So i'm going shopping this weekend for maternity clothes for the first time - yay! I am 21 weeks, so i'll be needing maternity clothes to get me through the end of the year. My office is business casual, and I was thinking of buying a few pairs of work pants and a bunch of t shirts and blouses that can be worn under long cardigans. Just wondering if there's anything else you felt you couldn't have done without in your 3rd tri! I'd like not to buy too much clothes, since it's such a short term issue, so any tips for things you got a lot of wear out of would be great! (and not necessarily limited to work attire, any favorite maternity piece) 
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Everyone seems to love leggings, but I hated them when I was pregnant!
Save some of your budget for new shoes, you might need them, especially if you get some swelling later on.
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Maternity jeans from kohls have been my favorite purchase so far!
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I loved the tshirts with the rouching on the side. I bought a bunch in 3/4 length for winter since I was hot most days. It starts to warm up here in Feb/Mar so they were perfect since I was due in March.
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I really liked sweaters from Loft! they were very flattering
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Longer triangle shaped sweaters - great for pp as well!
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It will probably be too cold, but I loved wearing dresses to work when I was super pregnant. Maybe you could find some comfy maternity tights?
Since you're spending most of your time at work, I think your plan is great- you could always plan to wear the tops on the weekend (I wore maternity tees and tanks under suit jackets for the entire 3rd trimester). One good pair of maternity jeans for the weekends and you should be good. -
I bought majority of my stuff from Target's Liz Lange Maternity and it lasted through two pregnancies! Lots of long sleeves for underneath sweaters, a few short sleeved shirts for layering, about four pairs of pants (rotated). And a maternity coat was a must!!!
(Side note: my second and third trimesters were in winter months both times)
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My favorite maternity piece were the gap body tanks. I wore them almost daily as a layering peice and I ::ahem:: still wear them to bed 13months pp. They are perfect for nursing!
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I loved Old Navy perfect tanks because they are stretchy. I wore the regular people kind just sized up. I loved wearing light sweaters and I love my gap maternity jeans.
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@Pink Champagne: I never found a pair of comfy maternity tights- if they exist I'd love to know! But I wore leggings with boots under dresses which served the same purpose.
I love my gap maternity black work pants, full panel. The Demi panel was very uncomfortable to me once I got big. Watch for sales though, don't pay full price.
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@Pink Champagne: I lived in regular empire waisted dresses and leggings with boots!
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Leggings are fantastic, and anything to layer (I got SO hot in the office!). I agree with a previous poster in that you should save some money for new shoes - something comfy but work appropriate in a size up (or at least wider - my feet spread).
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@looch: i'm not looking forward to that! my feet have already grown a little during pregnancy, so i already had to buy a few new pairs...ugh!
@Smurfette: i was thinking about getting some of those - especially since i walk to work so i get warm easily, even in winter!
@Pink Champagne: i was thinking of grabbing a dress or two as well, if they are inexpensive. i don't mind wearing tights, i just thought if i started with dresses i'd need more of them (easier to get away with rotating a few pairs of pants!)
@blackbird: I buy most of my nonmaternity clothes from loft, but i was worried about ordering online since they don't have mat stuff in stores...it's hard to order that type of stuff online! (especially since the pics are of 9 month pregnant women and i have a small bump at the moment, haha)
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@Foodnerd81: @locavore_mama: @redsmarties: i've never in my life worn leggings, but if they are better than tights, i think i'd be willing to try them...is there a certain brand you recommend?
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@Pirouette: They are great cause I could dress them up a little for work but then fine for the weekends.
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@Pirouette: I just had full panel ones from old navy. I'd never wear them with a shirt only, but they worked great under a dress. I pretty much pretended they were tights.
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@Foodnerd81: yea there's no way i would wear leggings as pants to work, but under a dress would definitely work! did the full panel work for you before you were really big? or only later on (re the gap pants as well as leggings). I really hate that you can't try them on in stores!
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Just want to add that I planned out my fall/winter maternity wardrobe around long sweaters, leggings, dresses, and boots. Come fall, my calves no longer fit in most of my boots. Leggings with shoes looked funny on me, so I ended up buying more straight leg pants/jeans.
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@Pirouette: I just got a 2 pack maternity ones from ON when they were on sale. I didn't buy any dresses! Just wore ones I had in my closet, layered with cardigans.
oh no panel, bc I HATED Panels. -
@oliviaoblivia: oh that's really interesting - good to know! my calves are already a problem for me with boots (and i can't wear skinny jeans) because i'm a dancer, so they are huge...i really hope they won't get bigger! it really is so hard to plan for the next few months having no idea where my body will feel like expanding!
@locavore_mama: you are so lucky. all my pre-preg dresses i bought to accentuate my TINY pre-preg waist. so...yea, i dont have that anymore, and feel like i'm trying to learn how to shop for a completely different body type!
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The GAP clearance rack and sales have been my best friends. Old Navy has been ok, and I've also picked up a fair amount of stuff second hand. I'm almost 31 weeks, and up until now I've been able to wear most of my pre-preg shirts, but we're now getting to the point where they just don't fit around the belly. Most of my summer dresses have an empire waist, so I've been able to wear those all summer.
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@Pirouette: I started wearing full panel around 20, when I had a bump but not a big one. You can also fold the panel half way down. The Demi panels worked at that point too but not so much later on. C was born in July so I pretty much just stopped wearing any pants at the end and lived in skirts.
Eta: oh and gap and old navy have free shipping and returns. So I bought a ton of stuff in diff sizes and just returned most after trying it on.
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@oliviaoblivia: Haha, yes, me too on the expanding calves! I had some swelling in my ankles but the real issue was the boots! I couldn't zip them up all the way.
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@Foodnerd81: oh ok, well i'm already 21 so i'm guessing the full panel should work by the time i wear them (i plan on rocking skirts for the rest of summer!) i'm going to try some on in a maternity store this weekend and then i'll probably order some from gap.com since i know i like their regular stuff and you recommend the mat ones! thanks for the advice!
@looch: oh man...swelling i was prepared for...i don't think my calves can get much bigger, haha!
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@Pirouette: your feet may not grow - mine didn't!
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@Pirouette: when I was pregnant with my 1st, I was pregnant at the same time of year, meaning baby 2 is due just 2 weeks before DS's bday in December, and you and I are due just days apart. My office was also business casual and I did a lot of sweater dresses and knit dresses. I didn't wear pants very often. I found that a lot of my regular knit dresses stretched over the bump without stretching them out in the end. I didn't buy many maternity specific clothes. I just went to H&M and bought stretchy things a few sizes too big and that worked for me. I've heard Forever 21 has a maternity line, but I've never seen stores that carry it. Otherwise, Gap and Old Navy have some good and versatile options.
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for LO#1 (winter early spring pregnancy), i also wore mostly dresses with an empire waist with leggings and boots!
cardigan thrown over if it was a sleeveless dress.
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@tinyperson: my feet didn't grow either, just my calves. Thankfully they are back to normal!
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@Foodnerd81: haha, I didn't know if they did.. I was pregnant in summertime, so I never had the opportunity to find out. Maternity leggings would be a good alternative though!
@Pirouette: I LIVED in the same two dresses for work my last two months. I just liked them better than pants for some reason. And I still wear my maternity leggings even though I've lost all of my baby weight, haha!I think it depends on your shape whether you can get away with wearing regular clothes your whole pregnancy. My coworker is due any day now, and she has worn mostly non maternity dresses her whole pregnancy... But I think even she was pushing the boundaries for getting away with that. Maybe at home it's ok, but in a professional work environment, it's better to buck up and buy some maternity clothes. So much more flattering!!
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@lamariniere: thats what I was thinking - I'm very petite, so I'm not sure how maternity clothes will even fit. I know I'll def need maternity pants, but dresses I doubt I'll need maternity as long as they are the right style.
@Pink Champagne: ha, yea there's that too! I def want to look professional. I'm hoping a few nice pieces and then I can do a mix of maternity and non...
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@Pirouette: so I would have never worn leggings as pants to work pre pregnancy either, but I did end up with some stretchy, thigh length tunics (my butt was totally covered) which I paired with leggings and boots, and sometimes a long cardigan. It was just comfy.
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I definitely think cardigans are great - and you don't need maternity cardigans, just keep them open over plain maternity tank tops. I like the gap ruched tanks.
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