Vanity, Thy Name is Mel
I try to be a good person. I try to be grounded and focus on the big picture and things that are important. I try to give of myself. I have a very loving circle of family and close knit friends. This should be enough for happiness in life really. Yet, I've got to admit, I have not been feeling super happy recently. Not unhappy mind you, just a little down. The sad part is that I've been feeling down over my wardrobe. Ok, it's out, I'm a vain clothes horse. I love clothing. It's a big part of what drives me to knit. I love color and texture and style. And, for the last couple months, I've had none of those things in my wardrobe.
I will go on the record now to say that the maternity industry, much like the dreaded bridal industry, is a bunch of money grubbers. You see all these cute celebs prancing about looking fabulous when they're pregnant (ok, there are a couple train wrecks out there, but they were train wrecks before they got knocked up too) and you think, gee, this won't be so bad. Then you price the cute things they are wearing and want to die. Or at the very least discover you'll need to take out a second mortgage on your house to be able to afford those cute clothes.
The other end of the spectrum is the more bargain stores (Old Navy, Target and Maternity to name a few). This may possibly be even more depressing. In most cases you get your choice of about 3 different outfits and 1 or 2 styles of jeans and they are fugly. Oh, and let's not forget plain. I mean, if I want to wear non-descript mid colored jeans and plain t-shirts I'm set for life. But heaven forbid I'd like a print or some stripes. Of course, they also have their street walker lines, which are by far more frightening. I am shocked at some of the things they think pregnant women will want to wear.
This left me spending the last few months in no-mans land. Unwilling to pay $50 for a cute prego t-shirt and $175 for cute prego jeans and unwilling to wear affordable, but horridly bland, plain clothing. I found one cute pair of jeans a few months ago (thank goodness) and have been rotating between those and the one cute knit skirt I found. I've had to pair these with my existing shirts, which was ok, until the last few weeks when my belly made them ride up horribly. So, all of this left me very grumpy and each morning was a struggle. Believe me, mornings for me are already a struggle, so this is not something we want to add to.
This weekend, however, the maternity fairy smiled on me. Someone over at Gap maternity got a clue and discovered pregnant women like things like color, texture and prints. Oh, and we like sales too. Baby Style also had a sale on their basic layering shirts. So I am now the proud new owner of a fall wardrobe. I spent more than I should have, but I now wake up smiling and think, hmm, what would I like to wear today? I mean, these are clothes I would have worn not prego too. Ok, they're a tad more conservative than my normal taste, but not horribly so. I have choice again!
So there you go. How horrible is it that all it takes to lift my spirits is a shiny new wardrobe?
Seriously. What Jen said. For maternity wear you are going to buy fewer items, but each one is important. I believe one should surround oneself with beauty during the pregnancy -- and this includes your own wardrobe. Get over it & be happy in your beautiful pregnant state, sez the bossy one.
Thank you Jen - it's nice to hear someone else say it. :)
That is not horrible at all. I was going to suggest Gap maternity to you because my friend had such good luck with it. Who wants to wear swiss dots and tiny cap sleeves and babydoll necks? Eek!
I think when your body is changing every day it's important to have some kind of touchstone that helps you feel good - comfy clothes, a good lipstick, or some other beauty trick that inspires confidence.
Give yourself a break, ok? I mean, don't be so hard on yourself. :)