I post my outfits on Instagram for two main reasons: 1) the creative challenge of putting together an outfit I like and capturing it half-way decently on camera; and 2) to keep a visual record of what I wear – the successes, the failures, and the patterns.
It’s a nice (and weird?) bonus that 500 people follow along – but they rarely comment, so there’s not much feeling of community. (That’s what this space is for – thank you!) It’s mostly me, my outfits, and the reality-serving lens of the selfie setting on my camera.
Which makes my IG feed a great place to look back over my outfits to see what worked and what didn’t – especially since it’s sometimes hard to tell which is which until you look in a full-length mirror (which we don’t have) or take a full-length photo.
So here are some hits and misses in my maternity wardrobe from the last month.
First up: made-for-pregnancy tops with ruching in the side seams to accommodate a growing belly. These are super comfortable and practical – no worries about whether the belly is poking out – but I’m not in love with the silhouette they create:
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It’s funny, because I love snugly-clothed bellies on other pregnant people…but seeing it on myself makes me realize I prefer skimming silhouettes, not tight ones. (If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you will not be surprised by this revelation.)
Which brings us to some of my favorite looks from this past month.
The silhouette here is great – not clinging, but not a shapeless blob, either:
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I dig the contrast in colors: a kind of glowing medium blue – thank you, Light Summer – with very, very light grey makes for some visual interest, as does the juxtaposition of bigger-on-top, slimmer-on-bottom. The on-trend thin-white-stripe-on-blue look made this a “fan favorite” as well, receiving the most likes in the past month.
Anything with this wider-striped, non-maternity top was a win for me:
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It’s my ideal stripe ratio, skims instead of clings, and provides great visual contrast for solid-colored blazers:
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I’ll have to get a shot of the back because it has buttons running down the middle, making for an interesting touch of detail.
Contrast that with this blazer look, which chopped me off right at the middle:
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I should know by now that the length of this blazer makes it prone to creating this effect, but it’s so snug on cool days and it’s made out of such lovely fabric that I consistently reach for it and don’t realize the problem until I take a photo and can’t be bothered to change. (That hard break across the middle may also be why I’m not loving the ruched maternity tops – they tend to create a strong horizontal line at the hem.)
Returning to the success of skimming silhouettes: I love the way this swing sweater from my pre-pregnancy wardrobe looks over ma belly – it has interesting shape without clinging too much, and the scallop overlap at the sideseam breaks up the line of the hem. I layered a blue maternity tee underneath for warmth & coverage:
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It was super comfortable and fit right in with my Light Summer palette. And since most of my fall sweaters from last year are packed away, I was thrilled to get to wear a favorite.
This made me realize that I could probably pull out a few other favorites from last year and layer them over maternity tops, so I’ve put them through the wash to clean off the dust and they’re in my sweater drawer, ready to rock and roll. We’ll see how it goes as the weather gets chillier and I layer more!
Throwing back to warmer days at the beginning of the month, I finally figured out how to do a maxi dress – with a slit! Good for ventilation, ease of movement, and some visual interest:
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^^This one will be great for nursing as it has a snap-button wrap v-neck.
I’m hopeful these will both be stars of my summer wardrobe next year, though I don’t really know yet how they’ll look without a belly:
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A couple of reminders that non-maternity sweaters make you look like you’re about to erupt:
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But I do like how the stripes look underneath the solid here – adds a bit of Venetian (or otherwise Italian) menswear flair:
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And last but not least, a non-maternity favorite that somehow looked even more fetching, pregnant:
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I’d keep wearing it all fall with layers, except I’m not sure how much stretching it will take before it no longer wants to return to its original shape.
What were your favorites in my wardrobe over the last month? (Visit www.instagram.com/thriftshopchic to see everything.) What styles did or would you wear, pregnant? Any tips for stylish dressing while growing a human?
Love the white swing sweater–feminine but streamlined. Perfect proportions too!
Also, unless seams are being strained and stitches popped (at which point you’d not want to wear a garment, anyhow!) I bet it’ll just take a wash cycle or two to unstretch any bumped out pieces.
Good point re: stretching, Ursula – thanks!
Wow, so many beautiful blues! And I really love the look of the open jackets. You have put together a great combination of maternity and non-maternity pieces.
I think pregnant women look beautiful in form fitting clothes but I understand that not everyone is comfortable in them. I have always been very self conscious about my figure, so I would probably wear something of the skim variety rather than the cling variety (if I were to be in a pregnancy situation, which would be quite surprising, since I’m almost 60 :D).