Dressing for Two: Chapter 1

If you haven't already, you might want to begin by reading the Prologue.

What we're wearing (up to week 20)

[this is embarrassing and uncomfortable for me, but I'm giving the people what they want]

16 weeks

Non-maternity:

top, J. Crew (kind of old)

I also wore big ol' heels 'cause I still can

Maternity:

jeans, Seven, from Pea in the Pod

Generally, at the beginning (up to about 14 or 15 weeks), I preferred looser or flowy clothing to hide/disguise the situation. Mainly that was due to just feeling a little fat, not keeping any secrets. We had told most people by 8-10 weeks and were "out" by 12. 

Now I am preferring clothes that are more clingy in the belly region, mostly just so that people are sure what they're looking at. This will probably swing back the other way later on, but it's just a general trend I am mentioning. 

16 weeks. Titan up!

Non-maternity: 

maxi dress, lululemon

almost 18 weeks

Non-maternity: 

lululemon Serenity Sweater

white tank top, Target

Maternity:

Ingrid and Isabel Belly Leggings

Boots by Tory Burch...not really relevant to maternity fashion except they were the result of a search that was specifically for a nice, comfy, flat boot that I could ideally wear through the pregnancy. 

18 weeks

Non-maternity:

maxi dress, lululemon (same as blue dress above, except one size larger)

sweater, Target

belt, Tory burch

Also: there are only a few days between these pictures and the "almost 18 week" picture above. It was a Wednesday to Saturday. But I think there's a noticeable difference in the belly...must have been what that stretching was about. 

with special guest appearance by Abita

19 weeks

Non-maternity:

sweater jacket (swacket?), Eileen Fisher...yes, really.

Maternity:

white tank, Old Navy

Seven jeans

TB flats

same outfit, bigger baby

(L) almost 18 weeks; (R) almost 20 weeks

workout baby

just about 20 weeks

Non-maternity:

tank top, lululemon (these are really long so should work for a while)

pullover, lululemon (not as long but I like the empire-waist-type feature)

Maternity:

workout pants, Liz Lange Maternity for Target -- these are not perfect but are an acceptable solution. They dip below the belly (as opposed to having a panel that can pull up or fold down). 

Thoughts on the Matter

- Mailbag! On the prologue post, cute Kate posted this comment: As you know, I'm not pregnant, have never been pregnant, and have absolutely no plans to become pregnant in the near future. I do, however, have many opinions on clothing and the dreaded space between jeans and cocktail dresses. My go-to: black cigarette pants. With flats, Audrey cute-casual. With heels, effortless class. Wondering if someone makes a black straight leg crop/pant with the hot tummy panel?

I think this is an excellent point--especially for this time of year. It seems like there's a pre- pre- holiday season where you suddenly have to go to things (usually after work) that I guess everyone wanted to schedule "before the holiday rush." These usually involve committees, reunions, and other things you have to do that sounded like a good idea at the time. If you are lucky, they are also fun and maybe cocktails are involved. But they're not always cocktail parties, per se, so the dress code is a little different. Anyway, I looked into this a little bit.

The internet seems to agree that Slacks & Co makes good, attractive, high-quality maternity pants (slacks. Or trousers, because they're across the pond). Here's their little cigarette pant:

very Audrey.

Now, there are some obvious problems with this, including prices (in pounds) and shipping from Europe and not being able to try them on. But I didn't see anything that looked as nice on any of the American stores' websites. Also, I don't know how long into the pregnancy these might last as they just have the little short panel. 

So that got me to thinking about alternatives. I would suggest that perhaps skinny jeans (available in abundance, and in black, obvi) and leggings might be the pregnant lady's version of the cigarette pant. Skinny ankle jeans would pair well with either flats or heels, as cropped pants do. I also think black skinny jeans are probably appropriate in some settings where blue jeans might not be. You get a little bit of a pass for being knocked up. Leggings are probably best with boots, but are super comfy. Good black skinny jeans should be available wherever you do your jean thang, and my fave leggings so far are the Ingrid and Isabel Belly Leggings (as mentioned earlier). 

- Speaking of jeans, I have formed an additional opinion that I would like to pass on for anyone who might be interested at any point. This advice was given to me by the wise and stylish Grace Ann, but I can now endorse it firsthand: skip the demi-panel jeans (and definitely the ones with the weird side panels) and just go straight for the full panel jeans. It will feel like overkill at first, but you wouldn't be able to wear the demi-panel ones all the way through a pregnancy, so you'd just be setting yourself up to have to buy another round of jeans. Once you go full panel, you'll wonder why we all normally wear pants with waistbands.

- Another thing you will likely need, which I had not anticipated: nude camis. The reasons are twofold.

1. On many full-panel pants (jeans, slacks), the stretchy panel is made of a dark fabric. I suppose this is so the panel blends in with the rest of the pant. However, these dark panels are visible through white/light shirts. Maybe you don't particularly care, but I didn't want to be screaming THESE PANTS GO UP TO MY BOOBS to all who care to see. And, lemme tell ya--people look at your belly a lot. So a nude cami (though it could be any color, really, I suppose) solves this problem nicely. It prevents the panel from showing through without adding any extra bulk or wrinkles or whatever. I already had one from Ann Taylor that I've been wearing (non-maternity) and also got this one from Ingrid and Isabel. 
2. The smoothing effect. Look, your bellybutton is going to be weird. It's weird when it's still in, and it's weird when it's popped out. So a cami under a t-shirt gives you an extra little smoothing that I like. But that could be just me. 

So go ahead and look around for one. Like I said, I guess it could be any color. I happened to have a nude one. Also, layering with a scoopneck camisole can give you the option of wearing a shirt that might have suddenly become too low-cut (i.e., totally obscene) once you got pregnant. These things happen. I'm just as surprised as you. So learn to love the cami (but try not to over-invest in the ones with lace tops. Not as versatile and not my personal cup of tea).

In sum: at least up to 20 weeks, you can operate solidly with a few new basics mixed in what plenty of what you already own.

If you need a shopping list:
maternity jeans
long white tank(s) or tees (mine are non-maternity from Target, maternity from Old Navy)
(nude) camisole
a cardigan or swacket for layering if necessary
that's it! The rest can be managed through accessorizing

Bonus items:
leggings or additional pant
black tanks/tees
a dress or skirt if you need it, but a lot of non-maternity dresses will still work
workout or yoga pants (and probably a new sports bra, but that's another issue)

Thus concludes this first chapter, chronicling my adventures of learning to dress the growing addition. There is a lot of outfit repeating, which doesn't necessarily make for great photos (not to mention the self-pic mirror situation and my sub-par photography skills), but I am embracing the monotony. As the fall and holiday season march on, I will be forced to come up with some new and creative combinations, which I will also share--along with more rules I am making up and tips I'm learning.