The first time I fell pregnant a few years ago was in December, so I was able to see summer out as normal—bikinis for the weekend and oversized shirts and slip dresses during the week. When winter rolled around, I was able to layer up in big, chunky jumpers or blazers teamed with skinny leg jeans and ankle boots. This time, I found out I was pregnant in May—that combined with moving to Byron Bay and working from home sent me into a real sartorial spin. My pre-pregnancy uniform was high-waist 'mom' jeans with a tucked in shirt or tee, but that all flew out the window when I could no longer do up the button on my jeans.
So I turned to my trusty friend, the interwebs, and I am surprised to say, that even with some of the world’s most stylish humans having had babies or being pregnant of late (I’m looking at you Veronika Heilbrunner, Leandra Medine Cohen, Eva Chen, Pandora Sykes, and Chiara Ferragni) Pinterest and Google searches returned far too many jersey, wrap or body con dresses for my liking. Of the images I did like, pinned and hoped to replicate, it seemed the product just simply didn’t exist.
Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t trying to create full ‘fashion’ looks everyday—I work from home in a tracksuit and slippers most days, I just wanted to be able to work with my changing and growing body, feel comfortable, and even a tiny bit stylish. However, it seems the roster of maternity brands out there believe that the solution to those simple requirements is jersey dresses, leggings, and tube skirts.
After far too many hours of staring at my unwearable and uninspiring wardrobe, I made a list of looks I wanted to wear both now and beyond, and then looked to some of my favourite brands to find the pieces I needed. Apparently, there’s an old maternity ‘rule’ that says a woman should buy as she grows, so some may call me crazy for stocking up at this point in pregnancy (I am only five months in) but the purchases I’ve made to date have been with a growing belly in mind, and will hopefully, see me through the long, hot summer months ahead.
After hours of trawling (you can thank me later), here are my tips for what to wear when you hate maternity wear: