Styling the BUMP
3rd-trimester pregnancy clothing hacks & fails
Hi guys and welcome to my very first blog post! For those who already follow me on Instagram and YouTube, you might already know that I am currently in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy and what is a better topic to start off than to share with you some maternity clothing hacks that I’ve learned so far and some fails that I’ve experienced along the way. You can check out all the info in my YouTube video here, or just keep reading.
What does the Korean maternity fashion market have to offer?
First of all, let me say that since I live in South Korea I started to make my research on Korean maternity fashion. As my clothing style pre-pregnancy mainly consisted of high-waisted jeans or skirts, at a very early pregnancy stage I wasn’t able to fit into most of my favorite pieces. With the help of my husband, I searched my way through Korean maternity shopping malls and I must say that not a single one of them had nice clothes. All of them sent out the message: “you’re becoming a mother now so you should start dressing appropriately”.
Therefore I knew, there was no other way than going to look out for maternity brands overseas. Of course, maternity fashion was a very new topic for me so between sizing and styling I encountered a lot of difficulties and experienced some inevitable fails while shopping online. Therefore I’m going to share with you, step by step my maternity ‘must haves’ items and all the tips and tricks that I’ve learned along the way.
My Top 6 Pieces
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been observing which pieces that I bought I actually ended up wearing the most, and that also now I almost cannot imagine not having them in my closet. It’s quite a minimalistic list however, combined with some pieces that you might already own they can be worn in a big variety of styles that are appropriate for many different occasions.
**Some of the linked products might be affiliate
Maternity Leggings: definitely, a must-have that’ll love to wear right from the beginning of your pregnancy when you might feel bloated, until the very end when your belly starts getting very big. Some cute ways that I personally like to combine them are with a cropped turtle neck top since most maternity leggings are high-waisted. Also, if you’re uncomfortable showing off your butt you can simply wear them with a long cardigan. For something more elegant, simply grab a color-matching top with a blazer and you’ve quickly created a professional but super comfortable office look. And on a lazy day, you can just combine them with an oversized hoodie and some nice sneakers. (shop here!)
Maternity Jeans: this is a classic and honestly, in the beginning, I didn’t wanna buy them. But they are just perfect once you get used to them and you really just need one pair of them. I just got the cheapest ones from H&M. You can again wear them with a simple top and cardigan or create a professional but still stylish office look by wearing an oversized blazer. And they are also perfect for an afternoon walk in the park when combined with one of your favorite vintage sweaters. (shop similar here!)
Dresses: usually specific maternity dresses have somehow a different cut. While normal dresses are shaped around the waist, maternity dresses usually are shaped right under the breast just above the belly. This makes them not really versatile since you won’t be able to wear them after pregnancy without looking pregnant. Therefore, I decided to look for non-maternity dresses with stretchy fabric. Be aware that since the material is stretchable there is no need to size up and you can shop in your pre-pregnancy size, which again makes it easier to wear still after pregnancy.
Midi Skirts: when these types of skirts started becoming popular, I never liked them since I really didn’t know how to style them without looking like a grandma. During pregnancy, however, they can be perfectly worn above the belly and you can combine them with a simple cropped top or cropped sweater. (shop here!)
Cardigan: a piece of clothing that you might already have in your closet and that you will very probably start to love wearing during pregnancy. I like them the most when worn just with the top buttons closed so they show off the belly and give you a nice shape.
Low-waisted (non-maternity) pants: also these you might already own and they are perfect for the early weeks of pregnancy when you still don’t want to go and buy proper maternity clothes. If you have a low-waisted pair of jeans you can also close them with a hairband.
Invest in one or two high quality maternity pieces
I know maternity clothes can be very pricy but sometimes it’s better just to invest in a nice statement piece that you absolutely adore which you can wear on those or two special occasions that might occur exactly while you’re pregnant or if you plan to have an exclusive ladies Sunday brunch and you still wanna show your girl-friends that even if your pregnant you can still pull of some astonishing fashion styles.
Here are some outfit ideas put together with some pieces from one of my favorite maternity brand BUMPSUIT (with ‘AISHA20’ you can get a 20% discount)
Lastly, some of my FAILS
How does maternity clothes sizing work?? At the beginning, while shopping online I thought that I need to size up even on maternity clothes. However I made the experience that usually it’s the same as your pre-pregnancy size.
Sizing up non-maternity clothes is not always a good idea!! If you size up clothes, usually they are not only bigger around your belly area but also at your shoulders, around your arms and mostly the waist shape will just look weird. Therefore, as said before, consider buying clothes that are made of stretchy material in your usual size or just go for maternity clothes.
