{ Koral Boyfriend Jeans; Elizabeth & James Blazer (similar); Bobo House Tee; Nine West Gamin d’Orsay Heels }
This is a topic I’m pretty big on.
Buying a ton of maternity pieces sounds fun…until you realize that they are often on the “dear god, no” side of expensive for things that you’re only going to wear for what amounts to a handful of weeks. There are some pieces I’m happy to invest in – like a striped sweater or a silk blouse that I’d totally wear long, long after baby arrives – but as much as possible, I’m trying to just lightly sprinkle those “actual” maternity pieces into my “regular” wardrobe.
Like, for example, these jeans.
Not gonna lie: boyfriend jeans weren’t high on the list of things I thought I’d be wearing 5 1/2 months into this pregnancy. I love them ordinarily, and slouchy everything is usually what I gravitate towards…but I thought bulkiness on top + bulkiness on bottom might be…you know, just a little too much slouch for even my taste.
Turns out that boyfriend jeans – and this pair in particular – are what I’ve been reaching for all the time lately. Here’s why: if you size up a little in a boyfriend-cut pair, you’ll be able to button them at the waist without having to worry that the legs will look too loose (as they might with skinny jeans); “loose” is what they’re supposed to look like. So buy them a size or two bigger than usual, wear them low, and then once the baby arrives just go ahead and have a tailor take them in at the waist – you won’t need to worry about having them taken in through the rest of the leg, because that should look just fine as-is.
One thing I insist on: when pregnant and wearing boyfriend jeans, I think heels are kind of a must if you’re going anywhere other than the grocery store. For this particular excursion, we were headed to brunch in the city with our friends Stephen and Dave (and with no child, which meant no diaper bag and dinosaurs to lug), so: heels, yay.
On Me: Koral Boyfriend Jeans; Elizabeth & James Blazer (similar); Bobo House Tee; Nine West Gamin d’Orsay Heels; J. Crew bag; Hat Attack fedora; Tom Ford sunglasses; Roman Luxe necklace ℅; bracelet from India.
– Layer a long, neutral-colored tank under blouses and tees that have suddenly turned into crop-tops;
– Choose tops that are long through the body and have some stretch to them;
– Try a bra extender if your around-the-ribcage size has gone up, but not your cup size (yet);
– Add a belt to your floaty (a.k.a. kind of shapeless) dresses – either under or over your bump (whichever you find more flattering…although I’m a fan of just saying “to hell with it” and letting those shapeless dresses be shapeless);
– Click over to Denim Therapy and convert a much-loved pair of jeans into maternity jeans for just $60 (way less than many maternity jeans brands)…and then have a tailor convert them right on back after baby arrives;
– Go for your stretchiest, lowest skinny jeans (and supplement with a rubber band through the buttonhole or one of those waist-expander things) – these will fit you way longer than higher-waisted styles or styles without stretch, and you can always wear a long tank or tunic to hide the mini-deception at the buttonhole, if that’s what you’re doing.
