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MA Delivers With A Pair Of Colored Maternity Jeans

December 16, 2011

This season’s incredibly fun colored jean trend has virtually passed the maternity fashion industry by and here at PF, we are quite bummed about it. Walking by store displays full of brightly colored yellow, green, red, and aqua jeans is no fun when there is absolutely no chance you can partake.

So, we pregnant women learn to make do. Maternal America, always the most likely American maternity designer to deliver on the most current fashion trends, is just out with a pair of new ankle length, skinny maternity jeans in plum. It’s not fire-engine red or aqua, but it’s not black or brown, so we’ll take it. MA’s Plum Skinny Ankle Jean is priced at USD $102 and still available in all sizes. Third trimester pregnancies, go one size up in these. MA’s skinny jeans are a slim fit, and you certainly don’t want to be wearing a pair of too-tight, plum-colored maternity jeans. I may officially be too big for skinny colored jeans at this point, but I’m looking forward to making them a postpartum wardrobe staple.

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Now, These Are Really Nice Leggings

September 19, 2011

I am a reluctant convert to maternity leggings, but I will readily admit, New York designer David Lerner makes a really nice pair of leggings. Leggings are an anchor of Lerner’s mainstream collection and he has kindly included maternity leggings in his collection. David Lerner Maternity Leggings are made in New York, cut from high-end black jersey and are completely smooth from top to bottom. There is no elastic waistband, so the leggings simply pull up over the bump without creating a line underneath your clothing. These leggings are thick and very supportive and although there is spandex in the fabric, there is no shine whatsoever, they are completely matte. Also, there is absolutely no issue with sagging at the knees or between the legs (a problem, I am quickly finding, with lesser quality maternity leggings). Most importantly, these leggings wash really well. No pilling and they do not stretch out.

Of course, $99 for a pair of maternity leggings is an investment. But in recent weeks, I’ve already spent more than that on several pairs of sub-par leggings. These are worth every single penny.

And just one more Missoni for Target-related note and then I’ll shut up about it. At Whole Foods on Saturday morning I saw three different women wearing exactly the same Missoni for Target sweater. Yet another reason I am celebrating having been unable to order anything last Tuesday–who wants to be wearing the same sweater as the woman standing behind you in the checkout line at the grocery store?

Tagged as: maternity hosiery, new line

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Gilt Stages Maternity Sample Sale Tomorrow at Noon

February 25, 2011

If you’ve made the decision not to register on Gilt.com, I respect that. My sister says she hasn’t registered because she doesn’t want to be tempted. Personally, now that the site is so unbelievably well-known and successful and allows VIP’s to shop earlier than the rest of us, I am usually annoyed at never ever being able to find something I want available in my size, so I don’t even bother all that much anymore.

Pregnant fashionistas should definitely consider bothering tomorrow, because Gilt is staging a maternity sample sale featuring recent pieces from maternity design superstars like NOM, More of Me Maternity, Japanese Weekend, and Egg. I was able to gather a bit of intel regarding specific pieces that will be included in the sample sale and all those pictured here will be available. The More of Me Sequined Party Dress above has been sold out since before Christmas, when Liz Lange recommended it on The View. But that same $220 dress will be part of tomorrow’s sale, and most pieces will be priced at least 50% off retail.

Of course, I can’t guarantee that some pregnant Gilt VIP isn’t going to use her enviable 15-minute head start to snatch up your size, but it’s certainly worth posting yourself at your laptop come noon EST tomorrow and taking your chances. Click here to join Gilt so you can be ready to participate tomorrow.

NOM Lainey Wrap

NOM Ruffle Tunic

More of Me Maternity

NOM Raleigh Dress

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Isabella Oliver Debuts Spring 2011 And PF Readers Get 15% Off!

February 4, 2011

The launch of Isabella Oliver’s Spring/Summer maternity collection is always one of my favorite days of the year fashion-wise. Here you are in the doldrums of winter, itching to partake in spring fashions, but far too cognizant of the fact that runway fashions are not an option for you and your burgeoning belly this year. A few of the online maternity boutiques have started stocking Spring 2011′s items and you may be thinking about indulging in one piece early on to hasten spring’s arrival, but it’s still absolutely freezing outside and you haven’t quite clicked the purchase button yet.

Isabella Oliver’s Spring 2011 collection, which debuted today, will change that for two reasons: 1) because it’s gorgeous, and 2) because they are offering PF readers an exclusive 15% off the new collection. Use promo code “PREGFASH15″ for 15% off the new collection.
If you read this blog, chances are you already own one of IO’s pieces, so you don’t need me to assure you about the high-quality fabrics, thoughtfully tailored cuts, and that these pieces will last through all of your pregnancies. I’ll let the new pictures here speak for themselves. Click here to shop IO’s new maternity collection (please note that a few pieces from the Spring 2011 collection, including this beautiful long floral dress, are not yet available on the site, but will be available in March).

And don’t worry–many of IO’s tried and trued pieces, like the wrap tops, ruched dresses, and nursing tops are included in the new collection in fun new colors, so the promotion applies to those as well. And if you still read this blog but have happily put pregnancy behind you, the promotion also applies to Isabella Oliver’s non-maternity collection, 365. Click here to shop 365′s Spring 2011 collection.*

* Terms and Conditions of Promotion: Offer is valid from Friday 4^th February 2011 and expires midnight Friday 11^th February 2011. Offer only valid on Isabella Oliver branded goods and cannot be used with any other promotional codes, offers or sale items. Normal return policy applies however where items have been bought during a promotion, we are only able to exchange an item for the same item in a different size or colour. Isabella Oliver reserves the right to change these terms and conditions at any time.

P.S. I feel compelled to share this article with all of you, entitled “Regrets of a Stay-at-Home Mom,” which appeared last month on Salon.com..if you are one of the mommies (like me) who is struggling with the choice to stay home or return to work, it is a must read…and be prepared for it to plague you for a good 24 hours after you read it.

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That Maternity Dress You Want Is Sold Out? Try Amazon…No Joke

February 2, 2011

So, Amazon sells maternity clothing. I suppose I shouldn’t find that so shocking, being that they sell everything else. But when More of Me Maternity designer Jessica Boulanger notified me that many of the sold out pieces in her Fall/Winter collection are still available at Amazon, I was shocked to discover that not only does Amazon sell maternity clothing, but the site even has a good selection of higher-end designers. Who knew? Apparently, not many people, because there is a large range of sizes still available for pieces that are completely sold out everywhere else.

Take More of Me’s Stretch Silk Shirtdress at right. This dress was featured in numerous fashion magazines this past fall and even popped up on a few celebrities. Both the cheetah print and the snakeskin print are just about impossible to find this late in the season, but Amazon still has both available here in all sizes. They aren’t on sale, but hey, you can’t have everything. Either one of these would definitely spice up that late winter wardrobe.

More of Me’s cute cotton kimono dress, part of the Spring 2010 collection, is also still available at Amazon here for a very reasonable USD $84.15, reduced from USD $150–and in almost every size. I blogged about this dress last year, it is a great basic. At nearly 50% off, make this one of your first spring 2011 pieces.

Click here to peruse all of Amazon’s maternity clothing. In addition to More of Me, Amazon carries Nuka, Japanese Weekend, Jules & Jim, and even Pea in the Pod.

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“The Shirt” Solves Those First Trimester Fashion Woes

January 28, 2011

For me, one of the telltale signs that I was pregnant yet again was the inability to button those top few buttons on my blouse. Only a few weeks into my pregnancies, my button-downs became quick wardrobe casualties because I truly dread being one of those unaware women wearing a button-down blouse that gapes and consequently, shows her bra and sometimes even her breast to just about everyone she meets that day. I have been a corporate lawyer for a good number of years and I have sat within viewing range of far too many of those women. Old, young, heavy, thin, pregnant, not pregnant–it doesn’t seem to matter. Far too many women seem completely ignorant of the fact that their blouse doesn’t fit properly or, in many cases, it does, but it is gaping anyway.

For all of you newly endowed pregnant women who I hope are aware of this problem (and for all of you non-pregnant women who I hope are going to become aware of this problem after reading this), meet Rochelle Behrens and behold, “The Shirt.” Rochelle is a gorgeous, young professional woman who I happened to meet at a Christmas party here in Washington, DC. Having realized that she simply could not wear a button-down shirt without simultaneously revealing her bra, Rochelle incorporated “Dual-Button Technology” into a basic, cotton button-down. Right at that point between the top two buttons of your blouse, Rochelle added an extra interior button to prevent the unsightly gaping with which most of us are familiar. Voila! Problem solved without safety pins, snaps, tape, or any of the other home remedies we’ve all tried to fix this problem.

Pick one of these blouses up to wear during those first trimester weeks when you have no baby bump, but are having problems managing those new assets above your waist. Click here to shop “The Shirt,” which comes in numerous cuts and colors, all of which are priced under USD $100. You may have already noticed that Oprah is also recommending “The Shirt” as a fashion must-have for 2011. I always defer to Oprah’s divine advice, but I will point out that I met Rochelle before she was “Oprah-fied” and she is truly an incredibly smart, entrepreneurial woman with a really great idea that she has managed to turn into a business. She hadn’t even considered marketing the shirt to pregnant women, but seemed thrilled that it might help expecting moms out too. Maybe I can even talk her into designing a maternity version.

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Maternal America Sample Sale Starts Today at Noon

November 15, 2010

I’m very anti-Gilt these days, but the site will launch its Maternal America sample sale today at noon EST. Maternal America needs no introduction and you can find it absolutely everywhere–but not necessarily at 65% off, which is the discount Gilt is offering today. Click here to join Gilt if you aren’t already a member. Maternal America runs big, so do not size up unless you are in your third trimester with twins (I speak from hard-earned experience on that).

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Juicy Maternity Has Been Discontinued, Now Is Your Chance to Own a Piece of History

September 23, 2010

If you are new to being pregnant and therefore new to the pregnancy fashion scene, you may not even know that Juicy Couture designs a maternity line. And I don’t mean those god-awful terrycloth sweatsuits cut for the pregnant body. Excluding the sweatsuits, Juicy Couture actually designs a small maternity line of which I have reluctantly become a fan over the years. Juicy’s maternity collection has always been overpriced and hard to find, but the quality is always top notch. For a while the collection was available at Saks and Neiman Marcus, but both stores have since all but disbanded their online maternity boutiques and now, finding Juicy Couture Maternity involves a good bit of skilled online shopping savvy.

Now, however, is the time to find it and buy it, because New York Magazine recently confirmed for me what I had suspected in recent months–that Juicy Couture is discontinuing its maternity line. There are a few new pieces out for Fall 2010 but now that those two very annoying ladies who founded Juicy Couture, Pam and Gela, are no longer helming the company, Juicy’s new corporate parent (the Liz Claiborne company) is focusing on women’s wear and accessories and doing away with both the maternity line and the men’s line. I didn’t even know they had a men’s line, but apparently there are men out there who also like to wear tight terrycloth sweatsuits.

So, I thought I’d post a few links to sites where you can still find that rare Juicy Couture maternity item for sale. Consider it the pregnant woman’s version of trying to buy one of the coveted pieces from Alexander McQueen’s final collection. Pam and Gela are not fashion legends like McQueen, but as I’ve said before, when it comes to maternity fashion, beggars can’t be choosers. By the way, the tracksuits are still widely available but I have no intention of facilitating anyone’s purchase of one of those.

Sierra Lane Maternity is carrying a few of the Fall 2010 pieces here, including the Skylar Maternity Cape here. I like the cape look, I think it is a fun trend for fall. But pregnant women should under no circumstances wear capes, especially cropped capes like this one. It just looks really bad, almost as if someone shrunk their own cape in the dryer and and then coerced some unwitting pregnant woman to pull it over her head. And it costs USD $325, which is just ridiculous. I wish Pam and Gela had kept in mind how pregnant women are actually shaped, not tried to be so adventurous, and made a really great maternity trench coat instead.

Sierra Lane is also carrying this new gray Juicy maternity tunic with open shoulders and front pockets. I have generally been a fan of the Juicy maternity tunics because they are made from high-quality cotton and don’t suddenly shrink and become tops after you put them in the dryer. I am ambivalent about those strange droopy pockets in the front though, they do not seem flattering. Aside from the pockets, in the third trimester, you’ll be pleased that you still have a tunic you can actually wear as a tunic. The Juicy tunic is priced at USD $198 here.

My all-time favorite Juicy Couture Maternity piece is the short-sleeved grey hooded sweatshirt tunic, which is still available in limited sizes here. Yes, it is basically a $188 sweatshirt, but it didn’t stretch out, it didn’t pill, it fit me from start to finish, and it is short-sleeved, so good for layering. It is on sale here at Meringue Boutique for USD $94, but only left in size Petite.

My second favorite Juicy Couture Maternity piece is the under-the-belly bootcut corduroys. J Brand is now making straight leg maternity cords and I really do like those. But for a few years, Juicy’s were the best maternity cords out there and I collected them in every color I could find. Mama-la-Mode still has them available in black here in a good range of sizes and they are on sale–but they are discounted from the original UK price of GBP 176, making them 110 GBP on sale. That is not such a great price, but I can’t find them anywhere else online, so this may be your only chance to pick up a pair.

There are also a few pairs of Juicy’s under-the-belly twill bootcut pants still available at Chulamama here, discounted to USD $70 from USD $144. I like these pants and I bought them in black and wore them often, but they did not wash as well as I would have liked. The black twill faded after a few washes and I was frustrated that I had spent nearly $150 on them. For $70, maybe you won’t be as bothered by the fading. Chulamama also has a few sizes available in camel. Just note that these are fitted twill trousers, they are not your go-to baggy trousers.

I own most of these pieces above, and will readily admit that the prices are high and it is painful to know I gave so much money to the very bothersome Pam and Gela. But beggars can’t be choosers and these pieces are tasteful, well-tailored and will last through several pregnancies.

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Buy Your Basic White Maternity Blouse Now

August 17, 2010

Nordstrom just posted my all-time favorite maternity blouse in white here. Whenever this Maternal America Twist Front Maternity blouse pops up in white, it almost always sells out immediately so I’d head over there and purchase it now. Unlike most maternity blouses, which will not make it into the third trimester with you, the knot at the center of this blouse is adjustable and therefore can accommodate most bumps at nine months. I also like the neckline and the forgiving ruching through the top. You’ll definitely need to wear a camisole underneath it toward the end, but there is enough extra material incorporated into the front of this blouse that you won’t ever appear as if you’ve outgrown your maternity clothing (never an attractive look).

There is one small problem with this blouse–last time I blogged about it, it was priced at USD $68 and now, only 7 months later, it is suddenly priced at USD $78 in the Nordstrom maternity boutique. That annoys me. But no matter what kind of pregnant fashionista you are, you’ll need a basic white blouse for your maternity wardrobe and despite having tried just about all of them out, this one remains my top recommendation. Console yourself with the knowledge that you won’t outgrow it and have to buy yourself another white blouse in a few months.

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MA’s “Denim” Maternity Dress Is Now For Sale

August 9, 2010

Since I first spotted it back in April, I have been waiting for Maternal America’s new “denim” jersey maternity dress to pop up for sale online. I have been really into denim dresses over the past few months, but being that denim is the not the most forgiving or flexible fabric, the options for a denim maternity dress are limited. It is neither fun nor feasible to try and stretch a stiff piece of denim over a pregnant belly. MA has instead combined a black cotton top with a jersey material that looks just like denim and though it’s not the real thing, it comes pretty close aesthetically speaking. The wide sash is also made from the denim jersey material and works well to bring the two fabrics together. And, unlike real denim, it stretches–need I write more?

I am usually pretty skeptical about Maternal America because their clothing is just everywhere and purchasing one of their dresses makes it very likely that the pregnant woman in the office next to yours will own the same dress. But this dress was special enough, I think it’s worth the risk. And don’t worry, it is not as short as it looks in this photo, this model must be six feet tall. It came to a very respectable knee-length when I saw the sample. Curiously, this dress is selling for USD $126 here at Euphoria Maternity, USD $124 here at Due Maternity and only USD $112 here at Chulamama Maternity.

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