Ok girls, moms... We all know there are cute maternity clothes these days but the is still a problem with them, they are MATERNITY. PERIOD. I can't speak for you but I know I don't like the idea of spending a wad of cash for each growing trimester and then having to tuck them away in a bin labeled "maternity". So what's pregnant lady to do? Live in spandex pants for 9 months... Maybe... But leave the house in those spandex pants and I'm pretty sure you'll feel a little less than cute.
First I must state that I don't usually spend much on myself even when I'm not pregnant but this past month I have been really feeling the pregnancy blahs when it comes to my looks. That....and I got to go on vacation with my hunky husband WITHOUT the kids so I wanted to be extra cute for him ;)
So since I we really want to look cute while pregnant but still be able to wear the clothes even beyond delivery, I have some tips for you based off a few of my latest shopping sprees.
A wardrobe beyond delivery!!
1) I was half joking about the spandex- stretchy clothes can be your friend, even best friend during pregnancy...just make sure the stretch is all in the right area. Look at these tops I scored from DownEast Home & Clothing!! Way better than a pair of hot pants right? Just be sure to pick something with good elasticity, meaning the garment will stretch when and where needed but also return to it's natural form. (Yay for growing bellies, nay for deformed stretched out clothing)
Just to give you an example, the BRIGHT yellow lace top is a size large, the hot pink is a small... Yet both, when tried on, worked great. As Alisha from Miss Plunkett said, "the shirts have a generous sizing." So does the elasticity in them:) Still up for that photo shoot Alisha? LOL...you had to be there.
2) Lots in the current trends are easily adapted to a cute belly. Bat wing, flowey shirts with a "belted" or "cuffed" fit at the bottom will show off your belly bump and keep you feeling cute. The best part is post pregnancy, even after loosing the baby weight, these tops will still flatter you with the flowey look and you'll feel very comfy too.
3) Disregard the labels, large or small, maternity or not. We all know sizing varies from brand to brand and style to style so really, maternity or not, you can make it look good!!! Just try them on. Cut off the Maternity and sizing labels if it makes you feel better :)
4) Accessorize. Yes. The age old tip, accessorize. Belts are very flattering during pregnancy. I suggest getting the belts with some kind of elastic for comfort...or the super skinny belts that will just sit above the belly bump. Again accessories will last beyond delivery too! All those baby doll tops and flowey shirts are great paired with belts so even if you bought a L or XL top, your belt will make it look like it's the right size even with out the baby bump.
5) Alterations. SIMPLE alterations. The belt is one way of taking care of extra baggy tops, or if you prefer, you can easily do a quick inseam alteration too. Really, it's one line down each side of the shirt, just follow the inseam for direction while sewing, it's not always a straight line... So the excuse "I can't even sew a straight line," is not an excuse!
Questions anyone?.. Oh one more tip- the clearance section is a great place to find deals and experiment with tops of different sizes... those long sleeve lace tops came from here :)
DownEast is a great place to shop for clothing and home decor. Besides their own private DownEast labeled clothing and home decor, they offer amazing discount prices on name brands, lots of the top name brands, you'll recognize them when you see them in store. This cute cream tunic below has a comparable price of $120 but it was tagged for only $29.99! What a huge savings right?! And so cute.
Here are a bunch of pictures we snapped, please excuse the bad lay out, working from my husbands lap top because my desk top is getting repaired... not going to lie, lap tops are not so easy for this sort of thing, at least not for me.
Besides all the fun tips, I really just want to say "Thank You" to DownEast and their fun and friendly staff at the DownEast Home & Clothing store in Washington. The Blogger Mixer was great. I got to go with my amazing niece Crystal from Health, Food, and Happiness and we met a bunch of fun local bloggers too, some new ones and some I already loved:)
Be sure to check them all out....
Crystal Williams (Health Food, and Happiness)
Alisha Shaw (Miss Plunkett)
Julie Cordero (Our Life In Scraps)
Brooke Ulrich (All Things Thrifty)
Shannon Hinman (St. George Mom)
Kelly Vincent (Dixie Dollar Deals)
Linda (Food Storage Moms)
Pam Dana (OverTheMoon)
Mandi (Vintage Revival)
Kendra (TheThingsILoveMost)
Jennie Larsen (Craft-o-maniac)
Heidi Fowler(OneCreativeMommy)
Chelsea Anderson (Pink Fig)
Sara Jiminez(Digital Scrapbooking)
Eric Yardley (Back Stage Pass)
**I was not paid to review DownEast Basics. All opinions expressed are my own. I did get to enjoy a fun night and got a free swag bag of goodies including a gift card, which I used and then some! :)
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