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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Baby Week! – 9 months of preggo fashion


Baby Week on the blog has officially begun!
 
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When I use to think about maternity clothes as a young little whipper snapper, I thought of only big tents and mumus.
 

 
Fast forward to the present with cute pregnant celebrities e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. you look and I realized there are really cute maternity clothes out there but BOY OH BOY can they be expensive.
 
 

When you really don't need maternity clothes till about the second trimester - that's a whole lot of investment in clothes that will only be good for something for about 6 months. I do not have a celebrity paycheck. So what’s a girl to wear?
 

I know I'm not the first person to ever do what I'm about to tell you I did, but I do at least feel like I hit the mother load on a great, inexpensive place to shop for your pregnancy that you might not have thought of.


Behold: FOREVER 21
 
 

Since we don’t have a Forever 21 in Lexington, I had to rack up everything I thought I’d want in one day in the store in Louisville. This one was put in where a huge department store use to be – thus it houses a MASSIVE amount of young, trendy, inexpensive clothes. I spent more than 3 hours in that store trying on every big belly forgiving piece of clothing they had. Believe it or not, Forever 21 has their own maternity line which they don’t even carry it at this particular store – how much more could I have walked out with?
 
 
I might have even bought a boat-load of inexpensive jewelry and accessories that day…
 
…because as Clarice Belcher says In Steel Magnolias:

“The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize. “


After that early shopping trip, my preggo style for summer boiled down to this: long tanks, flowy shirts, and maxi dresses. The fashion season was perfect for my preggo belly needs! I already own a ton of my favorite basic long tank tops from both Express and GAP that I layer under everything and I had previously thought I would have to spend a fortune getting maternity tanks to do the same thing. But – SURPRISE, SURPRISE - even though they’re tight, spandex-y, and definitely non-maternity, I am still wearing them.
 
 
As for true maternity clothes, I bought just a few shirts here and there, a Bella Band in both black and white to wear over my non-maternity pants unzipped, 2 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of dress pants for work and only 2 dresses I've bought are an actual "maternity dress".


The best part about it all is that I'll be able to continue wearing almost every piece of clothing I've bought after pregnancy. {Which should be great for all those chubby days I'm about to have...} At the moment, I can’t even think of one item I won’t be able to wear later. I’m not even against wearing the super comfy maternity pants with the tummy panel, especially when out to eat =)

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Now if I were one of the many stylish young thangs out there that have their own blogs and show off their modelesque bodies in the absolutely most darling outfits that I could never pull off let alone put together, what I’m about to show you wouldn’t seem so strange.
 
But I’m not.
 
I’m just your girl next door trying to help out the other girl next door with tips on how to make it through the 9 months without spending a ton of dough.
 
So don’t judge me… at least not outloud ;)
 
 
 
Let’s get started on this chronological run-down of the clothes I have pictures in…
 
 
 
{So awkward!}

 
14 weeks

Dress from New York & Co. Still comfortably wearing this one today at almost 38 weeks and I've already owned this dress for a couple years now. Money saved: $$$$

14 weeks



16 weeks

Just my regular clothes and jeans still at this point... using the rubberband maternity trick of course!

16 weeks


17 weeks

A Forever 21 top with maternity jeans from Motherhood Maternity, Wall Flower brand.
 
 17 weeks


20 weeks
 
Ralph Lauren wrap dress – non maternity! – from Macy’s
 
20 weeks


21 weeks
 
Maternity Jeans, brand Motherhood Maternity, and one of my many long tanks.
 
21weeks


21 weeks
 
Maternity top and jeans, both from Motherhood Maternity.
 
21weeks2


22 weeks
 
Long tank and sweater – already owned.
 
22 weeks


22 weeks
 
Motherhood Maternity dress for Easter.
 
22 weeks2


23 weeks
 
A Pea in the Pod maternity dress.
 
23 weeks


24 weeks
 
All non-maternity clothes I already owned using the Bella Band for the pants.
 
24 weeks


27 weeks
 
White sweater from Forever 21
 
27 weeks


28 weeks
 
Maternity top from JC Penney – gift from my MIL
 
28 weeks


29 weeks
 
INC brand non-maternity top from Macy’s
 
29 weeks


31 weeks
 
Same dress from week 14 =)
 
31 weeks


31 weeks
 
Top from Forever 21 with my favorite white pants and Bella Band
31 weeks2


33 weeks
 
Top I bought from a Maternity consignment shop – I have nothing against the “gently used'”!
 
33 weeks


34 weeks
 
Top from Forever 21 – entire outfit non-maternity
 
34 weeks


34 weeks
 
Forever 21 dress
 
34 weeks2


35 weeks
 
Forever 21 dress and sweater I already owned
 
35 weeks


36 weeks
 
Same dress as previous picture  – just showing the full length here.
 
36 weeks


37 weeks
 
Motherhood Maternity top
 
37 weeks
 
 
Almost 38 weeks
 
Motherhood Maternity top and maternity pants
 
photo4
 
 
 
 
There are still so many tops I don’t have pictures in from Forever 21 that I LOVE as well as plenty of clothes I already owned that still worked great for the belly. I also have a couple more pieces from the consignment shop as well as shorts just bought in a much larger size from Old Navy.
 
 
My advice for this time in your life is obviously, branch out! Don’t head straight to the first maternity shop you see and be limited to the few styles they have and the hefty price tags. Splurge on some good maternity jeans, though I think my most expensive pair was about $50 – not much of a splurge! Try to buy pieces you can still wear later and remember you’re going to have days where you feel like the ugliest blob on earth when the weight starts piling on and the hormones keep building up. A pretty top and cute necklace might just turn your frown upside down♥
 
 
 
 
Have your own maternity style post? Link UP!
 

28 comments:

  1. i LOVe forever 21 and have been shopping there since i was 15. Now, being 25 I can still find adorable cute and cheap outfits that wont break my bank account. xo

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  2. You are the cutest thing I ever did see!!

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  3. Thanks for posting this!! I'm just starting to need to add maternity pieces so I'm always looking for suggestions on what to wear and where to shop!! Today I'm wearing capri leggings with a tunic. So comfy but I probably need to step it up a bit :) All your outfit pictures are absolutely great!!

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  4. I wish you had posted this before I got pregnant! I didn't have much luck with the Bella Band, but now that I think about it, mine was the cheap Target version. Maybe that's an area that I should've splurged for the real thing. You look great!

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  5. You always look so cute in your prego pics :) I had no clue that Forever 21 sold maternity! That would have really been helpful last summer! I loved GAP maternity clothes bc they were so comfy and still cute!

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  6. Great post! I did the exact same thing with non-maternity tops. In fact, I went to sell some of my maternity shirts at a consignment store and they reminded me that most of them were not actual maternity lines. Whoops! I loved the high-waisted, loose fitting shirts. Be warned though, your belly stretched these shirts out more than you might think. I thought I'd be able to wear them all later too but when I tried them on, they didn't fit correctly anymore. I was ok with it because my mind knew they were "maternity" clothes and I felt weird wearing them. They are great transition pieces though.

    You look adorable, by the way!

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  7. We are trying for a little one right now, so this post was very helpful. I'm going ot remember Forever21. You look great in every picture :)

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  8. This is EXACTLY what I'm doing and so far it's working perfectly! So many of my tops were blousy and flowy anyway so with a pair of leggings or skinny jeans & a bella band my old clothes are working perfectly!

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  9. Stephanie, you are seriously the most darling thing that ever existed. I hope when I'm pregnant [wayyyy in the future] that I look as amazing as you do in all of these pictures.

    and these are some nifty ideas for maternity clothes. smart thinking about Forever 21.

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  10. Thank you posting this. It was fun to read and learn about cute, trendy maternity clothing available out there. You are such an adorable mommy-to-be. I enjoy reading your blog, even though we're not exactly in the same position in life.

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  11. those are all such cute and flattering outfits! you look great! congrats!

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  12. I love this post......Forever 21......who knew?!?! I now know where I'm going when the day comes!!! xo Joanna D.

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  13. You're super smart to go to the cheap-o stores and find things that stretch. Great idea! You look cute!

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  14. I also got a lot online from Ann Taylor and Gap - both had great maternity work clothes!

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  15. you look so cute pregnant! Awww your belly has gotten so big! Too cute :)

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  16. So cute! I love reading your stuff, and think it's so funny when you mention Lexington...I'm here too! :)
    Ashley

    www.hotdogsandgrilledchese.blogspot.com

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  17. I'm so excited you did a fashion day! I teach and we just found out we're expecting so no mumu's for this mama! I love the super cute tops you found, thanks for sharing!

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  18. Great ideas and advice. You look just beautiful in every pic! :)

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  19. this collection of design are super and very nice post. new design are very good. all collections are pretty good..and all the best for your future designs..

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  20. i had no idea f21 had a maternity line! their regular clothes have been a life saver for me too! I already owned so many flowy tops from there that still fit me no problem at 34 weeks! Love love love that place!

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  21. I've never really shopped at forever 21 but you've got me excited about going to check out their clothes. Yours are adorable!!:)

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  22. Your hair has gotten so long compared to the early pictures. How much longer will you be growing it out? Or will you chop it off after the baby is born? You see that a lot with new mothers I think.

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  23. Such a great post! You're definitely one stylish little mama.The first maternity things I bought were jeans that I still wore up until just a few months ago. Eventually, I had to buy tops though (mostly Target) because I ended up HUGE. If I ever get pregnant with just one baby, I'll make sure to check out F21.

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  24. Are you kidding?! You are beautiful and adorable and super stylish. Best of luck with everything! TerraD

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  25. I just had a baby in July and I did the same thing that you did! The only difference is that I didn't get a belly band, I just wore maternity jeans. I did however use all of the flowy tops and dresses that were non-maternity. And I'm here to tell you that I was almost 41 weeks when my son was born and those last three weeks all I could wear were 4 dresses I had that were NOT maternity-everything else, including maternity tops and dresses-were too tight and uncomfortable! Hang in there! You'll be glad you have those flowy tops and dresses for the first few weeks after pregnancy. Even though I could wear my normal clothes (after all of the fluid left-about 3 weeks) I was so used to wearing loose fitting clothing that I couldn't give it up completely :)

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  26. oh, if I could only do pregnancy cute like you do! I am 15 weeks and so huge already! Baby #3 is doing a number on me. I have a few non maternity things that are still working, but I won't be the cute and fashionable pregnant like you. I did spluge on a great pair of maternity jeans, reg $70 on clearance for $40! Adorable post and good luck!!

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I just shared my thoughts, I'd love to hear you share yours! {Besides, I'm tired of listening to the voices in my head.} I kid, I kid... ;)