How to dress without wearing maternity clothes!!
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mariethai
Posts: 85 Member
As my clothes get slightly tighter I find myself in the dilemma of how to dress for maternity without wearing maternity clothes! From a purely economic (and ok aesthetic also 
) I would rather buy clothes I can wear post maternity and still look somewhat like myself and feel good about it!
So far my purchases have been:
- two pair of yoga foldover pants from Victoria Secret cannot rave about these enough they fold over to sit comfortably on my hips and the colours are really funky - I've worn them to work a couple of times hoping people think they are regular bootleg dress trousers..
- a dark denim jacket - adds some structure while still keeping the form of my shoulders and arms - looks kind of cool over a stretchy dress
What are your ideas - please share!
) I would rather buy clothes I can wear post maternity and still look somewhat like myself and feel good about it!So far my purchases have been:
- two pair of yoga foldover pants from Victoria Secret cannot rave about these enough they fold over to sit comfortably on my hips and the colours are really funky - I've worn them to work a couple of times hoping people think they are regular bootleg dress trousers..
- a dark denim jacket - adds some structure while still keeping the form of my shoulders and arms - looks kind of cool over a stretchy dress
What are your ideas - please share!
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Replies
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Empire waist dresses!! Short and long.0
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Maxi dresses are good as they're usually a bit stretchy. Tunic style tops are good to wear with leggings. Wrap style dresses are also good.
I was lucky and had 3 friends who I could borrow maternity clothes from, so I had a huge selection of jeans, dresses and tops, but I also wore normal clothes too.
I guess it also depends on the weather where you are. I've got a June baby and 2 May babies, so it's been quite warm in England when they've been born, but cooler for the majority of my pregnancies.0 -
Any flowy/empire waist tops/dresses will hold you over for quite a while. Same with super stretchy tanks/tshirts. Pants are iffy... depends on how you gain weight. Some women love the Bella Band over unbuttoned regular pants/jeans and can do this for quite a long time. I have one, but I gain quickly in my lower half when I'm pregnant and my butt got too big for my regular pants pretty quickly, so I didn't get much use of the Bella Band. Plus I found it kind of annoying and fiddled with it constantly. There's also the good old hair elastic around the pants button trick!
I tried to hold off on buying maternity clothes for as long as possible during my first pregnancy (I didn't start showing until 22 weeks, I just looked like I was gaining weight until then), but after a while I just got so sick of being uncomfortable/pulling at my clothes or feeling dumpy that I caved in and bought some stuff. I tried to stick to the basics that I knew I would get a lot of use out of. I only bought a few work items (2 pants, 3 tops) and rotated quite often (I also had a few pre-preg tops that I wore until quite late in my pregnancy), a few weekend items (capris, tshirts/tanks), and a hoodie that came in handy around the house post-baby (super comfy, full zip for easy breastfeeding, wore it (indoors) until the zipper gave out even though by that point I'd lost all the weight). Oh, I also bought an inexpensive lined fall coat at WalMart (not maternity) a few weeks before my due date because it was getting too cold to go without (I was due late Oct). My giant breastfeeding boobs didn't fit back into my old winter coat that year, so that WalMart coat (with a sweater underneath) ended up being worn way more than I expected!
Have you checked out any second hand or consignment shops? Or online (Facebook/Craig's List/Kijiji)? There are always other moms out there selling the clothes they're finished with, and if you do end up buying some maternity items you can sell them later, too. :flowerforyou:0 -
I was one of those that purchased a tummy sleeve (motherhood maternity's version of a Bella band). I purchased pants one size larger than my normal size and used those with the sleeves to get me throughout my pregnancies for babe 1 and 3. The larger pants helped me transition post partum as well. Even if your weight goes back down, it still took me around 15 months with each child to get my hips back down. I would say by 6-9 months I was able to wear most of my pre-pg clothes anyway, but it was nice to have the larger clothes to get me through until then. I couldn't have anything on my belly for babe 2, so I bought more maternity pants that pregnancy purely for comfort reasons. I also find maternity shirts mostly a waste, so I bought a lot of tank tops (the long lean's are really great either from gap, target or old navy) and paired them with "cardigans", so I wasn't wasting money on maternity tops as well. Dresses as others have pointed out as well.0
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My go-to "maternity" clothes were a belly band (saved my career! I never bought any maternity work pants), dresses, yoga pants, loose empire-style shirts. The belly band didn't work great with my jeans so I did the hair elastic trick for a while.0
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Here's my cheapie idea. Use a rubber band on the button of your trousers. loop it around the button, through the button hole and back onto the button. It gives you that's extra stretch in the pants just a little longer when your belly starts to take shape. I guess you can increase the rubber size until you don't fit your pants. And a cheap belly band will keep your tummy and rubber band covered if needed0
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I scored a lot of my maternity clothes from thrift stores! And they're nice, gently used items at ridiculously cheap prices. This is my 2nd pregnancy and I couldn't imagine not having comfy maternity pants or a few outfits that I feel good in. Definitely check out your local thrift and consignment stores as well as Craigslist. Good luck!0
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I second (or third) the craigslist/thrift/consignment recommendations.
Items I can really recommend buying new are very good quality nursing camis/tanks --that is, if you are planning on breastfeeding for any extended period of time. Luckily some friends gave me different kinds in all different sizes, and I found that some of those fit great during the first few months postpartum and then looked terrible after that, and the new ones I bought became standard pieces that I wore to work every day in order to pump.
Another recommendation for new things -again, if you're planning to nurse- are nursing bras. And again, it's been my experience that some are designed for the first few weeks or months postpartum, and some are much better for long-term nursing. One mistake I did make was to buy the nice ones (not the immediate postpartum ones) a little too early in my pregnancy, thinking there was no way the girls could get any bigger. Ha ha, I grew to a size I never even knew existed. Good support and easy nursing access will become crucial for comfort and aesthetics.0 -
My go-to outfits this pregnancy were dresses made from stretchy material. I usually made sure that they were either a wrap style or had a V-neck that way I could use them breastfeeding (saves you from having to purchase nursing clothes after the pregnancy). I also would wear tunics and put on a belt for added dimension. For pants I bought jeggings from WalMart and Kohl's that were stretchy denim material and had elastic waist. This sat below my belly, but I was able to wear them all through the pregnancy and in the first few weeks following when nothing still quite fits right. I finally had to retire them as they no longer fit in the waist due to weight loss, but they were my lifesaver!
I also really recommend finding what you can secondhand. Or if you know someone who was recently pregnancy see if you can borrow their maternity clothes. I have a sister and cousin that we did this also. And when I worked on my old job a co-worker and I would with our scrubs.0 -
I thift a WHOLE LOT... I would suggest Queen shirts with belts, leggings(jeggings..tons of maxi dresses. I am a blazer chic so grab few colors of Tees, pair it with a cute blazer and leggings....and look super cute...0
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At 13/14 weeks, I had to move over to maternity pants for work, but I had a lot of flowy tops (from like JCPenney and stuff) that kept me going. Some of them I still wear, but I'm starting to look basketball-y in most of them. So last week (around 23/24 weeks), I rushed out to get some actual maternity shirts and dresses. I got some maternity shirts from my sister, but they are all for colder weather, so I'm saving them for later. I definitely plan on saving these in case I am pregnant again, and once I'm done, I'm selling them!!
The rubber band pants thing/bella band worked for me up until week 18-20 or so. But once you switch to the real stuff, it's hard to go back!!0 -
I am still in my pre-pregnancy jeans and work pants however the past coupe of weeks I needed to start using my Bella Band, though it is a knockoff version. Sitting here at 40 w and 3 days with it on over my work pants yet : )
I went out to H&M and bought a cute flowy maternity dress and Gap had a sale on cute tank tops so I picked one up. Those 2 things I bought were a life saver as I really didn't want to stretch out my pre-pregnancy shirts that I liked. A friend also gave me 2 maternity tees and 2 pairs of maternity shorts which helped but I haven't worn them much as I don't like how maternity jeans/shorts look on me (crotch pouch anyone?!)
You don't have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe but I would suggest maybe getting a piece or 2 just to feel sexy and comfy...mainly comfy. There are always those days where you feel frumpy in regular clothes, especially a lot later on. At this point in my pregnancy I have like 4 outfits I can fit into :laugh:0
