#14: easy guide to maternity dressing
(or, how to put together an outfit when you feel like wet bread)
Reporting in from my ninth month of pregnancy: turns out getting dressed is not that fun anymore! I’d hyped myself up to believe it’d be a ~ cool creative challenge ~ but most days I find myself defaulting to extreme basics. Nothing stiff or structured dare touch my skin! Must be able to mermaid-roll off the couch and onto an exercise ball at any moment! If the waistband can’t be rolled down at a minute’s notice, exposing my belly to a soothing breeze, it’s not worth it! And yet, I do feel better when I look like myself. Looking like yourself certainly differs for everyone, but for me it is decidedly not the pilling Girlfriend Collective maternity leggings (these are bad; don’t get them) and old t-shirt that have second-skinned themselves to my body. I miss pizazz! And panache!
I write this knowing that many of you are not pregnant – however, I do know there are days where you think you might feel better if you put something together, but also feel like you fully and completely can’t. And that is the correct way to feel, in these early days of an unjust war of aggression, marinating in the dregs of an unending pandemic, batting at the doom of climate apocalypse. We all feel like wet bread; but sometimes, I swear, a new outer skin (ye ol’ outfit swap) can shake us out of a funk, can help us show up better for those we love and those in need, in such a profound way, that we’d be a fool not to try.
So try we will! My recent doughnut-drenched baby shower is perhaps clouding my judgment, but something I’m calling the *cake method* is how I get dressed when I feel bleh in my body or outside of myself; like an iced cake, it prioritizes softness to start, adding on structure/complexity (the fondant) & sparkle bit by bit, in measured amounts.
Three pairs of maternity leggings, one casual pair of maternity jeans & a fancier pair of maternity trousers are the only purpose-built pieces you need to buy for pregnancy, and this is the hill I will peacefully die on! Most of my outfits start with a soft, flexible, comfy base layer like this: leggings or maternity pants on bottom, stretchy shirt from *the before* on top. (If you’re nursing, could also swap in a nursing tank here.) A base layer you’d feel comfortable wearing as a standalone outfit is key; anything else we add on from this point is just for fun and can be stripped off at the first sign of being uncomfy.
The next layer can bring colour and movement, but should still be relatively comfy, fluid and easily-removable. Think oversized button-ups, elastic-waist skirts, cocooned cardigans & unbuttoned shirtdress.
Your final layer, or layers, should contain all the structure of your outfit. This is the frame of the cake; it’s what will make you feel *done*, and what differentiates it from an outfit made wholly of soft clothes. Think canvas chore jacket, oversized vintage blazer, or a long wool coat. But the key here is that these final structured layers should be ultra-removeable, and you should be unafraid to remove at will; each layer beneath it should envelop you in soft comfort, with this final punctuation mark a bonus if you’re feeling up for it.
The accessories are the candles on top and, as they don’t generally affect comfort levels too much, can pull plenty of the weight. You might even forget you’re wearing a jaunty neckscarf or polka-dotted sheer socks! And, like all the other final layers, you won’t be completely undone if you need to unchain yourself from a necklace or kick off your heels for house slippers.
Hope this helps bring some comfort to your closet, maternity or otherwise. I have definitely removed some of the icing from this morning, and am currently in said leggings and said jaunty scarf, working from a weird crescent moon position on the couch! I’ll be taking things as they come for the next few months of impending new parenthood – while Matchpoint Monthly may become Matchpoint BiMonthly, I’ll check in as soon as I have thoughts about clothing again! Will miss you all; don’t be strangers!
xxoo,
M
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