my 5 style rules for maternity wear

I have been on a long journey to “cultivate the perfect wardrobe”.

So, imagine my thought process when I found out I am pregnant.

It’s safe to say I was less worried about being pregnant + more worried about what I was going to wear. Why? On the day that I found out (before I found out), I was at the salon + taking a client who is a friend from high school and the topic of babies came up. I distinctly remember saying “Well, it’s not in my plan, but if it’s in God’s plan then I’m fine with it”. Little did I know that I already had a little baby growing inside. So I just figured from that point on that it’s taken care of….
So back to this perfect wardrobe, I knew I didn’t want to sacrifice my personal style for the next nine months. I also didn’t want to break the bank on a new wardrobe for a temporary body.

I decided to give myself a few style rules going in so I wouldn’t get tooo tempted to purchase everything I see, or fall victim to ‘style slump with a bump’.

• Shop your closet first
  I know I love ridiculously oversized items paired with very form-fitting items. I immediately shopped my own closet for all my oversized, flowy and breathable pieces that I knew would grow with my body. My mum even loaned me a few items too. I was surprised to find how much I already owned that would work for this new body-ody-ody.
• Do not purchase anything you cannot wear multiple times.
  I made the mistake of purchasing ONE dress, that I knew had a limited time of wear. Wore it maybe twice?? Now I hate it. I can’t fit in it, I won’t look at it. It’s somewhere in my closet hidden under a cardigan where it will not be looked at probably until baby arrives (or I donate). From that point, I realized there is no point in just casually wasting money on one-wear items (there are so many options to rent for special occasions or purchase second-hand items).
• Do not break the bank on anything that cannot be work post-pregnancy.
  Pretttty early on I knew I would need some maternity pants. I love wearing pants + was struggling to fit into my regular pants pretty early on. I decided to only buy a few staple pant options that I knew I’d still wear post-pregnancy. Two jeans, and a pair of harem pant’s that I live in and I’m set for the next few months, all bought at a sale price, all being worn enough to get my monies worth.
• Find your wardrobe staples + create a capsule closet
  My main focus before I got pregnant was to create a versatile capsule closet that still felt new and interesting every day. Being pregnant, I realized I still very much gravitate towards the same items over and over. Instead of purchasing tons of options, I’ve only purchased a few staple items I knew I would need + have paired them with faithful pieces in my current closet.
• Don’t give in to what “maternity wear is usually considered to be”
  I can’t say how many times I’ve heard “try the wrap dress” or “t-shirts are your new bff” or “this is what most people do”. I hate t-shirts and have purged 90% of all the t-shirts I’ve ever owned because I don’t wear them. Same goes for wearing wrap dresses, or wrap anything. I own two items that I would consider a ‘wrap’ shape and I don’t like them. It felt like my biggest nightmare that suddenly my only options were the items I hated. I have decided to continue to love the shapes and silhouettes I have always loved + made them my maternity wear.

You’re probably looking at this post and thinking “Lisa, you’re wearing a babydoll dress, isn’t that maternity fashion choice no.1?”.

My response? Nope! This is one of my favourite dresses that I wore when I got married in October 2018. I feel so good whenever I wear this dress because it has everything I love in a piece. It’s flowy, floral and fun. But if something I choose coincidentally goes with some arbitrary maternity fashion rules that are deemed “appropriate”- great. You’ll also find me wearing some things that don’t. As I said, these style rules are mine and my own. Every pregnancy is different + approach to maternity wear is unique.

Welcome to maternity fashion messypot style.