 Maternity
Style
How to gain thirty or more pounds in
nine months and still look like
One Hot Mama:
How can I tell you what will look good on you when I’m
only words on a computer screen, and I haven’t even seen your body type or
colouring or could possibly know that paisley just works, works, works on
you? Well, there are some rules, and I’ll help you navigate them. At the
end, you can always discard some or all, because the
only arbiter of your personal style is YOU.
Maternity Style
This phrase used to be a total oxymoron, as clothes for
pregnant women even ten years ago were beyond hideous. But now, whenever I
read an ad or a profile for a maternity clothing designer, they still make
the claim that their looks break the mold of unattractive preggo clothing.
Are you kidding? There are so many great togs to choose from that I, for
one, am actually excited to be pregnant again!
What are the true challenges of dressing
while gestating? The first is those early months, when you
don’t yet have a proper bump (as the English so cutely put it) to hang the
full-cut clothes on, but you’re definitely too round for your Levi’s. The
second challenge is how to pull together a complete wardrobe for a
round-the-world trip – without breaking the bank. The third is how to work
with an enlarging alien expanse of pulsating skin below your boobies and
above your widening hips and turn it into a fashion asset.
Let’s start by saying that, as a world-renowned bargain
hunter, all my comments are geared toward eliminating unnecessary
spending. If you prefer to just charge, charge, charge and money is no
object, go immediately to our
online store and order
one of everything in every colour! Still here? Read on.
The First Trimester
I’m going to restate some great words of wisdom that were
the best info I’ve found on dressing the newly pregnant body. They came
from one of my fave authors, Vicki Iovine, and are found in
The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy. She talks about the weird
phenomenon wherein your tummy is ice-skater flat in the morning, and then
pooches out as the day goes on until nothing fits at night. Her solutions
are great, and include my favourite one of using a sturdy rubber band to
expand the waistband and therefore eke out a few more weeks of wear.
This first stage of pregnancy is where you can really do
well with things that are in style right now, low-slung, boot-cut pants,
stretchy tops and dresses, drawstring pants. But you may be lulled into
thinking, “I can do this. I won’t need to ever buy maternity clothes.”
Sure you won’t.
The number one rule in this trimester is to
stay away from my tummy! Thus, dresses rule. It just
feels awful (at least to me) to have a waistband touching me. Come to
think of it, I don’t want a waistband until baby’s around four or five
months old.
A small body-image note: I’m a small person (freakishly
small, as my sis would say) and have never been a dieter or particularly
concerned with my size, even when I was so, well, zaftig that my cheeks
were hanging out of my lycra shorts in the 80s, but at this point in my
gestation I feel very unattractive. Why? Well, I don’t look pregnant yet,
just bloated. Be sure to do hair and nails and whatever else you need to
keep up your spirit during this time.
The Second Trimester
Now you start to look preggo. But first you may be
surprised at the changing shape of your body. Your greatly thickened waist
may seem formless and rather, well, blob-like. Don’t despair, as the weeks
go on, it’ll look more and more like a hard sphere. Here’s the scoop for
weeks 15 on: Show off your tummy and work around
your ass. Don’t try to wear non-maternity clothes in bigger
sizes, as you’ll just look fat. (No angry letters please, I’m not saying
anything’s wrong with being fat. I’m just saying that 99.9% of American
women don’t want to look fatter than they actually are. If you disagree
with that, you’re not a woman, and I don’t want to hear from you.)
And though you may think you’re only getting bigger in the
belly, trust me, your butt and thighs are bulking up to support that
growth. So be very careful of
panty
lines. How to make this stage look good? Dress with lines
that run closely to your body. You’re pregnant, not in need of a caftan.
For that reason, your husband’s clothes may not be the panacea you think
they could be. Unless you guys are the same height and build, the sleeves
will make you look distinctly orangutan-like, and there’ll be far too much
fabric for you to swim around in.
On the off chance that you’re bigger than your husband
while pregnant, it certainly won’t do your self-esteem any good to try on
his clothes and have them be too tight. So stay away from his size of the
closet unless you’re Christy Brinkley.
Now’s the time to think about your wardrobe for the next
five months. Don’t buy any maternity clothes now, and you’ll run screaming
into an overpriced mall shop in desperation at month eight because nothing
fits and there is no way to work around that belly with leggings anymore.
Go to a resale shop, or try the auctions at
motshop.com or
mothersnature.com for women
who are unloading vast quantities of maternity clothes because they’ve
finally tied their tubes. The good news is, that unless the wardrobe is
from the mid-eighties, most maternity stuff isn’t particularly
time-sensitive, so you’ll be able to get some good deals for basics.
Another place for cheapo stuff is Target.
They’ve pretty much copied some of the more expensive lines’ tops quite
well. I would warn you away from the pants, but that’s just me.
To buy maternity clothes, start with the size you were
before getting pregnant. Your shoulders and torso length shouldn’t change
while you’re growing a baby, so your basic size should stay pretty
consistent.
Once you have a base, head to
the One Hot Mama online store
for pretty things to round out the selection. Why? Because you’ll be
wearing these clothes a lot, which is why the really cheap stuff (you know
what I’m talking about – that feels nasty to the touch) isn’t worth it.
You need your clothes to stand up to repeated washing, especially since
every time I tried to eat a meal after I started showing, I’d drip some
special sauce on my tummy. Very impressive.
The Home Stretch
Play up anything that hasn’t gotten too big, and focus on
the tummy. In other words, a slim-fitting top in a colour with black slim
pants will take the heat if your ankles are little puffy. And if your legs
look great, go for short stuff and dark glasses (the best way to avoid
putting on eye makeup).
Although heels may make your legs look good, save them for
occasions where you’re going to be languorously lolling on a chaise while
people peel you grapes (aka, your baby shower). They’re just too durned
dangerous, now that your center of gravity has shifted drastically.
The hardest thing to remember about this sartorial
adventure is to dress like yourself. If you were a
person who lived in bright colours, don’t feel relegated to a wardrobe of
all-black because the style mavens make the majority of maternity stuff in
that hue. Use it as a starting point for your sense of style.
We’ll always have you covered here at One Hot Mama. We’re
happy to hear from you with your suggestions. Read on for words of fashion
wisdom from some hot mamas who’ve weathered the trail.
Love,
Roxanne
From: Carla
Here is a maternity tip:
Matte Jersey dresses are a lifesaver during the first half of
pregnancy! If you are a bit too small for the more roomy maternity clothes
that are found everywhere else, or if you like to show off your pregnant
belly, try some matte jersey tank dresses or skirts in a size or two (or
three) larger than your normal size. I like the sensual feel of clothes
that hug my body while pregnant, and many styles can be casual or dressy.
Show off those curves instead of hiding them!
From: Elaine
I found travel catalogs
to be useful, especially for that bland second-trimester time. They
specialize in loose, comfortable clothes that pack well and give you
enough coverage to enter foreign (and/or religious) tourist attractions,
which I found very helpful when all the maternity stores only wanted to
sell me sleeveless, thigh-length dresses. They even have adjustable pants,
so you don't have to resort to the rubber-band trick if you don't want to.
And, best yet, they know that their customers may be going to ANY climate,
so you can always buy clothes for cooler or warmer weather,
regardless of what season the fashion industry thinks it is.
From: Claire T
Outside of Southern CA, many of us are pregnant for two
seasons, so we end up having to buy two sets of clothes. I have a "second
trimester" wardrobe, which is specifically NOT maternity clothes. I'm a
lawyer-financial planner type in the New York metro area, so I need to
look tailored and professional. I have a bunch of A-line dressed and knit
dresses with full-length matching cardigan jackets. The don't scream
"pregnancy" and pretty much got me through the sixth month on pregnancy
#1. With pregnancy #2, they didn't last quite as long. [Ed’s note: the
jackets you can always wear over maternity tops and bottoms. As long as
you didn’t want to button them up]
For real maternity clothes,
stay away from ruffles, flounces, bows, and
anything floral. A friend loaned me some stuff and I couldn't
deal with it--I looked like the Philadelphia
flower show lumbering down the hall.
I was successful in picking a mix of colors (red, white,
grey, black) and ONLY buying maternity clothes in those colors. Everything
was a simple as could be. Got boring, but I could stand it. In general, I
think this whole casual dress at the office thing is a cruel joke on the
pregnant.
Claire, JD, MLT
From: Alison
I had several favorite items:
-
Anything with
horizontal stripes. When you're pregnant, you can
let you stomach look like a globe and have it be flattering. There
is no other time in your life where you can pull this off.
-
A pink floral chiffon sun dress.
It was cool, light, and VERY
cute. [OHM has one coming in June!] Every mom-to-be should have at least
one piece of clothing that lets her show off her sense of style...
romantic, dramatic, classic or natural. It just makes you feel good!
-
My swim suit. Believe it or not, I loved it. No skirt,
just a watermelon suit. I loved wearing it... [Ed’s note: as my fave
Girlfriend Vicki warns, do NOT try to wear a non-maternity suit when
pregnant. Your girth will pull and expose either your butt or your
crotch area. Not good.]
From: Rachael
Toward the end of your pregnancy - treat yourself to
something new that fits. There will
be so little that you can wear toward the end that it will really perk you
up to have something new.
Also, pick out a pretty bed jacket or pajama set (you will only wear the
top for now) to wear in the hospital. It really helps you feel pretty and
in
shape for visitors. Those hospital gowns can make you feel pretty drab. Be
sure to get buttons so you can nurse comfortably.
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