Maternity Style Tips
Honestly? I’ve spent a great deal of time over the past nine months wearing comfortable, loose tops, leggings and fur-lined slippers. I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I wore jeans every day at my desk (ha!) or that I didn’t have the occasional closet-related meltdown (I did) or that I was able to wear my pre-maternity jeans until I was 7 months along (I’ve purposely avoided them since month 3).
But, there are a few little things I’ve picked up and I thought someone out there might find them useful!
PLAN AHEAD
When you find out your pregnant and start assessing how well your closet will hold up over the next 40-odd weeks, get out a calendar and figure out what seasons you will be pregnant, most pregnant and mostest pregnant in. If you’re in your final months in the winter, like me, you may want to hold off on buying maternity dresses and instead look for warm leggings and trousers. If you’re due in late summer, you’ll want to find things like cute shorts (they do exist, I promise), dresses and lots of sleeveless tops.
The best way to figure out what you may need is to jot down the typical outfits you wear each season and then figure out what you can make do with and what you MAY need to purchase.
For example, I knew I would be largest in the fall/winter. In the winter, I tend to wear lots of tights and leggings with dresses or tunics or flowy tops. I like to layer sweaters or cardigans over jeans and pair everything with boots and scarves. Lucky for me, I wasn’t a fan of super-tight clothing to begin with and almost everything had a bit of give. But, I knew I’d want more denim options and plenty of long camisoles to go under sweaters that might be a couple inches too short with a pregnant stomach to contend with. I decided not to bother with a maternity coat because I was already tending to get more hot (I’m never, ever cold) and I could add a sweater or a scarf or leave my jacket open if I needed to.
BASICS
Instead of buying a pair of $200 maternity jeans, here is a list of much more useful items that you’ll use almost every day from about 5-6 months onward:
- Leggings - Even if it’s summer, you’ll want to have a stretchy, comfortable pair of leggings waiting for you at home.
- Bras - As someone who was not particularly well-endowed, it was quite a shock to transition to wearing bras every waking minute of my life. Find comfortable, affordable ones and make sure to pick up a few that don’t have underwire if you find you have to sleep with a bra on for extra support.
- Extra-Long Camisoles - I love picking up 4 or 5 at H&M for about $5 each. I went up about 3 sizes to accomodate for my stomach and they’re still the perfect length and have helped me get more mileage out of my pre-pregnancy shirts that fit everywhere except in length. Get them in basic colors: black, gray, white. And buy multiples!
- Cotton Brief Underwear - Thongs are awesome, but trust me. You’ll want some like this.
- Plain Tees - Grab a few plain maternity tees (long and short-sleeved) from Target. They’re not so maternity-esque that you won’t be able to use them for layering options post-baby and you’ll be glad to have these basics on hand.
WORKING GIRL
If you have a stricter dress code at your 9-5, think about incorporating the following:
- Maternity Tights - Get several pairs in opaque gray and black.
- Maternity Dresses - Look for styles that you can accessorize differently to get lots of looks out of one piece. A dress like this one from Target is a perfect example. Wear it with wedges in the summer and tights and pumps in the winter. To save money and avoid making lots of dress purchases, go through your closet and move everything with a zipper (back or side) to one side of your closet. Everything else—wrap dresses, over-the-head dresses, knit dresses, etc.—can stay. You’ll be able to wear these for quite a while. Watch the length though!
- Trousers/Pants - Wear your normal pants for as long as you can comfortably and then extend the waistband with the hairband trick or with a belly band. Check H&M and Old Navy for a few pairs of dead-cheap trousers or pants to get you through the rest of the months.
WARNINGS!
- Even if your shoe size doesn’t ultimately change, you’ll probably experience some swelling or water retention that may change your shoe size or shoe fit temporarily. (Especially if you’re pregnant in the summer!) Don’t try to squeeze your feet into shoes that are too small or you risk creating an even bigger problem. Look at this as an opportunity to buy bigger shoes, or just wear a few larger pairs you already had in your closet. This is one instance where I can safely say that fashion or style is NOT worth the potential pain a pair of shoes can cause.
- Don’t buy maternity clothes too early in your pregnancy (as in, the week after the stick reads YES). Everyone gains weight and distributes it differently throughout the pregnancy, or you may even be one of the ridiculous people who actually lose weight throughout the first trimester and find that your pre-pregnancy jeans might be a little loose! (Seriously, if that’s you, keep it to yourself!) Wear the clothes you have until you are uncomfortable or have fit issues.
- With that being said, don’t be a hero and hold out on buying maternity clothes because you feel there is a stigma attached to wearing them. Comfort is the only thing you should care about, and there is no award for squeezing into your pre-pregnancy clothes longer than your friend or some other blogger you read.
That’s about all I have for now! Do you have any questions for me?
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