Pregnant Fashionista

This blog is going to remain all about finding the highest-quality, best-fitting maternity clothing out there, but now that I have three children, I am not going to be able to resist occasionally informing you about really good children’s clothing sales.  You may not be in the market for infant clothing yet, but if you have any desire to start stocking up on high-quality basics, head on over here to Ralph Lauren’s online boutique today. Polo’s private sale begins today through the end of the weekend and I just so happen to know that for today only, if you type in MAY15 when you check out, you get an additional 20% off all sale items.  I just went a little bit overboard shopping the toddler boys’ and infant boys’ sale. I’m feeling guilty.  But the prices were so good, I could not resist.  Look at this little orange sweater, reduced here from USD $59.75 to USD $24.99.  With the additional discount, it’s only USD $20. How could you say no?  James will look so cute in it for the hour or so before he has a meal and rubs hummus all over his hair, face and clothing.  (People here in Jerusalem eat hummus with everything and James absolutely loves it.  Unfortunately, I have discovered that chick peas mixed with oil is a serious threat to his high-fashion wardrobe).

Anyway, I am obviously entirely focused on the children’s boutique, but I should mention that the sale and today’s discount also applies to men’s and women’s clothing–oh and dog’s clothing, too.  Unlike other American children’s clothing labels, which tend to run big, Polo children’s clothing runs slightly small, so buy one size up if you aren’t sure about sizing.

I hope everybody enjoyed an incredible Mother’s Day yesterday, whether you are already a mom or are a mom-to-be.  Here is James playing with my Mother’s Day gift to myself–a water table.  It’s messy and kind of dirty and he likes to drink from it, which is gross, but he is obsessed with it and it guarantees he will stay in one place for an hour at a time–the best possible gift of all.

I feel strongly that moms-to-be are also entitled to a luxurious Mother’s Day celebration, as one of the biggest sacrifices we make for our offspring is handing our bodies over to the whims of pregnancy.  I was reminded of that over the weekend as I reluctantly dug deep into my wardrobe to survey the bathing suit situation.  We are headed to the beach in Tel Aviv next week and friends, sadly my fabulous designer bikinis look to be headed into the eager claws of my very thin, never-pregnant 30-year-old sister.  After what the twins have done to me, I am destined to be in strategically designed, dark-colored one-pieces for the remainder of my beachgoing life.

My depressing trip into the bathing suit drawer did remind me of a great maternity bathing suit line that I found at the very end of my last pregnancy and have not yet blogged about. PregO Maternity Wear is a California-based company that exclusively designs maternity bathing suits, so they know what they are doing.  Most importantly, the suits are well-lined.  I won’t subject you to the gory details, but read here about my unfortunate experience with an unlined maternity suit from Isabella Oliver.  Also, PregO suits come in fun and stylish prints like this one at right (retails for USD $78) and they have a few different styles to choose from.  If you are going to be pregnant through the summer, you’ll quickly tire of your basic solid black maternity bathing suit.  Check out a good selection of PregO’s tankinis and bikinis here in Due Maternity’s online swimwear boutique or a smaller collection here in Bellydance Maternity’s online swimwear boutique.  (Personally, I am not a fan of maternity bikinis and I stuck strictly to tankinis that covered my not-so-attractive pregnant stomach–but maybe your bump is nice to look at. Lucky you).

I found that the halter top style tankini (pictured at left, retails for USD $78) was extremely supportive if you are suddenly a cup size or two larger than you might be used to.  But beware of the bottoms on this suit–it isn’t a full brief, it only ties at the side, which may be a bit more skin than you are into in your present state.  But they have a few different styles to choose from for the top and the bottom, so don’t hesitate to order, try on, and return if you are not happy.  There is no maternity item more difficult to buy than a bathing suit.  Having been very pregnant for the past two summers, I know this very, very well.

Isabella Oliver is offering 15% off its entire collection in honor of Mother’s Day.  The promotion ends tonight at midnight so don’t waste any time.  This is the perfect excuse to buy yourself a piece from the Spring/Summer ‘08 collection, which I absolutely love.  I just bought a newly pregnant friend the Duo Empire Wrap Top in this Caviar Black/Pearl color, which is available here for USD $128.50 with the 15% discount (full retail price is USD $150).  I love Isabella Oliver’s jersey items and they have done an amazing job this season with the reversible jersey wrap tops.

Just type in promotional code MD30 at checkout…Happy Mother’s Day to all!  

If you’ve read my bio here on the blog, you’ll see that in my former pre-mom, pre-Israel life I was a lawyer and a journalist.  I’m not licensed to practice law here in Israel and due to various travel restrictions placed on diplomatic spouses, I can’t really work as a journalist either.  So, to preserve some semblance of sanity and structure in my baby-dominated life, I have elected to revive my once-vibrant fitness career and as of yesterday, I am now officially Jerusalem’s newest aerobics instructor. 

You may be thinking to yourself, does anyone even do aerobics anymore?  And you would be right to ask such a question.  It’s hard to find old-school high-impact or step aerobics classes in the states.  To be honest, my aerobics teaching skills are seriously outdated in the States, where I might be deemed an aerobics dinosaur. 

But not so here in the Holy Land.  Old-school aerobics is going strong here–and I mean true, Jane Fonda-era aerobics with the tights and the leotards and the legwarmers and the sweatbands and the bad, bad music.  I haven’t worn a leotard in nearly two decades but I am feeling pressure to go buy one if I am going to be teaching here for the next three years.  With my current gym wardrobe, I am seriously underdressed for Israeli aerobicising.  I do, however, have a few weeks to stock up on leotards and sweatbands–I’m not allowed to start teaching my own regular class until I learn how to count and teach in Hebrew.  I am currently working very hard at learning how to translate crucial aerobicising phrases like “grapevine right” into the local tongue.

In honor of the revival of my dormant aerobics career, I thought I’d blog about my favorite maternity/nursing sports bra.  I’ve blogged about this sports bra before, but I am so hooked on it now that I can’t workout without it, despite the fact that I am no longr pregnant or nursing.  This thing gives new meaning to the word supportive, so I’ve found it impossible to go back to my ordinary, pre-pregnancy sport bras.  I’d be hard-pressed to name a maternity clothing item that is more of a must-have than this sports bra.  It’s sold by Bella Materna, which also makes the best nursing bras around.  Check out the Bella Materna website here. 

The Nursing Sports Bra has convenient clip straps, a hook and eye closure in the back, and is made from Bella Materna’s trademark nylon/lycra blend, which absorbs leakage and dries very quickly.  But the bra’s absolute best feature is the double layer of support it provides across the chest–no matter how voluptuous you may be at this point in your pregnancy, your breasts are not going anywhere with this contraption on.  The bra is available here for USD $78 in two cup sizes (C/D and E/F).  And if you have never in your life been a C cup, go ahead and order the C/D anyway.  The straps are easily adjustable and you’ll likely need the bigger size when you are nursing. 

How do you feel about jean shorts?  I can’t seem to get over my strong aversion to them no matter who decides to wear them.  It is very possible that during the 1990’s, I just had too many boyfriends from South Jersey (who all wore them like a uniform) and now I am scarred forever. But I can’t help but think they look cheesy on just about everyone, even when the fashion world deems them as “back.”
The designers at Juicy Couture apparently think differently.  So much so, in fact, that they have designed maternity jean shorts for an incredible USD $168.  Personally, I think this is a fashion travesty but I acknowledge a hefty personal bias, and there are surely other pregnant fashionistas who didn’t date up and down the Jersey Turnpike in the 1990’s and may feel differently. Jean shorts may be exactly the maternity wardrobe basic you are looking for to make it through the summer months.  To each her own on this one.  I’ve even added a new category to the right–it’s called “Neutral.”  Juicy Couture’s Maternity Bermuda Cutoffs are available here in Neiman Marcus’s maternity boutique. 

I’ve blogged about this before, but if you’re pregnant, I truly believe you cannot own too many pairs of shoes designed with elastic.  Elastic is likely already your ballooning body’s best friend.  Trust me, your feet will soon feel the same way.  And though you may be planning on wearing flip flops until the very end, there will be days at the end of the third trimester when your feet simply should not be visible to the public.  On those days, you’ll wish you owned a pair of flats with elastic.

I’ve recommended the Maloles ballet flat here and the French Sole ballet flat here.  Now, I strongly suggest you make your way over to the Neiman Marcus First Call sale and pick up a pair of Pedro Garcia’s Satin Ballerina Flat with elasticized sides here, reduced from USD $325 to USD $228.  They are available in purple, lime and blue.  I know, the colors are a bit…festive.  But they will certainly brighten up your basic black maternity dress or your basic black maternity trousers.  And these are some very comfortable flats.  I bought them in red during my last pregnancy and I still wear them all the time.  In fact, I wear them too often.  But a good number of people in Jerusalem wear the exact same outfit every single day, so it’s not as if anyone actually cares how often I wear my red satin elastic shoes.
If the colors are too much for you, the Pedro Garcia Satin Ballerina flats are also on sale here at Saks, reduced from USD $325 to USD $195 in grey, brown and black.  But the sizes are very limited.  If you’re pregnant and still lucky enough to be a size 5.5, then you are in luck.

I never expected to miss wearing maternity clothing, but there is one piece of my maternity wardrobe that I fnd myself longing for these days.  And I just realized that I somehow never even blogged about it, so I apologize to all of you that you thus far have been missing out on Blossom’s Calista denim skirt.

This skirt is, quite simply, the perfect denim skirt.  And it just so happens to be a maternity item.  It’s not too long, dropping just below the knee, and it’s not too short, preventing the display of “pregnancy thighs,” (a very sad affliction I suffered from during my pregnancies which causes muscle tone to somehow vanish from your quadricep muscles).  But the best part is the fit, as it is a pencil cut skirt tapered all the way to the very bottom.  Unlike most pencil cuts, especially those intended for maternity wear, this skirt never stretched out and suddenly became A-line (I believe A-line skirts should be deemed an enemy of the pregnant physique).  I wore this skirt constantly during both of my pregnancies and even after carrying the twins and giving the fabric’s elasticity a serious run for its money, it is somehow still very much a pencil skirt.  Blossom also cleverly built the elastic into the natural waistband, so you can continue to wear this skirt postpartum without looking like you are still in your maternity clothes.

High quality and a great fit does not come cheap.  Blossom’s Calista is priced here at GBP 135 (approximately USD $268), which is a lot to spend on a denim skirt.  But I spent this past weekend rummaging around in my wardrobe storage boxes trying to find it to see if it still fit because I loved it that much and wanted to wear it last night. (I never found it–as you might imagine, rummaging through my maternity wardrobe is not a small project). 

This skirt will definitely be one of your favorite maternity basics for the upcoming spring and summer, so consider it an investment piece.  It’s available in all sizes.  Remember, Blossom’s line runs small so order one size up from your pre-pregnancy size. 

I just checked my email and realized that one of my favorite children’s clothing websites, Tuttibella, is having a one-day special on StorkSak diaper bags (my apologies for not recognizing this sooner, I was out drinking Israeli margaritas…which, by the way, would rate very, very low in a margarita taste test).  Click here to access the one-day sale.  Both the StorkSak Julie and the StorkSak Amelia are reduced from USD $225 to USD $149.99.  StorkSaks very rarely go on sale, so if you’ve been lusting after one, this is a great deal.  But there are only a few hours left, so hurry up and make your purchase.

Yesterday marked the first of what is sure to be many, many desperately hot, oppressive days here in Jerusalem this summer and because I was feeling sorry for myself yet again, I headed into Jerusalem’s Old City to visit my favorite local jeweler, Ibrahim.  I intended to purchase a 30th birthday gift for my sister, but I also subconsciously intended to buy myself something.  Ibrahim is the quintessential gracious Palestinian.  Whenever you come to his shop, he serves you mint tea and pastries and invites you to sit on his couch to rest and enjoy his air conditioning (very rare in the Old City).  All of the American diplomats take their visitors to see Ibrahim and most leave having purchased what they believe is an authentic piece of Palestinian-created jewelry. Which is why I was especially disappointed yesterday when Ibrahim excitedly explained to me that he had recently arranged to sell his jewelry in America at TJ Maxx.  Poor Ibrahim–he is so excited to be selling in America.  I explained to him that maybe he shouldn’t share that information with any more of his customers because although selling in America was definitely a big deal, most of us don’t want to think that the authentic Palestinian earrings we purchased in the heart of historic Jerusalem can also be purchased for 60% off in a Jersey strip mall off Interstate 95. I don’t think he got the I-95 reference. 
I’ve been wanting to blog about Woo Mamma for a few months, as Staci Woo is one of my favorite kind of designers, i.e., the kind who has added maternity clothing to an already successful women’s clothing line.  Staci’s clothing is typically very reasonably priced and her maternity line is no exception–not to mention the fact that Woo Mamma is also very hip and trendy.  Woo Mamma is difficult to find, but it is carried in Twilite Moon’s online boutique (Twilite Moon is a baby/maternity store in Beverly Hills).  
My favorite piece for Spring 2008 is this cotton Stassia coat, which comes in Fig and Black.  I love the swing cut and the neckline and the 3/4 sleeves and most of all, I love the fact that I would buy this coat even if I weren’t pregnant (or in my case, very recently pregnant and still looking about 4 months pregnant).  There are so very few maternity items about which I can say that.  The Stassia coat is available here in Fig and here in Black for USD $190 and is still available in all sizes.  
 One more thing–as I have blogged so many times before, please do not outright dismiss the notion of buying a maternity coat.  I know you are only going to be pregnant for nine months and I know you can still get away with wearing your regular spring/summer coat over your clothing, but one day in your third trimester it is going to be rainy or windy and you are going to leave your home in your pre-pregnancy coat and you simply are not going to look good.  This is a beautiful coat from a respected designer for a not-so-outlandish price–how can you resist?

Isabella Oliver launched a clearance sale this weekend on some of its most reliable basic maternity pieces. The discount is only 30% (I personally have always believed “clearance” sales demand at least 50% off), but one of my favorite IO pieces, the Off The Shoulder Top, is included in the sale, reduced down to USD $91 here.  I blogged about it here a few months ago and don’t worry–you don’t have to wear it off the shoulder despite its name and this model to the left.  It works just fine as a nice, dressy long-sleeved top without your skin showing.  
IO’s Cashmere Blend Sweater Tunic is also on sale here and this was one of my primary go-to items during the last few weeks of my pregnancy.  It’s reduced to USDS $129.50 from USD $185 and is a very cute cut for the very pregnant women, as it was long enough to cover my expanding bum, and looked nice with jeans or black pants, which were practically my uniform at the very end.  One problem–the removeable neckband was really itchy.  Maybe I just had extra sensitive pregnancy skin toward the end, although I didn’t have that problem with any other sweaters that I owned.  I ended up wearing it without the neckband and simply as a crewneck sweater, which was fine, it was still cute.  But if you have your heart set on wearing it with the neckband, I might reconsider. Click here to view all of the items on sale…