my maternity style

Being new to the 'pregnant game', I was not prepared for the sheer disappointment that is the maternity clothing selection. I mean sure, if I had an unlimited budget and had no qualms about spending more than my usual clothing allowance on clothes that I can only wear 3-6 months max, then I wouldn't have a problem finding maternity clothes. However, that's not the case.

You see, I'm stingy. I've always been that way. I rarely, RARELY buy any item of clothing at full price. My mom brought my sister and I up this way and it has stuck with me. I've gotten through life loving clothes and shoes and having LOTS of them because I have always bought cheap, meaning I can buy more.

Sure, I can splurge every now and then for a nice dress or quality jeans, but overall I'm always heading straight to the sales rack. $20 is a general threshold I tend to stay under for most items of clothing or shoes.

All that being said, maternity clothes are kind of few and far between on the sale racks. I haven't needed much so far, but pants are tight and I want to be comfortable, so I've tested out a few items and I already have a few favorites. I've gathered some of those favorites here and I may check back in later in pregnancy if I need more items. I'm hoping I can get by with a lot of my wardrobe since I have quite a few flowy things, but pants and dresses especially aren't fitting right now!

First, I have one word for my pregnant mamas: ponte.

In our office, we can't wear jeans or leggings so the next best thing: ponte. If you don't know what ponte is, it's basically a thick jersey/legging type material that has more shape than jersey. I have both pairs of these pants from LOFT:

The first pair are kind of a heathered maroon color - perfect for fall, but I'll be wearing them through the summer too. I bought that pair for about $12 on sale. Then, I went back last weekend and saw that LOFT was doing a 70% off flash sale ADDITIONALLY on top of sale items. So I bought the black pair and another grey pair not shown. They were about $7.50 each, marked down from $70. Steal! These pants are great because you can wear them like leggings - tucked into boots OR you can roll them up and wear them with booties, etc. And of course, they score like a 100 on a scale of 1-10 on the comfortable scale. YOU WILL LOVE THESE.

I haven't bought this shirt but it's a good contender. I like that it looks like a normal shirt I would wear and that it doesn't have the ruched side detail. I think you might be able to get away with wearing this post-baby.

Another good one at LOFT for a STEAL. I like the tie around the waist! It seems like this one would accommodate a growing bump, rather than just the biggest bump, which is what I seem to be finding with a lot of the dresses. Plus, I love a shirtdress! I think the hemline is super flattering.

I bought this dress at Old Navy and am waiting for it to arrive. It looks cute, but the jury is still out on it. I'm thinking this could totally be one of my summer go-to's. I'd pair it with flip flops and a necklace for those hot days outside and a jean jacket and my white converse for other days like when I'm inside with the cold AC on! One thing I have noticed with many shops is that the dresses are made to accommodate a rather large bump. I'm sure I'll appreciate that later on, but it's a little weird that it's all bunchy in my stomach right now. I really wish there was a way to remedy this! For that reason (and because it will be summer) I'm looking mostly at jersey dresses which tend to be a little more forgiving. Just keep it in mind!

I'm LOVING maxi dresses already and I've had my eye on this one for a while. If the coral jersey dress works out, I'm going for this one next!

This is such a cute dress for Easter or a baby shower! Again, I'm thinking it's probably pretty roomy but it will work for us later in pregnancy!

They have this dress in maternity AND regular, and it's super cute. I've seen a few instagram snaps of it on and it's surprisingly adorable! It is another great summer option.

I bought this dress last week and tried it out. Mark really liked it, but it had the extra space issue. I'm keeping it because its comfy, long enough for work, and I just generally like it. I'm thinking I may pull it out for July 4th, depending on the Texas heat! Otherwise I may show up in just a swimsuit with a constant bucket of water poured on me.

I've saved the best for last: Maternity jeans.

I ordered SO many pairs of jeans and tried on a bunch in stores with no luck. I tried H&M first because I like their jeans and the price, but I was super early and they just weren't working. I may go back later and give them another try.

I've heard great things about GAP jeans, but as always, they tend to be vanity sized (meaning you might wear a 2 or 4 at GAP when you're really a 6)  and they just weren't working for me...I ordered three times and returned them all. 

I tried on a pair at Old Navy and immediately took them off. They were  BAD, y'all. At least for this 5'9" prego.

One more stipulation: I didn't want to get jeans with any distressing because when we CAN wear them to work,  they can't have holes in them. 

So, I finally bit the bullet and bought this pair from Asos:

They are a bit more than what I was wanting to spend but I really like them. They are my longest pair of jeans (ever) which I LOVE. They fit like normal skinny jeans and have a nice stretch. They are super comfortable and I love the wash. They even have a true waistband with a working button! My only complaint is that the maternity band (the cloth that goes over your belly) is really loose, which wasn't the case with the rest of the jeans I tried. I can totally grow into them, though, so I'm keeping them and loving them right now!

One more thing for pregnant and NON pregnant people: head to your trusty Google or ask around and see if there is a discount Dillards in your area. We have two in the area and we lovingly refer to them as "Dirty Dillards". If you like a deal and don't mind places similar to Goodwill, Ross, TJ Maxx, etc., you must check out Dirty Dillards. This is where all the out of season, overstock, etc. items go. It's a final sale (no returns!) store where everything is marked down (I want to say 60%). On top of that, they have additional sales every weekend. Over half the store is marked down each weekend. You'll see signs like "additional 40% off" on the racks that are on sale. I bought all of my prom/banquet dresses plus loads of other clothes (I'm talking $28 for a prom dress and $8 for a sequin BCBG dress) at Dirty Dillards. One time I went and they were selling their dresses as buy one, get two FREE. I've seen multiple items discounted at Dirty Dillards selling for full price in the regular Dillards just because a store maybe ordered too much or something. If you want quality clothes for a STEAL, you must go!!! I haven't checked it out since being pregnant so I'm not sure if they have maternity or not, but it's worth checking out!

I fully plan on consigning most of my maternity clothes once I'm done with them. I'm constantly cleaning out my closet and donating or selling, and if I can't wear it when I'm not pregnant, I don't want it! I'll keep some staple items like the jeans but I'm sure the next time I'm pregnant, I'm sure the trends will have changed and I'll want different things anyway.

So that's where I am right now! I've bought 4 pairs of dress pants, one pair of jeans, 4 maternity dresses, and one maternity top. We'll see how long that lasts me! Please share more tips in the comments!

*none of the links in this post are affiliate links, I just wanted to share the good news!