opens; the tank clips. The autumn errand outfit, with pockets for the muslin and the phone.

5. Alone with a cream slip skirt and sneakers

The tank as the top, a cream satin slip skirt with an elastic waist, white sneakers, a black and white printed scarf. Clip, feed, clip. The warm-evening outfit that looks like a decision and takes a minute.

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From the capsules

The Everyday Motion Capsule

One hundred athleisure outfits for the walk, the school run and the park, every one opening for a feed. $27 once, yours to keep.

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6. Under a pale blue shirt with a grey denim skirt and boots

The tank under a pale blue linen shirt worn open, a light grey denim mini skirt, black heeled ankle boots. The shirt covers the waistband; the skirt is for the day your legs want to be out. Pair it with thick tights in October.

7. Alone with white linen shorts and a striped scarf

The tank as the top, white linen shorts with a soft waist, tan crossover sandals, an ivory striped scarf. The hottest day. The scarf is the cover on the bench and the colour near your face; the dark tank is where any mark goes.

8. Under a denim jacket with a black pleated midi and chelsea boots

The tank under a light denim jacket, a black pleated midi skirt with an elastic waist, black chelsea boots. The jacket stays on open for a feed. The school-gate outfit for the first cold week.

9. Under a navy tee with blue jeans and heeled boots

The tank under a navy long-sleeved tee, classic blue barrel jeans, black heeled ankle boots. Lift the tee from the hem, clip. The quiet winter uniform; wear it three days running and nobody will notice.

10. Under a grey knit set with a printed scarf

The tank under a grey cropped knit cardigan with its matching wide-leg knit trousers, a black wireless bra, a black and white scarf, a brown-strap watch, ivory sneakers and a tan tote. The cardigan opens; the tank clips. The kitchen-table outfit for the day with a video call at two.

Ten ordinary days, one tank, and not a single other piece of nursing wear. That is the whole argument against the frumpy drawer: your own shirts, jackets and knits were always going to work, they just needed a way in underneath. Buy two tanks, wash them on rotation, and let the rest of the closet be what it was.

Every outfit here is in the ordinary shapes of the Everyday Motion Capsule, a hundred outfits for the walk, the school run and the park, all built over a tank like this. Ten outfits you can build around a nursing tank is the dressed-up half of the same idea. And if you would rather someone who knows your closet told you what goes over the tank each morning, that is Anah inside the Atelier.

A tank under everything. The focus is on you, mama.