i live in downtown toronto, and for all intents and purposes, it’s a pretty fashionable city. cut to me being majorly surprised by the lack of maternity clothing options. we make this huge effort to blanket the city in department stores, boutiques, and pop-ups for the fashion forward, but the choices for mom’s to be, who aren’t necessarily going to be able to fit in regular sizes throughout the duration of their gestation, are kind of shit. hello – did you know that neither sears nor the bay carry maternity? cue the tears.
i could be wrong. i haven’t been pregnant near long enough to be an expert on the subject of maternity fashion, nor have i ventured to every corner of the city in search of the best shops. however, and hear me out on this, if the general preggo is anything like me, she’s going to give up after a cursory search because, frankly, hunting down fashion is exhausting – even when you aren’t a human crock pot.
i recently spent some time trolling racks looking for a party dress that would suit my 7 month bump and still look sexy, but i found all the stuff to be so damn boring/matronly/un-stylish (polyester? really? in this heat?). and the really cute stuff… c’est tres cher, mes ami. it was… very… disheartening, to say the least. i want to look as amazing as i feel (sometimes), not bargain basement.
so far i’ve been able to stick with my regular wardrobe, and have supplemented with a few maternity pieces. i managed to get away with a simple dress from h&m for an xmas party ($20 and i can wear it again later? bargain!) but if i wasn’t able to shop like i like to (life’s blood), i’d probably lose my mind a little bit. my heart goes out to all the women who are struggling to maintain their “personal style” or even create a new one with that darling little bun in their oven.
while it’s still nice to have that instant gratification of swipe your card and walk out with a bag full of wearable goodness, luckily, you know, internet. there are drawbacks (it takes time to get to you, you can’t try it on first, etc), but the maternity fashion world becomes your oyster. if you haven’t yet, make sure you check out asos.com – their maternity selection is awesome, shipping is free over a certain amount, and they deliver pretty promptly, for items that are coming from the UK. i’m a believer!