Style Diary: What To Wear at 22 Weeks Pregnant
Ok so after a little trial and error and some online research, I’ve quickly learned what works and what doesn’t on a pregnant body. The key for tops seems to be finding longer length blouses, tunics, cardigans and sweaters for instance that allow for some belly expansion (think empire waists, stretchy tops and items that don’t restrict movement or cause button popping). And after strictly staying within my $200 maternity shopping spree, I’ve been able to mix and match with my current wardrobe to find some suitable options.
At 22 weeks pregnant, fashioning my growing belly seems to be the least of my concerns though. Already, I’ve freaked out at having felt this growing human being within me kick and perform Cirque Du Soleil style flips. And the thought of these kicks and punches only growing stronger (even waking one up in the 3rd trimester) are hard for me to try and get used to.
Everyone keeps reassuring me that I look great for my 2nd term phase and some even wonder out loud how I managed to stay so thin. Meanwhile all I can think about is my friend Tracey who even with the same due date has magically seemed to not gain an ounce – that skinny biotch. After 5 months of pregnancy, I still can’t seem to get used to all this overhang – it’s far worse than any muffin top that I’ve ever experienced. I have however finally stopped the automatic urge to suck my belly in. It’s simply no use anymore. I need to just let it all hang out. haha
In the above photo I’m wearing an old red dress that I had sitting in the back of my makeshift, temporary cardboard closet. The dress is by ABS and I simply attached a feather plume straight off another top that I no longer wore to one of the straps for a unique, retro-glam look.
In the above photo, I’m wearing my new maternity top from Old Navy. I normally am not a fan of Old Navy but being on this strict maternity budget, I curiously scoured the racks in hopes of finding wearable pieces. I was glad I did because I found this cowl-neck, black and white top in the sale rack and immediately knew it had potential. Here I topped it with a dramatic statement necklace and my comfy maternity leggings bought from Target which secretly has a belly band that rises up to my bra line. It’s one of the few pants I own where I really feel I can breathe and let it all go.
In the above photo, I’m wearing some frugal finds from Forever 21. Thankfully, these skinny F21 jeans still fit. Can you believe I paid only $12 for them? And they stay up better than the official maternity jeans that I bought from Motherhood Maternity. The navy cardigan from Forever 21 is banded by glam gold stripes and I love it. The boots and tote perfectly match even though I found them at 2 different Asian stores. So far maternity dressing is not as depressing as I had anticipated. Let’s see how I feel once I really pop during my 3rd trimester!
