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Ooh: I love this cotton blend cardigan with all of its interesting, fun details. Love the peplum hem, the single button closure, and the diagonal stitches in the back, which I think would be super flattering. I’m a huge fan of the marled look, too, and I’m in love with all of these colors. I think it would be a great layering piece in the fall and spring, worn with a pencil skirt, a sheath dress, a pair of trousers… pretty much anything. The care instructions are to hand wash cold, dry flat, and it comes in regular and petite sizes XS-XL for $144. Nic + Zoe Marled Cable CardiganSales of note for 3.28.24
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Kid/Family Sales
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And — here are some of our latest threadjacks of interest – working mom questions asked by the commenters!
- If you’re a working parent of an infant with low sleep needs, how do you function at work when you’re in the throes of baby’s sleep regression?
- Should I cut my childcare down to 12 hours a month if I work from home?
- Will my baby have speech delays if we raise her bilingual?
- Has anyone given birth in a teaching hospital?
- My child eats everything, and my friends’ kids do not – how should I handle? In general, what is the best way to handle when your child has some skill/ability and your friend’s child doesn’t have that skill/ability?
- ADHD moms, give me your tips to help with things like behavior in the classroom, attention to detail, etc?
- I think I suffer from mom rage…
- My husband and kids are gone this weekend – how should I enjoy my free time?
- I’m struggling to be compassionate with a SAHM friend who complains she doesn’t have enough hours of childcare.
- If you exclusively formula fed, what tips do you have for in the hospital and coming home?
- Could I take my 4-yo and 8-yo on a 7-8 day trip to Paris, Lyon, and Madrid?
Spirograph says
You guys, I hate maternity clothes so much. I hate being this shape, I get irrationally angry/jealous when I see a non-pregnant woman wearing a nice outfit, and I still have 3 months to go. I know it’s a stupid body image issue thing, but I don’t feel good when I don’t look good. I have casual weekend clothes I like, but every weekday morning is off to a terrible start when I have to put on the same frumpy, ugly clothes I’ve been wearing for the last month+, most of which I am still sick of from my first pregnancy. Can you recommend your favorite outfit that made you feel attractive near the end of your pregnancy? My office is business casual, but tends toward the casual end. I could probably get away with anything but blatant weekend wear (although not-pregnant, I prefer to look much more put-together).
Carrie M says
I will try to find links to a few of the items I liked wearing when the bump was huge. They included a black wrap dress from Japanese Weekend; navy JCrew pants with a silk-tie blouse from Ingrid and Isabel and a regular non-maternity blazer; black old navy pants with a shell, bright colored cardigan, and belt over the bump.
A tip I got from Work that Bump that I think worked: focus on fun accessories and shoes. Wearing a big bright necklace could put a smile on my face even when I didn’t feel great. I also did my hair and makeup every day because that helped me feel better too. (Her blog has great photos by the way – lots of great inspiration.)
Also: I sprung for some of these items (like the JW dress and JCrew pants) because I got them on sale, but they were still the two most expensive items of my maternity wardrobe. And I wore them to the ground. I am happy I shelled out more money for a couple of items that became Go-Tos. That said, I also loved some of the cheap Target and ON stuff I found, but more for weekend than workwear.
Newly pregnant says
Similar to pockets, my friend (who is much farther along than I am) has been loving Isabella Oliver clothes. She looks gorgeous, and she says the clothes are very comfortable. They’re on the expensive side, but I think she found some on ebay that were less expensive.
Nonny says
Yes. Treat yourself to a new IO dress in a pretty colour. You will feel like a million bucks.
Anon says
The blog Outfit Posts has done a series of posts lately on a maternity wardobe capsule along with lots of pics.
AEK says
I hear you! I am almost 7 months and I am getting a little despondent about my work attire. Even the pants I like comfort-wise look cruddy after a few hours of wear because of wrinkling. And I have some cute dresses but not the right hosiery yet. My husband made an accidentally unfortunate comment about a borrowed tunic I was wearing this weekend and I nearly cried.
Commiseration. Feeling frumpy is no fun.
Lyssa says
I’m sorry that you’re feeling that way! I know that around the time that I was getting that feeling, I had predominantly been wearing big comfortable dresses, but then I got a pencil skirt (nothing fancy, from Motherhood Maternity) and wore it with a nice maternity top and (non-maternity) jacket, and suddenly I felt much, much more put together – I’m not sure whether it was that I just needed a change or that I was wearing something more similar to my usual look (I don’t wear dresses very often as workwear, and maternity dresses were pretty dissimilar to my usual more structured sheath-type work dresses) or that breaking things up around my belly that made a difference, but it was really helpful.
So, try looking over your maternity go-tos, and try to think of something radically different than what you’ve been wearing, and try that. You might be able to change things up with one new inexpensive piece.
Spirograph says
Thanks everyone! I hadn’t thought of thrift stores, but good idea! I might give those a shot, just for some more options to alleviate my boredom.
Yes, my maternity clothes seem so unstructured compared to my normal clothes, which contributes to the feeling of unmitigated frump. Pencil skirt/slim cut trouser + blouse + jacket sounds like a good idea for exactly the reason you say… the hunt is on.
I am actually wearing that Isabella Oliver dress in a different color at the moment. :) It – and the other Isabella Oliver dress I have – are among the very few things I still like in theory (but am getting soooo tired of because I’ve worn them a million times), but I need some kind of slip/shapewear now that it’s colder because they cling to tights. What did y’all wear underneath?
Nonny says
I bought a nursing slip from Seraphine, and wore it under all my maternity dresses to smooth out the lumps. I still wear it now that I am pumping at work – in fact I am wearing it under my dress today.
JJ says
I’m sorry you feel that way, but totally understand it. I was SO OVER being pregnant at that point with my second. I had a pair of black skinny pants from Gap that I LOVED. I would wear those with a long maternity tank, some type of open cardigan (usually those didn’t have to be maternity), cute flats, and a cute necklace. That helped me feel better.
NewMomAnon says
I had the same feeling by 6 months into my pregnancy. I just felt bad about myself. Prenatal yoga helped me regain some confidence in my body, and getting prenatal massages also made me feel better. Not helpful for a boring wardrobe, but it was helpful for my general body image, which made the wardrobe not so bad?
I second the recommendation for good accessories. I wore lots of scarves and big colorful necklaces and even bought myself a purse I really liked. I also bought some basic work-appropriate maternity dresses from Target in black and gray that I wore with colorful skinny belts or pretty scarves tied over the bump. They weren’t as structured as I like, but they were comfortable and held up remarkably well. Open cardigan sweaters and blazers (non maternity) were good splurge items, since I knew I would wear them postpartum too.
In House Counsel says
I’m about 8 months along w/ my 2nd and hear you on feeling sick of my wardrobe (most of which is recycled from the first time). A couple of tips to inject freshness is considering buying a couple of cardigans to wear over maternity tees/tanks and dress pants for work (and bonus, can use the cardi w/ nursing) and a couple of infinity scarves or statement necklaces. I just bought 3 infinity scarves from anthro in different patterns/colors to inject some color into my pregnancy wardrobe and they make me feel more pulled together and fashionable than just wearing a blah shirt w/ my maternity pants. Finally, search for some brands on Amazon — I managed to get a pair of maternity jeans and dress at like $40 each instead of full price at Pea in the Pod or Nordies. If you search by some brands, there is surprisingly a decent amount of stock on Amazon that can be had at a good price.
oil in houston says
I have 3 dresses from asos I like, and a more expensive one from neiman marcus. My favorite is by far my black skater-style sleeveless black dress from asos. It hits the knee, but is a-line and feel very flirty, and the sleeveless cut makes it young. I feel great in it.
the more expensive one on the other end feels very matronly…. go figure
pockets says
this dress: http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/isabella-oliver-emily-maternity-dress/3591022 (available in many more colors from the isabella oliver website)
CPA lady says
Completely second this ^ . I got that exact dress off of ebay for around $80 and wore it to death. I called it my Kate Middleton dress because it reminded me of the dress she wore in her engagement photos. It was one of the few work outfits I had that I actually felt pretty wearing.
Also, I got the black maternity jersey knit pencil skirt from Old Navy, and it was flattering up to the end. It was surprisingly thick and sturdy for the price, too.
Otherwise I just struggled through a bunch of months wearing the hideous polyester crap that most maternity wear is. Pretty accessories helped. So did several benders at a local thrift store. It was all hideous crap, but at least it was new-to-me hideous crap.
Nonny says
Yes, I had that dress too, in burgundy.
Actually, this discussion has me wondering whether there is anyone in this community who wants to buy my nicer maternity stuff. I gave away some of it already but I kept the nicest things and have been thinking of selling them. Have no idea what I would charge or how we would sort out payment (especially as I am in Canada and most of you are in the US) but I would want to recoup some of my cost, or there would be no point. The items I am thinking of are mostly IO and Seraphine, and size small or 6. Anyone interested in theory?
For (former) preg 3L says
Sending thoughts your way! Hope you are okay.
Nina says
The daily check-ins and follow ups are a bit much at this point, no? She is providing updates, and she has stated that she has awesome IRL friends supporting her. She clearly posts when she feels like it; is the constant paging really necessary? Perhaps she will provide direct contact info to the individuals who need more frequent updates.
Tunnel says
I don’t know what you’re talking about!
(former) preg 3L says
I really appreciate coming here and seeing that somebody cares! It feels ridiculous to post an update every day if there’s no interest. Today is going amazingly well, baby is transitioning to daycare and I am having a quiet lunch by myself :)
For (former) preg 3L says
High five! That’s awesome.
pregnantworkingprofessional says
I totally empathize with late pregnancy wardrobe and body image woes.
On the upside, I have recently discovered this brand:
http://loyalhana.com/
Great quality, and not as expensive as Hatch/Isabella Olivier. Machine washable and transitions nicely to postpartum. Styles are acceptable for my not too formal medical workplace.
The hardest thing for me is to find professional maternity bottoms that dont slide down my butt, but are comfortable. For this I love LOFT maternity.