As I piled on kilos in the second trimester, I realized I was fighting a losing battle with maternity wear. For some strange reason I was unable to find good maternity wear that appealed to my fashion sense and was comfortable.
There are a host of wesbsites that offer maternity wear such as www.firstcry.com or www.ninematernitywear.com. Honestly I was a little wary to shop online given the changes my body has undergone in the last six months. Hence I decided to explore the tried and tested route of Retail therapy at Malls. I had little or no references or starting points so I went to the usual suspects.
I was very disappointed to see little or no collection barring track pants at Mothercare (I visited the one at Phoenix Market City, Kurla). Given that the brand is called Mothercare they should be taking care of needs of to be Moms but that is definitely not the case.
Mom & Me on the other hand has quite a variety when it comes to maternity wear, be it Indian or western wear (I checked out both the Bandra outlet & the one at Pheonix Market City, Kurla). At the Bandra store the attendant was both helpful and knowledgeable, making the whole experience really nice. I found some very comfortable churidars to go with my kurtas for office wear. The material of the churidaar is nice and soft and they have a comfortable belly pouch that snuggly holds the belly in place. Bought this in both black & white, mix and match these with kurtas from Fab India and Kilol and my office wardrobe was all set, resulting in attire which is both smart & comfortable (given the long hours we spend in office, it’s important to wear something comfortable). However I struggled to find good western wear. I ended up buying three pair of maternity jeans, all from Mom & Me however I was not happy with either one of them.
I first bought a good fitting basic blue with a belly pouch that sits firmly over the belly. However I wasn’t too comfortable since the jeans kept slipping and with no loops for a belt, there was no way to hold them up (Unless I choose to wear suspenders). Thinking that I may have bought one which wasn’t the right size, I bought another one in black (with a belly pouch). This time I picked one which was a little more snug; unfortunately the result was the same, they just kept slipping down.
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| The two types of maternity jeans I bought for myself; Unlike the ones shown in the picture, the ones I bought from mom & me, didn't have loops for a belt. |
Unhappy with the belly pouch design, I thought I should try the one with the waist band that sits right below the belly. This led me to my third & final purchase, nice fitting blue denim. I wasn’t comfortable wearing this for long durations. The waist band that fit right below the belly made me feel uncomfortable after a while. So now I have three pair of maternity jeans but none of them that serve the purpose of smart, comfortable casual wear.
I even tried Debenhams at Phoenix Market City, Kurla, but they didn’t have too much variety on the occasion that I visited. I did stumble upon a pair that looked like it could be the elusive dream pair that I had been searching for, only to realize that it fit like the 70s style bell bottoms.Honestly I was quite dejected since the only option left in my wardrobe was Indian wear. Then one of cousins asked me to go check out Marks & Spencer. I was a little apprehensive because I never really shopped at M&S. I discovered something known as Treggings at M&S. Now this is a cross between trousers and leggings and comes with a comfortable elastic waist band that sits at the waist comfortably accommodating the growing belly. And the large variety of sizes available at M&S ensured that I found the perfect fit (Yayyyyy :), the joys of finding a good trouser that fits).
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| Treggings from Marks & Spencers |
I bought treggings in two basic shades, grey and black and picked up a few cotton & Linen shirts (a couple of sizes bigger to accommodate my growing belly) that looked smart and felt super comfortable. These treggings have now become my best friends and I can practically live in them apart from my track pants (from Jockey)
I am glad my maternity wear struggles finally came to an end with M&S (I shopped at the outlet at Phoenix Market city at Kurla). Would love to know how you coped with your maternity wear needs and suggestions of any new outlets that I may have missed would be most appreciated.
Image source: http://www.upscalejeans.com/designer-maternity-jeans/
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