I was pregnant before in the winter and being the poor students that we were my maternity wardrobe consisted of hand me downs from my sisters (that mostly weren't my size because I have a sister who thinks she is gigantic but is skinnier than anyone - or they were the old school tents), $2 bargains from Old Navy or Ross and nothing that is very cute.
I know maternity clothes have come a long way but I still have a hard time shopping for them. It is just depressing to hold something out off the rack and think, "that looks huge" only to try it on and it is too tight. Pants are my biggest problem since I prefer not to have things over the top of my belly but most things that sit below are either too tight or fall off when I walk (or both - maybe I need to get some Belly Ups). I see other people looking so cute in their stylish maternity gear and wonder where it all comes from. As noted before, I am cheap and won't pay full price for anything - but I do want to find some essential items to make it through this Las Vegas summer when I look more like a manatee than a human. Oh, and my high school reunion is 5 weeks before my due date so that should be fun.
And here is my problem - I am not very good at shopping online. I just don't trust that the clothes on the model are going to look like that on me. However, I am afraid that is what I will need to resort to since the Old Navy and Gap's here don't really have maternity stocked. So, I want to hear from you veteran moms - where do you find the cute clothes, how do you shop online, what is cute to wear in the summer time when all you feel is ginormous and sweaty?
20 comments:
Ok Alison, I distinctly remember you in a swimsuit in Hawaii when you were 6 months pregnant and you were STILL skinnier and cuter than me...so no more talk about this ugly-ginormous-pregnant-girl-who-is-still cuter-than-her-sister-in-law. I loved your suckfest and I LOVE Emery's face in the Easter pictures. Looks like Mexico was AMAZING. JP would be super jealous you got to fly that plane.
Your swimming suit worked out pretty good didn't it? That's a start! I got all mine the same way you did...cheap cheap cheap. I found all my good capris at motherhood though...on sale they aren't too bad.
And you look so dang cute anyway!
I am no expert on anything cute and fashionable, especially maternity clothes, but I was pregnant here in the summer. I got all my maternity clothes at OLD NAVY, online. You can just order a bunch and if you don't like them, return them to the store. I wore skirts a lot. There's so many cute tops now that are in style and you make everything look cute!
I just mainly shopped at Old Navy in the clearance section and wore a lot of Shade shirts. The pants thing was a huge problem so good luck with that...I can't help you there!
i pretty much lean toward a shade shirt and jeans or a skirt. i can't stand the mumu maternity stuff-i'd rather it be a little tighter so i don't look so much like a big blob on toothpicks. plus then i look pregnant and not just plain fat. and shades are comfy. but let's be real-i'm usually at home in a hoodie so we're talking like twice a week when i wear 'real' clothes. old navy is a good bet-like kara said just order online and then return it if it doesn't work. sorry, i'm not much help.
you mean las vegas doesn't have a destination maternity?!?! they have great sales on stuff. and duh? why not stick with target? i think that liz lange stuff is so cute! besides, you are so svelt that you could probably get away with turning empire waist normal tops into cute "maternity" ones.
get your fat butt up here and borrow my high fashion clothes. oh wait they 're all from target so maybe the high fashion thing is in question. gap has good stuff i just order a size (or 10) up from my usual. come up here and we'll go shopping. mimi maternity at gateway has way cute stuff and they always have a sale rack. and i'm with ber, shut the f up on the manatee comments. you suck and i hate you.
like everyone else, i love old navy - cute but still cheap. i have a hard time spending alot on maternity when i only wear the clothes for 9 months. and really when it comes down to it - no matter how cute it is, i still feel fat and ugly... ? but yeah, old navy. and i order everything in XS - i feel a little better if its tighter. GAP is good too, but can be expensive.
as far as pants go, you have to go try on those pants that have the extra elastic??? i don't remember what they are called, but the elastic part is super thin, it comes all the way up over your belly, which you would think would be uncomfortable - but the way this elastic is - is awesome! i love how they feel. i have tried them on at mimi and motherhood - so check those out.
good luck - maternity shopping is so depressing. just know i am in it with you - feeling fat and gross with nothing to wear. hoo-ray for being preg. not.
Wish I could be of more help to you but I have lost even the hope of looking good while pregnant and refuse to wear any of my old maternity clothes or to buy any new ones so it's skirts and sweats for me with the rubber band trick around my pants. I have borrowed a few clothes from friends but those are almost too cute to wear. Not into cute these days!!
I just tried some stuff on from Kohl's and it was HUGE and I thought, "I will never get this big." Then I remembered the other two times I have been pregnant and had outgrown all of my pregnancy clothes. I ran out of the story crying. Okay, not really but I did refuse to buy the tent shirts that will inevitably fit in a few months.
I never can do plain ol' Shade shirts - way too tight on my mega melon boobs.
Well I am not a great example because all of my stuff was cheap too, but I do recommend Ross for tops. Especially since you grow out of them so fast. I got tons of tops there for like $5. How's that for cheap?
P.S. I love the new poll on the side there. I voted for David Cook because he has really been rocking my world lately.
Yes, I just typed that.
Ok, they have gotten so good about sizes latelty, just buy the size s,m, l in maternity that you would in regular. I loved all my ON and Gap stuff online I got. Most everything was pretty good to it's size. I also love the unique stuff on ETSY, 2chix, cafepress ect. Oh and belly bands keep pants up!! Good luck, if I didnt have 2 sisters prego I would mail you my stuff, since I dont want to need it for a while! Ha
Honestly, my favorite items were ones that weren't "maternity" clothes at all. Pants, of course, were impossible to fake, but I found tons of tunic-type and empire waist tops I just bought a size or two larger (than my pre-pregnancy size obviously) and they looked super cute. As far as pants went, I only had 4 or 5 pairs and just got crazy sick of them. There wasn't really much escaping that, though. Having a summer baby, you should also try to find cute dresses instead of dealing with pants or capris! Good luck!
I just take one for the team and look ugly during my pregnant days. Usually, it's because all the pregnancy shirts I find are so low cut that they make you look like a pregnant porn star.
Can't help you with the maternity clothes, but I just wanted to comment that I have never purchased a single item or clothing or shoes online. I'm terribly afraid they wouldn't fit and then I would have to send them back and that would be too much of a pain. However, I worry that some day malls will not exist and everyone will only shop online. EEE! Maybe I should start practicing.
Hey Alison,
Its Lisa. I have never seen you pregnant. You are still so adorable and itty bitty when you're pregnant. Not fair!!! Looks like you're having a great time.
I love seeing all your fun activities. Must be nice living in a warm state.
Lisa
Most of mine are hand-me-downs, so I'm not much help. I do, however, LOVE LOVE LOVE these pants I have from Motherhood that have a panel called something like the perfect pants or something. They go up ALL the way to under your bust, but they never fall down and they are actually super comfortable, but they're a little pricey (like I said though, mine were hand-me-downs).
Ali you are so stinkin cute pregnant. I am pretty sure you could wear a table cloth and make it look fashionable. This is what I have done the last 3 times I was prego. I wear my regular jeans with a rubber band. I am not so much into maternity clothes. I wear regular skirts under my belly a lot and wear mostly normal shirts (empire waist ones usually work fab) like from forever 21, shades shirts, and a few that I sewed (don't think I am gay). It depends what you feel comfy in. I am all about showing the belly off. Makes me feel less humongous. Have you looked at a pea in the pod? Sometimes buying one really nice pair of maternity jeans or jean shorts is worth it. If I wasn't pregnant I would send you my stuff too. If you find some good secret maternity shop let me know. Oh ya! I did buy a really great maternity knee length denim skirt at gap.com. Perfect for summer. Okay the novel is over...
Take comfort in the fact that you will not be at the reunion the only one prego. I dread that but am definately not going to miss out on it!
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