With each pregnancy comes a lot of happy and wonderful experiences, but shopping for clothes is not one of them- at least not for me. I am now 31 weeks pregnant (translation to normal human timeline: 7 months) and in this summer heat the last thing I want to do is spend time and money on a new wardrobe that will (fingers crossed) be way too big on me in a few months. Luckily, for the majority of my pregnancy my tummy grew at a slow pace but then, one morning I swear it had doubled in size and everything was either too tight or wouldn’t zip up. With all the expenses that come with being pregnant and a having a baby, I decided to invest in only a few maternity staples and use my husband’s closet to complete my pregnancy outfits. Here are a few sneaky style hacks on getting creative and repurposing your man’s wardrobe into your maternity clothes:
Raid His T-Shirt Drawers
Recently, I only want to LIVE in T-shirts. I don’t like shirts that are too snug on my belly, I feel constrained and even the loosest of my T-shirts are too tight at the moment. So, I find myself rummaging through my hubby’s T-shirt drawers, for the biggest sizes he has. I pair them with jeans, shorts and on a few occasions have worn his really long T-shirts with a belt as a shirt-dress. Here, I paired his plain-white-tee with maternity Bermuda jean shorts (they have a maternity belly band), casual sandals and my new favorite red drew bag to add a pop of color. An outfit like this is perfect for running errands, a casual lunch or stroll.
Button Up In His Button-Downs
Hurray for Hubby’s button-downs (or is it button-ups, I always get confused). This look will only work with the casual button-down shirts made with linen or plain cotton fabrics because the dressier ones will look too formal and structured. I paired the button down with fancier shorts, than say jean shorts, to create a dressier (less laid-back) outfit. They are striped maternity shorts from JC Penney and only $19.99. Since this is a man’s shirt after all, I finished the look with dainty white sandals and a few silver accessories to give it a feminine flare.
Be The Boss And Wear The Pants
There is no better time to wear the pants in the relationship than when you’re preggo. I’m sure those of you who have been there can agree that we go through a lot, and I think it’s the perfect time for us to call ALL the shots. Once my jeans and pants stopped fitting, I resorted to tights, sweats and one pair of maternity jeans I had from my previous pregnancy. Then I thought: Why not try his pants on? I incorporated my hubby’s denim collection into my maternity clothes by rolling up the bottoms (since he’s much taller) and wearing them as “boyfriend jeans.” I also did the same with his linen pants and loved how they looked – they turned my outfit into a summery/beachy ensemble. But this time, I wanted to dress-up his pants so I paired these colorful red jeans with a floral scarf top and Ferragamo espadrille wedges. For a dressier look like this one, try to go for the slim fit pants, so they don’t look too baggy and schleppy on you. Scarf shirts are great at slimming your belly since they are loose fitting, in case you don’t want to flaunt your belly just yet.
I’ve got 2 months to go so I’m hoping I can stick to the maternity clothes I already have and instead spend that money on a few massages and baby-moon trips before my little one arrives, and life gets crazy. Hope my fellow preggos can do the same!
