Discovering maternity fashion

17 weeks

During my first trimester I didn't gain much weight, probably 5lbs at most. Because of this I could get away with wearing my normal clothes, and just leaving the button on my jeans undone. Right around week 14 my stomach turned into a balloon and I couldn't even zip my stretchiest jeans. I went out and got one of those belly bands, which covers your unzipped and unbuttoned jeans and looks like a tank top poking out the bottom of your shirt.  

In theory, this is a great solution and it means you don't have to buy maternity clothes until your belly is much bigger. My personal experience with the belly band was crap. It has to be so low to cover your zipper that it kind of looks like you're wearing a short mini skirt over your jeans, and every time I sat down it would ride up. Rearranging it every few minutes got old real quick.

I decided I would in fact need to invest in some maternity clothes sooner than I originally thought, and quickly discovered that most  maternity clothing falls in one of two categories: frumpy or expensive. At least on my body, the reasonably priced items weren't flattering. I went to almost every store in Austin that carries maternity clothing and tried on their maternity jeans and shorts. The result each time was a pancake butt, and that ain't happening. 

So I made a list of items I thought I should splurge on, and items I thought I should try to save on.

Here is my splurge list:

• 1 pair of flattering, well fitting maternity jeans
• 1-2 pairs of flattering, well fitting maternity shorts
• 1 nice dress for special occasions 
• 1 pair of super comfortable shoes

Here is my save list:

• maternity tank tops
• maternity shirts
• maternity skirts
• casual maternity dresses

My next two posts will look deeper into my splurge list and my save list so get ready!

Lexi