Pregnant dressing help needed!

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Pregnant dressing help needed!

Kristen

(website)

Veteran

No, no, not for me! Oh goodness no.

One of my girlfriends is pregnant and has been lamenting the sad state of affairs in professional-attire maternity clothing, particularly tops. She's not looking to spend a ton of money because she's already 6 months along and hardly shows at all, but she can't find any tops that don't have banded bottoms or just look ridiculously cheap.

I know Alecia and Patience had/are having stunningly chic pregnancies and I wondered if you had any shopping tips to offer. In particular she would like to find a dress to wear to the shower her mother is throwing; I suggested non-maternity empire-waist dresses like I saw Alecia wearing with such panache. Where did you get yours?

Thanks, and my friend definitely thanks you!

16 years ago

Shopping

11 replies

Latest reply was from shana

Michelle

(website)

Veteran

Kristen, I have to admit I did a massive double-take when I saw the title of your post, then cracked up when I saw your caveat!!
I can't help, but I'm sure the other ladies will!

16 years ago

Louise

Veteran

I also can't help but like Michelle my mouth dropped open when I read your title! x

16 years ago

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

*chuckle*

A friend and client of mine who is about to pop worked full time through out her pregnancy and we shopped for clothes together. Maternity consignment stores and ebay were where we got a lot of her loot.

16 years ago

Kristen

(website)

Veteran

Hahahaha, I was racing out the door before I posted this, but I wanted to write: "Oh [insert most emphatic curse word] no, it's not for me"! I very much enjoy being a DINK.

Maternity consignment stores are an interesting idea, Angie! I wonder if we even have any around here...

Of course, I forgot to include all the other pregnant/new moms on the forum, like pregnantmom and any others I missed. Please feel free to jump in with your suggestions!

16 years ago

Alecia

Veteran

I, too, thought maybe you were dropping a bombshell, Kristen.

As for dressing while pregnant, I haven't done much shopping in maternity consignment stores so can't speak to that. I have checked out ebay and not found too much. I got some nice stuff on sale from the designer lines at pea in a pod. I wouldn't pay full price for them, though.

I totally commiserate with your friend about the state of professional attire as can a lot of my friends. My girlfriend is a lawyer and had a heck of a time trying to find stuff that was appropriate for court that was not horrendous. And yes, I fear that the stuff that doesn't look cheap is very expensive.

My strategy has been to continue wearing non-maternity suit jackets, non-maternity sweaters, or structured knit jackets over maternity stuff. I think it can sort of help make things seem less cheap to incorporate these non-polyester items. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to get away with the more structured pieces, but the sweaters and knit jackets should work through the bitter end.

As you have seen, I wore LOTS of non-maternity jersey dresses up until just recently. They seemed to accommodate my changing body nicely. I had good luck with bcbg and alfani brands.

Hope this is helpful. I'm trying to take a few more pictures now that the weather is getting warmer and I have some newer looks I'm incorporating.

16 years ago

Kristen

(website)

Veteran

Thanks, Alecia, that is very helpful! I think I'm going to have brace myself that there is a good chance my pregnant friend will be wearing the same BCBG and Alfani dresses as me for a while...

Love that structured top idea too; I will pass that along.

Yay, more pics! I will be looking forward to them.

16 years ago

Patience

Veteran

I ditto the ebay and consignment shopping. Also,

1. Convert regular dress pants to maternity
2. Isabella Oliver definitely has some of the best office wear. I'm not sure what your friend's budget is, but I think two or three pieces for three months which will get lots of wear are well worth the price. She will look great and feel great too.
3. Maybe try Ann Taylor maternity. Their selection is limited but she might find some good basics.

Also, how tall is your friend? I don't really know for a fact but the shorter she is the more likely she is to "pop" one day. Might as well be prepared and enjoy the pieces now. The jersey dresses will only go so far then. Also keep in mind that she will probably be able to wear what she buys now afterwards as well at least for a little while.

16 years ago

JuliaInGermany

Active Member

Being a SAHM I don't need any business attire so I'm probably not much help here. But I got away with wearing a lot of my regular tops. I even wear regular button down shirts with a bit of stretch and just recently simply ripped up the princess seam (the vertical seam from bust to hem). It works very well even though I only have 5 more weeks to go. The only "problem" with wearing regular tops is the lack of length. I have a few belly bands (made them myself by cutting up camis) that are great for layering underneath and even help to keep my maternity pants where they belong.

As for dresses I bought one little black dress from the Gap and can recommend their maternity wear. The rest of my maternity clothes are European brands so not much help I'm afraid.

In Trinny & Susannah's book "What you wear can change your life" there is a section on maternity wear that I found really helpful. It made me realize that even with a bump there are different body types and what looks good on someone else might not work for me. Perhaps your friend can find the book at the library, I can only recommend it.

16 years ago

Kristen

(website)

Veteran

Thank you all so much! I am forwarding this thread to my friend so she can check out all your ideas!

16 years ago

LoP

Veteran

I did most of my shopping at consignment stores, Motherhood maternity and actually Target. Isabella Oliver, Olian and Pea in the Pod were the ones that I consigned for a fraction of the price. Target generally has reasonable quality for maternity and good retail prices compared to others.

16 years ago

shana

Veteran

I'm a SAHM so most of my clothing needs are casual but I did buy some more formal pieces for class, meetings etc. Target actually has some decent, inexpensive maternity wear - just have to weed through the cheap stuff. I also scored some cute stuff from the sales rack at the Gap and a Pea in the Pod or Mimi although I would avoid their lower end Motherhood line. The only thing I would warn her about the Motherhood/Mimi/Pea in the Pod conglomerate is that they have the WORST return policy in the world.

16 years ago

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