how to not look like a frumpy whale while pregnant

[Anonymous]

Regardless of your weight, how do you look cute while pregnant? I got a lot of hand me down maternity clothes and they all seem to fall into two categories - 1) tight brightly colored / striped shirts that are frumpy and not something I'd wear not pregnant or 2) shapeless sweaters that make me look massive. It seems like everything that gives you any shape cuts tight under the boobs and is in bright or patterned fabrics and looks childish and everything else is a tent and makes you look just massive. What should I be looking for?

[Anonymous]

You're in luck, winter is the easiest time to dress pregnant. Buy sweaters that fit your boobs and hug your bump, in colors and styles you would normally wear. These don't have to be maternity wear: sometimes you can size up or go with a tall or plus size. I bought some plus-size sweaters (not maternity) with ruching at the lower waist and they worked great. Pair with standard maternity pants that fit your hips. You're done!

[Anonymous]

Dresses and tights. H&M makes the best tights. Tight dresses will look slimming if you were fit(ish) to begin with. Try Pinkblush, Seraphine, Old Navy. You can also find some stretchy non-maternity dresses that will fit at H&M or other places but it's a hunt. Unfortunately if you want to look good while pregnant, you're going to have to spend money and time shopping.

[Anonymous]

i rented my maternity clothes. i think it was about $100 a month and i would wear things and return them quickly to get new things. really helped with work clothes (i work in a stuffy, professional setting and did not want to look like a frumpy prego). was able to wear a bunch of seraphine pieces that way.

i used borrow for your bump, le tote, and la belle bump. i signed up and did the intro offers to save a little money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You're in luck, winter is the easiest time to dress pregnant. Buy sweaters that fit your boobs and hug your bump, in colors and styles you would normally wear. These don't have to be maternity wear: sometimes you can size up or go with a tall or plus size. I bought some plus-size sweaters (not maternity) with ruching at the lower waist and they worked great. Pair with standard maternity pants that fit your hips. You're done!

I found great ruched maternity sweaters in normal winter colors (dark purples, blues, black, taupe) and wore them with my maternity pants and was comfortable, professional, and not whale-like. Loved being pregnant in winter!

[Anonymous]

Op, embrace it and invest in some pregnancy clothes.

[Anonymous]

Post particular links! I'm trying things like Motherhood maternity but only found one reasonable sweater.

[Anonymous]

Some else posted about being in luck because of the season which couldn’t be any further from the truth

I was fully showing pregnant in this summer and finding clothes that I was actually comfortable in was hard because it was hot and I just wanted to be naked.

Thankfully for you, you can wear clothes that are snug but comfortable.

Skirts with bands, sweaters, leggings, long thick dresses, again sweaters and leggings

[Anonymous]

I did a lot of dresses with tights and boots. And I also found I could wear my normal sweaters pretty far into the pregnancy, with maternity jeans or leggings. I also got a few basic colored maternity t-shirts (black, grey, white) and wore them with blazers on top to work. Agree that lots of maternity wear seems to be super ugly patterns. I just went with a few things I liked and re-wore often rather than putting together a huge wardrobe.

[Anonymous]

Regular shift dresses in a larger size with maternity tights from Motherhood Maternity and boots. I found some nice knit shift dresses at the Gap.

[Anonymous]

For work: I had a few loose/empire-seamed blouses for summer that I wore with skinny pants (maternity Pixies from Old Navy). By winter when I was 8/9 months, I wore side-panel dress pants from Ann Taylor or maternity pencil skirts with plain tops - I had a few solid v-neck sweaters from Motherhood, a few fitted non-maternity cowlnecks that still fit, and then just plain long-sleeved tees in size Tall from Gap/ON (one size up from my normal size).

For casual wear, I wore leggings and oversized sweaters or sweatshirts because who cares at that point

[Anonymous]

I think that solid color maternity wear is less frumpy than some of the patterns.

[Anonymous]

The best way not to look like a frumpy whale is to only gain 20lbs. Truth. hah. So that's probably more in your genes than anything. The rest of us just hang in there.

I HATED tight clothes on my pregnant body. Something about the spandex feel made me itchy and made me feel fatter. I liked loose clothing. I also wasn't interested in showing off my stomach at work. But I think in pictures the loose clothing made me look fatter. The best look in pictures seemed to be tight jeans, tight shirt with a beautiful cardigan. It was the best mix of tight/loose.

Anything with floral patterns made me look like a bedspread and bright colors seemed to look cheap too.

[Anonymous]

For the first 20 pounds, I just wore normal clothes in one size larger. And lots of accessories (necklaces, etc). For the last 10 pounds, I ordered like $500 of stuff from pink blush when they were having a sale that allowed returns. Tried on everything and sent half of it back. I think it just involves putting in more effort than normal. Frump is easy when pregnant. Anything else requires extra time and money.

[Anonymous]

Pregnant does not equal "cute"! By the time you reach the waddling stage, you won't give a damn how you look!