Let’s talk bump style!

All of the recent of end of year sales have really gotten me in the mood to shop. Then seeing some pretty Spring things pop up on Moda Operandi last week inspired me to start working on my Spring shop page… There is this one top, my goodness. I don’t even know where to start, or what size I would order… I just know that I need it. All of that to come soon!

I haven’t been doing much shopping outside of household things throughout the course of this pandemic and now that I am nearing my third trimester, don’t really intend to start. My goal has been to wear as much of my preexisting wardrobe as possible and add pieces that can work for both now and later as needed. So far, this has been pretty easy to accomplish, especially as I’m going so few places these days and a lot of the pieces already in my closet lend well to the bump. My daily outfits consist largely of oversized sweaters paired with leggings or exercise pants and dresses. And as I mentioned in this post my Lululemon align pants have been my favorite thing. I asked for a size up for my birthday this year (this was back in September so thankfully no one caught on!) in preparation. I’ve read from some other ladies who swore by them during their pregnancies that going up a size is helpful. So far so good so I would definitely recommend the same!

Now on to the shopping..

Dresses

I bought this dress to wear for our pregnancy announcement photos back in November. I have owned Susana Monaco dresses in the past (actually still have them somewhere in the archives, also known as the closet at my mother’s house) so I knew the fabric would be perfect for stretching along with me as the bump grows! I ordered a size up from my normal size for some extra room. As much as I have been loving body con dresses while pregnant, in general I tend to prefer more forgiving fits and know I’m more likely to continue reaching for this dress if it’s not super clingy post pregnancy. We took these photos when I was 16 weeks along and no where near close to showing. It is definitely fitting more snug these days, finally!

I also picked up this ultra flattering ruched dress from Nordstrom. Again, I sized up one one for a looser fit and also for some extra room later on down the road. And recently ordered this lightweight sweater dress from another brand from the “archives”, Rachel Pally, after spotting it on sale. I actually pulled a little blue Rachel Pally dress from my college days out of my closet in October to start wearing again as I remembered it having a good amount of stretch to it. I was correct, it does, and that lead me to discover that they actually have a maternity-friendly section on their website of styles that can double as maternity wear, sweater dress included. I’d call that a double win in my book!

Oversized Sweaters

If you know me, or have followed me for any length of time you know my love for cozy oversized knits runs deep. Fall through early Spring you can almost always find me layering one with whatever else I’m wearing – skinny jeans, jumpsuits, dresses, leggings, you name it. The colorblock sweater I am wearing in the photo above is a longtime favorite of mine and is available again this year in a few colorways. I sized up one to a small for a roomier fit, which I also think helps it lay better (or the way I like it to look at least) when tucking in!

A newer purchase for me is this oversized mock neck tunic sweater (last seen here). I had been eyeing it for the longest time after seeing Bridget of Being Bridget rave about it and decided to finally scoop it up this fall during a sale. Free People tends to run really oversized in my opinion so I ordered my regular size. There is definitely plenty of room to grow into. Sadly though, it is a bit too short on me to wear as a dress. I have seen a ton of people do this, including the models on the product pages but it just seems a bit too much like I forgot to put pants on. I’m only 5’6″ but my torso is on the longer side so I’m thinking that’s why it doesn’t look quite right.

Cardigans

As you may have noticed from my Shop page, I am having a real moment with cardigans. They are a great option for now since they are so easy to layer and incorporate with pieces you already own that still work like classic tee shirts and tank tops, stretchy dresses, etc. and later because there is a bit more security in the idea that they’ll fit similarly post pregnancy too, whatever that may look like. I have had my eye on this one from Mango for about a month. It’s currently on sale and keeps coming in and out of stock in all sizes. It just looks like it would feel like wearing a big cozy blanket around. I think I need it in my life.