2010 (32)
Maternity Fashion
A word to my preggy lady friends about Maternity Fashion...
Like your doctor and many pregnant women will tell you, cotton is the pregnant woman's best friend. Your hormones are raging and your temperature will fluctuate wildly depending on whether a butterfly flew past you (Ack! I feel a draft!) or whether someone three houses down turned on their space heater (Oh my god, I'm melting!). As someone who has always been a fan of simple and soft separates (in my uniform colors of black, grey, black, white, black, navy and um...black) I tried to look at my wardrobe and figure out what would last throughout the seasons, and what I could buy that would be inexpensive and NOT made of unbreathable polyester.
In my current wardrobe, I kept a few of the basics. My Old Navy tanktops. They are long (very important for covering that belly) cheap (usually $5-$10 depending on the sale) and they come in a rainbow of colors. I have probably 30 or so of them floating around in my wardrobe. I use them for EVERYTHING. Modesty under v neck tops, layering on a cold day, etc. I can't stress enough how they've been so useful during this pregnancy.
I also kept my leggings. I have about 10 pairs in various dark colors. They are all low rise and very comfy to wear under tunics, skirts and dresses. I think of them as warm tights. I have a couple pairs of low rise stretchy denim jeans that I am still wearing constantly. They have lots of give at the waist and the dark denim looks more modern than some of the lighter washes you'll find in the preggy pants stores. I did purchase 2 pairs of preggy jeans early on in this deal and they also get worn very frequently. They areone of the few expensive maternity purchases I've made and I really do think they are worth it. I also bought a nice maternity pea coat for the frigid temps and I'm SO glad I did. It is now warming the belly of one of my other pregnant friends.
Almost everything else I wore was NOT purchased in the maternity section. Maternity clothes have come a long way, but they still have a way of making you feel frumpy. Gone are the days of wide collars and polka dots (thank god) but it seems that even the nicer stores have an array of bright prints and polyester tops that make me cringe. Thankfully, the current styles (and this has been going on for a few years now) favor a swingy silhouette that flatters most pregnant figures.
My advice would be to checkout inexpensive stores like Target, Old Navy, and Forever 21 for some affordable basics and save your splurge for some really nice preggy jeans. However, if you're going to be pregnant in the summer, you may not find yourself wearing too much denim, so you can always splurge on some cute dresses that will make you feel comfortable and cool.
Here are a few items I've purchased that I wear frequently. Most of the clothing items are not maternity and are exceedingly affordable.
0