Maternity Style for the Not-So-Bombshell...

I've been searching around for maternity style tips on the web. I mostly find celebrity looks that don't really speak to me or that I can't see translating into my life. An apparently much-touted website and book - http://www.bumpitupstyle.com - leaves me cold. According to this writer, the capital sin of pregnant dressing is wearing flat shoes. Oops. Dead in the water already! I think her style is geared to the maximal, blingy, and sexy bombshell. I can sure appreciate those looks on others, but on me?!?

I think part of the issue here is that I'm a rectangle/hourglass being hurtled into an apple (watermelon?) world. For now, I'm doing okay with familiar silhouettes, sometimes bringing in maternity pieces that look like what I'm used to wearing. Any inspiration? I guess I want to dress as Angie or Suz would look if those lovely ladies were currently expecting.

Last pregnancy, I wore a tee, hoodie, and jeans all winter, then brought in cute dresses when warmer weather came. I sure want to do better this time! Has anyone seen any inspiring sites or bloggers that might be helpful?

I'm attaching a crummy photo of what I wore on Wednesday. I know my sneakers are horrible - new ones are coming in the mail! Any tips? Is it time to retire my non-maternity button-up shirts?

Becky

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13 years ago

Carole

Veteran

I think this looks great! I love the jacket and the blouse is perfect, at least for now. I can't believe how many options are out there for maternity wear these days! Back in the day it was a specialty shop that was very pricey and that was about it!

Suz

(website)

You look terrific!! I SO hope the new shoes work for you. It must be so frustrating not to be able to wear your loves right now. But in the meantime, the white jeans, shirt, and dark jacket are crisp and sharp. And...you may not see this yourself, but even in this simple outfit I see a HUGE leap from your style when you first started posting here. Huge!!!

That doesn't help much right now, though. I'm not an expert on maternity fashion, to say the least. I do know that Natalie found it easier than she expected to dress at first, because she is an apple and many of her clothes worked for longer than she expected. So you might check out Angie's apple guidelines. I think it is really astute of you to realize that a change in body shape (as well as size) is part of your dilemma.

rachylou

1) This is a super cute outfit! I love it.

2) I love the Target maternity section. Ok. I love Target.

3) Pregnancy in high heels is unthinkable to me. Why not just go skating on thin ice and be done with it?

4) I like these maternity cargo pants: http://www.oneontheway.com.au/.....nity-pants

Sara L.

I like the button down top with the blazer and jeans. The black and white color palette looks very crisp. I wore button downs throughout my pregnancies (upgraded to maternity button downs near the end) because I found them comfortable and still reasonably stylish and professional, especially when paired with accessories like necklaces and scarves.

amyreh

You might like Marion at http://marionberrystyle.blogspot.com/ - she is very cute : ) Also la vie petite - http://laviepetite.blogspot.com/ just finished her pregnancy and is a little more low key

Anonymous

I stumbled upon this blog the other day. Scroll way down the page to see some maternity outfit ideas. Not like Angie or Suz, but I was surprised at all the outfits using non-maternity clothes she came up with!

http://www.academichic.com/cat.....challenge/

anne

Oh Claire, I was going to mention academic chic too!

Anna

Active Member

Please do not worry about wearing footwear that is not practical at this point in your life! Flats are comfortable, practical, and important for chasing after toddlers! You have the rest of your life to ruin your feet with heels if you choose!

dizzys

I had a very small simple core maternity wardrobe and tried to work more with lasting accessories....I tried to spend more money and effort on jewelry, purses etc. But that was just me.

cobaltblue

Carole, Suz, Rachy, and Sara - I'm glad you liked this outfit. I'll try to keep using this formula until you all tell me it's time to move on. Suz, your comment that I've come a long way gave me a major boost. Thank you.

Rachy, Amy, Claire, and Anne - thank you for the site suggestions. I had forgotten about academichic. I think that one will be especially helpful.

Anna and all, don't worry, I won't be wearing heels. 2 inches is the highest I ever (and rarely) go. I'm definitely a flats person, anyway. I just thought it was funny that the mantra of the website I liked seems to be "no flats!"

Dstalksalot, I think that your suggestion is a wise one. My problem is that I'm not an accessories lady. My style is definitely minimal. Maybe it's time to expand past the one handbag I always carry...

Inge

Moderator

I love this outfit on you, Becky, the patterned shirt looks fab with the white pants, and the blazer takes it up another notch.

The Isabella Olivier catalogue also has some interesting and fab visuals, and extra styling tips:
http://www.isabellaoliver.com/.....logue.html

In case you miss it, here's IronKurtain's link that might be interesting: http://www.girlofacertainage.c.....nity-wear/

goldenpig

Becky, you look great! I love all the links everyone is posting here too. You should try to stick with your current style as much as you can. I've been surprised at how much of my current wardrobe I've still been able to work with. I've only bought a handful of specifically maternity pieces so far...Gap skinny jeans, burgundy skinny jeans, H&M black skinny trousers and one mustard turtleneck. The rest of my new purchases since pregnancy are stretchy/longer length regular clothes that I'm hoping to still wear postpartum.

You'll know when it's time to retire the button down shirts...when they start gaping between the buttons. But then you can wear tanks and wear the shirts open over them sort of like a blazer.

Don't worry about the flats. I've put away most of my high heels and am sticking to low heels and ballet flats and Cons. The last thing you want is to kill your feet or back or even worse, fall. When I was 8 months pregnant with DD, I was walking down the sidewalk in my Dansko clogs. The pavement was uneven and I twisted my ankle, tripped and fell pretty hard right onto my belly (no time to put my hands out) when I was 8 months pregnant with DD, Fortunately she was OK but that was scary, so you want to be careful!

ManidipaM

Becky, this looks GREAT. Don't change a thing. Seriously. It's not even 'looks great for maternity', it's 'looks great, period.'

GP's the good doctor of maternity dressing, so listen to her! Do NOT be tempted or bullied or swayed into a change from your preferred style just now. There's enough change going down without that added hassle, except to take cognizance of and adjust to a new silhouette. But that doesn't mean a change in style *direction*, only slight adjustments of silhouette and points of emphasis.

You're supposed to look like pregnant yourself, not like pregnant other-blogger, right?

And yeah, KEEP the flats. If Angie can be fab in flats, you don't need to learn to hang your heels up high now, of all times in your life.

About the shirts, this one looks just perfect on you right now. So don't retire them yet! In fact, as Natalie says, you can always use them for layering even when they get to gaping --- tank under, or hey, if substantial enough, even over the partially unbuttoned shirt!

Oh, thanks for this thread, by the way --- I'm going to be a vampire and stick my teeth into some of these lovely links the other ladies have shared too! >:-[

I'm almost overwhelmed by the response here. Thank you all for the boost and great advice!

Inge, I've never seen that line - that link will give me lots of good ideas.

Suz, thank you for sharing IK's link; I did miss that one.

GP and Mandipa, thank you for your words of wisdom learned through recent experience. I'm glad the links everyone has provided may help you, too.

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