Fashion advice, please -- not "out" at work yet and need camouflage

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Despite the rudeness of the pp's reply...people will know anyway! I thought I had done such a great job of camouflaging myself, and when I did announce everyone was like - "Yeah, we know." In the end, dress in whatever way makes you comfortable. The more in-tune people will figure it out and probably pretend not to notice, and the jerks will still be jerks!

This is our office, too. By the time I announced #1 most people said they were just wondering when I would finally tell (only one person outright asked, and I did lie). I'm sure my teammates suspect again, but I'm still trying to hide it because if Godforbid something goes wrong, at least they will just think they incorrectly suspected. I work in a very small office and everyone is kind of in everyone's business.

I have definitely been rocking the "decorative scarves" lately, and luckily our office is cold so I can wear my oversized fleece zip up at my desk and no one notices

Congrats OP and good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nor does anyone give a rat's behind about unnecessarily rude comments like yours, troll.

Plus one!

Not everyone wants to disclose her pregnancy. Some of us work in cut throat officess and wantt to have a plan in place before we disclose. Others are waiting for aaa performaance evaluation. And some like me don't want 6 months of pregnaancy conversationss with coworkers. I found dressing well and non maternity like in my first pregnancy made me feel better especially when I had a lot of health issuess. We all have our reasons for tthe things we do so it is important not to judge.
And buying some non maternity transitional pieces iss aa great idea forr life post baby when you are trying to get your pree preg body back.

[Anonymous]

jindc wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. What do they say? I am sort of waiting for this. My colleagues are wonderful but nosy -- very small office and most people have worked there many years and know each other well. I am the youngest and one of the newest. Some of the older women like to drop by and ask me, loudly and unsubtly, when I plan to have kids. Now that I actually am pregnant (but in the very early weeks), I am just waiting for one to suddenly notice that that time has arrived and proclaim it in a loud voice. They mean well ...

well on the one end, there's the old lady who always says things like "when are you gonna be a mom?". Which was great when I was in the middle of an IVF cycle. Like you, I'm the youngest and newest in here (civilians, we get new military all the time but they're all male).

The guys do things like comment on women's looks. We had a pregnant coworker upstairs and one guys who was away for a while goes, "Wow, ____ got fat!" me: "she's not fat, she's like 7 1/2 months pregnant" "oh. Well, she's still really big". They generally say very sexist and inappropriate things. Even about their own wives (one guy is like, "I married a younger woman so she could give me a lot of kids" nevermind that the pregnancy they're in now is very difficult and closely monitored).

So it's all very uncomfortable. I complained to HR a few years ago, but nothing happened. Apparently I was just being a silly woman! lol. And yes, I'm looking for a new job but it's not easy when you're pregnant and have so much leave socked away for just this purpose.

Ok, sorry to hijack!

Yikes. As someone who works in an employment-related field, it's always frustrating to hear about useless HR. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I'm 12 weeks along with twins and don't want to tell work until at least 16-18 weeks. Some complications may prevent that. Anyway, I went to Kohls for the first time this weekend and got a few pairs of Dana Buchman pants for $33 each on sale. They're professional but stretchy and work with my nicer jackets. They won't last forever, but I can make them work for the next few weeks. For me, going monochrome, or matching top and pants with a coordinating jacket has worked well.

[Anonymous]

Long cardigans with not buttons. Some that have irregular edges or extra fabric definitely help hiding this, since you can sort of wrap yourself in them or pull them towards the front. Longer tops covering belly and can be tight tops as long as worn with loose cardigans. Also, straight dresses with jackets (especially fitted type, since they don't scream pg).

[Anonymous]

Stay away from maternity clothes while trying to hide. I've managed to hide pregnancies my first pregnancy until 6 months and my second until after 18 weeks by always wearing a cardigan or a blazer. Also, look for knit tops in dark colors that are either boxy in shape so they hang straight down and skim the tummy, or gathered/pleated/pintucked in front so there is extra fabric and thus no cling in the tummy area. Try to wear these tops with skinnier bottoms or above-the-knee skirts so you don't look bulky or baggy overall. I've also had good luck with a couple of dark J. Jill knit "wearever" outfits that are loose and flowy but not peasant-y. Both have a jackety thing cut from the same fabric as the inner shell, creating the impression that my extra girth is just extra fabric. The quality isn't super high, but its much better than the quality of maternity wear.

[Anonymous]

I agree with scarves. Luckily it's the perfect season to wear a long, light scarf over things, and you can buy them inexpensively.