Maternity Fashion 101

I am in my 22nd week of this pregnancy, and my thoughts lately have been on maternity fashion.

My hubby has finally unearthed my box of maternity clothes from storage, and I was excited to find some old favorites…classic pieces of clothing I am happy to soon wear again. I was also horrified at some of the items I found in the box, with thoughts of “what was I thinking” floating in my head. Needless to say, I’ve tossed a few old maternity clothes into my ever-growing donate pile of other clothing items, wondering why I’ve decided to keep them in the first place.

A lot of my maternity clothes from storage were summer clothes, since I was pregnant with Miggz in the spring and summer, and only for a little bit in the winter. I was happy to find two of my maternity jeans in there though…those would definitely come in handy.

Now that I am pregnant in the winter and will be through spring, I’ve set aside my summer pregnancy clothes for later on (and even post-pregnancy), and I am now loving all the inspiration I’m finding on Pinterest for winter-appropriate maternity clothing.

This would make for a cute, casual pregnancy outfit. Source: here.

I need to get me some similar riding boots NOW! Source: here.

This could totally work…minus the belt and heels. Source: here.

The great thing about being pregnant in the winter in Arizona is I don’t really need to bundle up. I just need to be warm and comfortable, and to me, that translates into a whole lot of cute!

I love this mom’s ideas for dressing the bump in the 2nd trimester…

Check out this mom’s post on her site for some inspiration on dressing your bump! Source: here.

And I didn’t know Forever21 did maternity clothing, but I hope they still do. Here are some 5 under $50 ideas from the Love21 line…

Maternity clothing from Forever21! Source: here.

AND for some more tips and inspiration…

Check out these outfits from this Maternity Fashion Guide. Source: here.

I found skinny maternity pants similar to the above from H&M…they are SO comfortable! And reasonably-priced too!! One was on sale for $10 (I know…a steal!!), and the other was $35…still cheaper than most maternity pants I’ve seen, plus you can’t go wrong with H&M!

I have also found some cute new clothes from the Gap, some maternity and non-maternity, and…all on sale! Their stuff is really comfortable too, and I recommend scouring their sale racks–or online sale links–for some appropriate maternity clothing (buy a size or two up if non-maternity, or get your regular size in maternity wear).

If you read the tips from the links I’ve posted, you’ll find that you’ll get the most bang for your buck by:

1. only investing in a few key pieces (comfy maternity pants are a must for me in the winter);
2. buying some non-maternity clothing in a larger size–because you’ll soon find that just because something is labeled maternity, some stores charge a fortune for them like crazy, like Motherhood Maternity!! (I’ve found some comfy leggings at Papaya for $5!! Another MUST for winter pregnancy and beyond!!); and
3. working with clothes you already own and wear. You’ll be surprised at the new levels of cute you’ll achieve by wearing your regular clothes on your bump. I’ve found this to be true for my tanks and cardigans.

Lastly…wear your bump proud! Pregnancy curves are beautiful and should not be hidden under balloon-looking clothes (unless absolutely necessary, like in the heat of summer)! Post-pregnancy clothing and fashion is another story…those I’ve got to find a LOT of inspiration for, but I’ll worry about that later 😉