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: $$$$

16 weeks

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

17 weeks

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

 

 

20 weeks

 

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

 

21 weeks

 

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

 

21 weeks

 

Maternity top and jeans, both from Motherhood Maternity.

 

22 weeks

 

Long tank and sweater – already owned.

 

22 weeks

 

Motherhood Maternity dress for Easter.

 

23 weeks

 

A Pea in the Pod maternity dress.

 

24 weeks

 

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

 

27 weeks

 

White sweater from Forever 21

 

28 weeks

 

Maternity top from JC Penney – gift from my MIL

 

29 weeks

 

INC brand non-maternity top from Macy’s

 

31 weeks

 

Same dress from week 14 =)

 

31 weeks

 

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

33 weeks

 

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

 

34 weeks

 

Top from Forever 21 – entire outfit non-maternity

 

34 weeks

 

Forever 21 dress

 

35 weeks

 

Forever 21 dress and sweater I already owned

 

36 weeks

 

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

 

37 weeks

 

Motherhood Maternity top

 

 

 

Almost 38 weeks

 

Motherhood Maternity top and maternity pants

 

 

 

 

 

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!