Maternity Clothes 101: Skirts And More...
I had planned to write about maternity clothes and pregnancy in general this month, and here the month is half way over and this is the first post! I don't know where this month is going, every week just flies by!
I'm going to take a few posts and share maternity clothes options with you. Then at the end I'll do a vlog and show you what my own closet looks like with maternity clothes for my third trimester.
When I became pregnant with my first child I realized that I didn't want to spend 9 months in dresses only. There are so many cute maternity tops that are meant to be worn with jeans, but I wanted to find some maternity skirts to wear the tops with. My first attempt at ever sewing a maternity skirt was painful. It looked like a huge prairie skirt! I actually did wear it that pregnancy, and then threw it away when I became pregnant again. Who wants to look twice their size when pregnant?
This is a picture from when I was pregnant with my first child with my mom and sister. I have some pretty terrible looking photos in that dress where I literally look like I'm pregnant with twins or triplets! Just ask my family, they all agree. :)
I've since put together a maternity wardrobe that I feel good about, but it's taken several pregnancies to get there! If I find something I really like at a garage sale, thrift store, or consignment sale and I'm not pregnant, I still go ahead and pick it up knowing that I can use it in the future! This pregnancy I went through my maternity clothes and got rid of outdated and ill fitting looking clothes. My oldest did just turn eight, so some of the clothes were reflecting that. :)
We'll talk about tops later on this week....for now I want to focus on Maternity bottoms. Please keep in mind I normally always wear skirts or dresses, so I won't have very many tips for pants.
Skirts
Maternity skirts can be challenging. While you don't want to wear a prairie skirt while pregnant, you also don't want to wear a pencil skirt that shows every outline of your *ahem* growing backside as well. For many woman their tummy isn't the only thing that grows when pregnant!
This black skirt from A Pea in A Pod would not be very modest to me. It's very tight around the bottom, and the model isn't even that big yet!
This black skirt from A Pea in A Pod has a little more flow to it and would be a good choice!
This is my favorite skirt to wear while pregnant- a long ruffle maternity skirt. It has just enough material in it to be modest and can grow with you your whole pregnancy, yet it doesn't make you look larger than you really are!
I've also been enjoying the midnight black skirt this pregnancy. That was a new addition to my maternity clothes this time around and it's quickly becoming one of my favorite skirts!
How Many Do You Need?
I have eight maternity skirts in my closet, but I several over and over again so I know I could do with less than that even.
My skirts are:
Midnight black skirt
Denim Ruffled Skirt
Black Ruffled Skirt
2 Floral Ruffled Skirts
A-Line Khaki skirt
Camel color Corduroy Ruffled Skirt
Brown Ruffle Skirt
Do you see a ruffle theme here? :)
I consider a basic denim, black, and khaki skirt to be essential to a wardrobe. You honestly could rotate those three if you had to. Just remember 9 months does get to be long, and if you have a large family that means you are pregnant quite a bit! Don't get unnecessarily discouraged with what you have to wear by telling yourself you will just "make it by" each pregnancy. I did that the first two pregnancies and I'm so glad I didn't continue that mindset for the next three!
If money is tight, or you know how to sew there are tutorials online that show you how to make a basic maternity skirt.
For days when I'm feeling exhausted, sick, or just getting really close to having the baby I wear a pair of gray maternity yoga pants. They look similar to these:
They are extremely comfortable! Once the weather turns chilly I sleep in these at night also. :) I really do try to always gets dressed in the morning, but some days when I'm pregnant and it's cold outside it just feels like a hot chocolate, snuggle under a blanket kind of day!
I'd love to know-how many skirts do you have to wear while pregnant?
Labels: Modesty, Pregnancy, Sewing, The Modest Mom
posted by Caroline @ The Modest Mom @ 9:08 AM
7 Comments
7 Comments:
Here's a tip for those mom's who do wear pants and jeans. I lived in low-rise pants and jeans (and sized up later in pregnancy or wore a belly band). No need for those maternity jeans and pants that well aren't that stylish, and okay ugly. If you are concerned about the low rise. Simply buy a maternity cami and tuck into the pants.
I just made myself five maternity skirts. We are expecting number six. Two years ago, I made a huge lifestyle change which resulted in me weighing less than before I was married. Now, all of my previous maternity clothes are way too big! Looking forward to the maternity top post. That's my next struggle as my regular shirts are not working.
I feel like I have had a make-it-by attitude with my first two kids as well. I won't do that with the next one!
As for the previous commenter- unless a woman is already comfortable with a low rise jean, then most women probably won't like wearing a low rise. I have never liked low rise pants (immodest despite even fitting right) and even if I did, I carry my babies so low through the pregnancy it would not be comfortable. Maternity clothes in general have a larger fit to allow extra growth in the backside. That's why maternity pants usually fall off during that first trimester.
I have found great deals on maternity jeans on clearance racks and on ebay than I would even spend on a pair of low rise pants and then figure out how to make them comfortable. I search year round for super cheap maternity clothes whether I'm pregnant or not. My husband makes fun of me, but at least I'll have more clothes next time around AND save money ;-)
Thanks for the tutorial link. I am bookmarking it!
I would love to have a good maternity skirt! I can't sew to save my life (though I plan on changing that in the near futur) When I looked for maternity skirts they were all too short or too form fitting. I was shocked! Who wants to wear a short form fitting skirt while pregnant and huge? I have two pairs of pregnancy pants that I find comfortable and stylish, a couple of nice tops, and I maternity dress for Sundays.
Thanks so much for sharing this Caroline! I was encouraged. I'm 22 weeks pregnant and still fit in most of my clothes comfortably. I probably won't need maternity clothes until I'm at least 32 weeks or more! I love your ideas! I hope to make some maternity skirts soon though it seems as if my pregnancies aren't going to require much towards maternity clothes as this is my second pregnancy and I didn't "show" any better with my first... :) Sometimes I think it would be nice to wear maternity clothes (that actually fit me - but that requires making myself or getting juniors sizes - which are almost always not modest) just so others would actually know that I'm pregnant. :) Thanks again for sharing! Blessings...
Great posts with excellent photos to help express your words.
The black skirt from A Pea in a Pod... Did anyone else notice those heels!?!? Yikes! As far as I am concerned, those would be dangerous to wear while pregnant! Not to mention the toddler & preschooler hanging on me. ;)
BTW: Thanks for the suggestions! With babies #3 & #4(different pregnancies), I was blessed to be able to utilize a 'community maternity wardrobe' that my neighbor kept stored... had items from S to XXL from her family members & friends. When I was done, they went back into her attic for the next mommy :)
~Blessed5x~
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home