Work Clothes Strategy

cdethwomp · November 2014

So I have to dress in business type clothes for work. I don't have to wear a suit or anything, but a little nicer than business casual. Also, all of my work slacks are basically uncomfortable due to bloating and pregnancy tummy.

I caved this week and bought a few pairs of pull-on non-pregnancy pants so that I can have something to wear comfortably at work with my regular jackets and blouses/cardigans.

Any ideas what you ladies are going to do for work clothes until maternity wear is reasonable?

thiscoffeechick · November 2014

Is maternity wear not reasonable now? My blump didn't get the memo:)
I was thinking of getting some waistband extenders and I hit ordered a belly band for the top of my slacks as I've heard you can just slide them over unbuttoned pants to keep the pants up. And I may or may not already be wearing maternity jeans cuz no one can see the tops and they're so freaking comfy.

Danious · November 2014

I got away with yoga pants and blazers for much longer than I thought possible. You just have to find the right pair.

puppygurl21 · November 2014

I've resorted to wearing leggings and boots as much as possible. I only have a couple of pants that fit ok with all this bloat going on!

qtjo5 · November 2014

I am in the same situation, nicer than business casual for work. I am in a funk. Nothing fits me well anymore because I feel bloated and my boobs like doubled in size. I thought about getting maternity wear this early, this has convinced me :-) thanks all

JuneBug0611 · November 2014

I was in maternity pants at 9 weeks with DD and switched over at 5 weeks with this LO. I'm too nauseous to deal with over-tight pants on top of it all. I wear the adjustable waistband pants I got from Old Navy. I have them in black, gray, and khaki. They look dressy enough for work and are sooo comfortable. I wore them through fairly late in my last pregnancy too... they are the under-belly variety so they work well for the first two trimesters at least. I have no regrets!

jos2124 · November 2014

May not be work appropriate but I have been wearing leggings like crazy lately. Leggings and sweats are about the only thing I can wear while still being comfortable. Pair it up with a long shirt and a cute belt and you have yourself an outfit!

catladymeow · November 2014

I've been wearing a lot of leggings lately. Jeans + bloat = no fun. I have a few pair of work pants that are too big and I've hung on to them for exactly this purpose. When I grow out of those I'll probably look into a belly band type thing.

bnk2012 · November 2014

I've been wearing leggings, tunic style sweaters & low heel boots for work--it has been working for me so far since the sweaters are long & loose nobody can see my big bloat (important since we're not sharinv the news til Christmas & my co-workers are nosy as hell).
Good luck!

bumpuser8571475 · November 2014

The Bella Band helped me to wear my regular work pants longer last time. I just wore a long enough shirt to kind of hide everything. They make maternity clothes that aren't too obvious. They will give you some extra room without screaming 'I'm pregnant'.

law&order · November 2014

I hated the bella band and was in maternity pants by 11 weeks last time…maybe earlier. I don't think it's wrong to wear them now

I've got a few dresses I can wear for now, but my slacks are getting too tight by lunch time. I'll probably break out the maternity pants soon. I don't see a need to be uncomfortable. Nor do I see a need to go buy a bunch of non-maternity clothes to fit for a few more weeks.

WafflesFriendsWork · November 2014

OMG I just bought my first pair of maternity jeans and they are literally the most comfortable things I've ever put on my body. I don't understand how moms go back to wearing regular clothes. I put them away at the top of my closet so I'm not tempted to wear them at Thanksgiving.

My work dress-code is fairly similar - most staff wear trendy, very nice, slightly above business casual clothes. Thankfully, I work in the arts world and most people wear a lot of black, flow-y things which make it VERY easy to hide things... like the burrito belly I got from my dinner two nights ago.

A great suggestion is to order tops in tall! They are long enough and have just enough more room to hide blumps, bumps, and burritos for awhile.

ChristyM87 · November 2014

I wear scrubs for work and I have several pairs that are looser and will hopefully be fine.

I do have several presentations for school and am not sure what professional wear I will wear. Plus I graduate in May and pretty sure none of my dresses will fit by then.

SlurpeeLove · November 2014

I went to Target and bought a pair of maternity slacks. Best investment ever. This is my first and I had no idea how uncomfortable my pants were going to be!

thiscoffeechick · November 2014

SlurpeeLove said:
I went to Target and bought a pair of maternity slacks. Best investment ever. This is my first and I had no idea how uncomfortable my pants were going to be!

Everyone is telling me Target for maternity slacks but I went there the other night and their "slacks" were thin and super tapered at the ankle and made of really thin material. They seemed more like skinny leg yoga pants or something. I was hoping for more of a structured cut. Maybe I wasn't finding the "slacks" everyone speaks of.

SlurpeeLove · November 2014

lauraneedscoffee said:

I went to Target and bought a pair of maternity slacks. Best investment ever. This is my first and I had no idea how uncomfortable my pants were going to be!
Everyone is telling me Target for maternity slacks but I went there the other night and their "slacks" were thin and super tapered at the ankle and made of really thin material. They seemed more like skinny leg yoga pants or something. I was hoping for more of a structured cut. Maybe I wasn't finding the "slacks" everyone speaks of.

They're definitely thin. But I wear a pair of fleece tights under my slacks anyways because I walk to work in Chicago and I have Florida legs. LOL. I might just be used to my slacks being thin.

cdethwomp · November 2014

This was great advice! Thanks ladies!

Sounds like I will be in leggings, tunics and dresses for the next month or two, and then I will probably suck it up and buy the maternity pants.

JennyJensing · November 2014

Have you got a belly band? I had a black one last pg that just looked like a tank top underneath my shirts/blouses, but allowed me to unbutton my pants!

SepiaMoon · November 2014

I'm only in week 5 and I've already started wearing the belly band bc many of my pants are too tight with the bloating. This way I can wear the band with my pants unbuttoned, it's discrete with a shirt over it. I think it was called BeBand and it was $16 at Target in the maternity section. As for tops I've been wearing anything looser that won't draw attention to my poochy belly. I might get a few non too obvious maternity things online during the Black Friday sales but I have to keep things under wraps at work til like January.