I decided to cut this capsule off a little early for two reasons: it's getting warmer outside and my belly is getting bigger fast! I know I have a few things I had put aside to wear later, and I'm getting to the point of where I would like to wear them (ex. my super comfy gaucho pants). But I'll write more about that in another post, after I have picked out my next capsule.
Here are the outfits I have actually worn:
I think my favorite item I received was this purple long-sleeve shirt with ruching. I wore this 5 times (adding a sweater/removing the scarf as the weather required).
I also really liked this green shirt with lacy detailing. I also wore it 5 times (again adding scarf/sweater, changing shoes as the weather required). The only thing I didn't like as much about this shirt is how the black belly band shows at the bottom, and I don't like how this color looks with black. Another side note is that I rolled these jeans for a while before I finally got around the hemming them properly.
Even though the "magical top" I talked about in a previous post didn't work out to cover a belly, I have really loved wearing them now. I wore the teal one 5 times and the brown one 4 times. I wore both of these shirts with jeans and with a black jersey maxi dress I've had for years.
So far in my pregnancy, I've been able to work in quite a few pieces from my normal wardrobe, such as these shirts. I've also been wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans with a belly band. I discovered though, that as my belly is growing, it is more comfortable to just tuck the button part under instead of using the elastic waist extender.
As an alternative to jeans, I recently bought these navy/white striped maternity pants and dug out the green flowy pants I bought in Santorini last year. As expected, the navy/white pants were way too long, but instead of hemming them normally, I decided to put elastic at the bottom instead. They are incredibly comfortable, and I think I could probably get away wearing them even not pregnant. I also have a pair of brown elephant print flowy pants that I have to modify a bit before I can wear them. These peach and pink shirts I had originally bought for my 1st trimester covering a belly stage, but they are continuing to work well even now. They are not maternity - I bought them in a size XL so they are roomy.
I've been able to wear these non-maternity dresses I already had in my wardrobe. The orange/navy chevron stripe maxi probably won't last too much longer, because it's not stretchy, but I think I can definitely get more use out of the other three. I have a love/hate relationship with that black jersey maxi dress. On one hand, it's perfect: long, comfy, empire waist, crossover neckline that would be good for breastfeeding later...but on the other hand, it's black. I bought it several years ago from Old Navy, then eventually put it away because I felt that the empire waist made me look pregnant. It's perfect now for pregnancy, with a ton of room to grow, but I wish I could find something exactly like it in another color, especially brown. I do have a similar one in a teal/green print, which I will probably put in my next capsule, but it's not quite as versatile color-wise. I was also excited to be able to continue to wear the green vest I bought recently as an alternative to scarves.
One major thing I didn't expect with this 2nd trimester dressing is how much I hate having anything pressing on my belly. I had thought that I would wear a skinny belt up high between my chest and my belly to accentuate that I'm pregnant, not just fat, but I just couldn't tolerate it. Also, as I said earlier, I stopped using the elastic waist extender on my jeans and just tucked the button part under. It was all covered up by the belly band either way, so visibly it didn't make much of a difference, but it was infinitely more comfortable.
Honestly, the concept of people not knowing whether or not I'm pregnant hasn't been an issue for me. Most people here are pretty skinny, so I was asked a few times if I was pregnant even before. I've also noticed that most pregnant women here don't seem to try to draw attention to their belly. They just wear looser fitting tops, which is easy for me to do the same thing. I feel like my belly has gotten big really quickly, and I can't even imagine what it will look like in a few months! But it's all a beautiful process, and I'm so happy to go through it all for my little girl.
