Shoes-Day! Maternity fashion edition (3rd tri)

Good morning my friends!

Before I start my post, I have to confess I had a bit of a fat kid moment last night and feel like total poop about it.    With all the indulgent eating this weekend, I had planned to get back on track yesterday and it went great…until I arrived home.  I finished off my sweet swap cookies along with 2 maple cupcakes (that I made for the baby shower).  Then I followed it by eating the last 1/10th of jar of PB&Co Mighty Maple.  Sigh.  No control.  I was racked with guilt for the rest of the night.  Grrr….

But today is a new day and I’m determined to have a wee bit more discipline.

Moving on…

For this Shoes-Day post, I’m going to show you that 3rd trimester pregnancy doesn’t mean flat shoes or tennis (unless you want to, that is )

The shoes featured in both of these outfits are Me Too black patent leather pumps with a great tread.  They are comfy, basic and go with a ton. 
On the left: Black maternity skirt from Mom’s the Word, basic white tank from Target and military jacket from Marshalls
On the right: maxi maternity skirt from Destination Maternity (love this skirt), teal tank from Old Navy, and tweed taupe blazer from NY&Co signature line.

These boots are some of my absolute fave brown boots – they are Alfani and purchased from Macy’s a few years ago.  I paired them with black Old Navy maternity pants and a loose tan/taupe Dolman knit from Marshalls.

Just like black bumps, a girl needs brown pumps.  These are Jessica Simpson crocodile patterned purchased from Marshalls.  The wool plaid skirt is a recent love from Pea in the Pod (via Destination Maternity) – so great for Fall!  A cheap-o tank from Forever 21 and black cardi from Express completes the outfit.

Who doesn’t love polka-dots?  These Jessica Simpson black shoes were a Christmas present from the hubby in 2006.  I channeled my inner 80’s chick with cropped Forever 21 leggings (non-maternity) and a loose teal Forever 21 tunic (non-maternity). 

And finally, I embraced our Cali warm spell last week and wore my strappy brown sandals by Enzo Angiolini, which I bought through DSW.com.  The jeans are boot cut Motherhood Maternity brand, with the same taupe Forever 21 top, and taupe/white striped cardi from Marshalls. (This is the outfit that went with yesterday’s side profile pic of the belly growth )

Admittedly my uber high heels are starting to gather dust and I’m opting for more wedges, lower heels, wider bases, etc.  But I’m not giving up quite yet   I still want to incorporate fun fashionable choices as long as my comfort isn’t too compromised!

Have you had any life situations that have required a change in footwear choices?

Pumps? Boots? Sandals?  Which reigns supreme?

Have any recent fat kid moments like mine???

Shoes-Day! The high-heeled loafer

Happiest Tuesday to you! 

Thank you for all your fabulous comments and for sharing your birth experiences.  This is just one  of the many reasons the blogworld is so fabulous

Let’s talk one of the latest shoe trend – the high-heeled loafer.  Once upon a time, I remember buying a paper of loafers that I eagerly stuck a shiny new penny in.  I thought that they were pretty cool.  I’m thinking I was in middle school at the time.  And you know me I was already sportin’ a heel – a whopping 1.5”

But now loafers have gone to a whole ‘nother level.  Loafers meet stilettos.  Librarian meets sexy siren. 

Below are a few from Endless.com that caught my eye:

Love the neutral color, dark stitching and nerdy-gone-cute tassels

Red and studded?  Yes! 

Salmony pink and suede make for a fun flirty feminine look.

I wore my own pair of high-heeled loafer-esque shoes a year ago, and here there are below:

I paired these Bongo argyle fabric and brown leather pumps (~3” heel) with my Motherhood maternity jeans, a white tank, and a green army jacket (a la Marshalls) for my Friday casual look.

Though I’ve had these shoes for a few years, my hubby said—for the first time on Friday—“I really like those shoes. I like the bow.”  Yep, that’s about as complimentary as he gets

Tell me, do you like the high heeled loafer?  As always, I love links if you’ve got some hot ones to show me…I’m kinda lovin’ them right now.

Does your significant other know when you buy new things or have had something forever? 

Tired of my maternity fashion yet?

It’s no secret that I wanted to make sure I was a fashionable preggie.  Gone are the days where you have to dress yourself in sacks and tents to camouflage the precious bump.  Now it’s all about accentuating what your mama – or in this case, baby – gave ya!

Here are my suggestions for places to shop (and if this part bores you, photos are at the bottom ):

• Motherhood Maternity – this is a good store for basic tees, tanks, and even maternity / nursing bras.  There clothes are fairly cheap, not the greatest quality, but their knits are pretty good
• Mom’s the Word– if you live in the SF Bay Area, I highly suggest this store for it’s personal shopping experience and high end brands, fabrics, looks
• Destination Maternity – this is a great online site that often has mega-sales!  The have a mix of brands including Pea in the Pod, Motherhood Maternity, and Heidi Klum
• Bashful Bump – this local store (find it online too!) reached out to me to try their maternity body suits.  You can check out a look below!  It’s great for wearing something sleek and comfy underneath layers!
• Zulily – Zulily options change daily so you gotta keep your eyes peeled But they often will have HUGE sales on Lilac Maternity which is a fabulous brand with super cute looks.  Downfall is that it takes up to 3 weeks (or more..argh) to get your goods. I’ve also ordered a ton of baby clothes, blankies, nursery décor from here
• Overstock – who knew Overstock had maternity clothes?  But they do!  And I was able to score that cute green wrap top shown below at *half* the original price.  Nice!
• Gap Maternity – the in store selections are small, small, small.  Pathetic actually, which makes it hard to really, truly shop.  But they have some good odds and ends, particularly work pants.

Here are some representative looks:

Casual Fridays: Skinny jeans from Motherhood, light blue Gap tee, VS strappy sandals, ruffle brown blazer

Work wear: Grey jersey wrap dress purchased at 40% off from Destination Maternity (although it’s Motherhood brand), paired with Nine West maryjanes, and VS coral cardi

Day and night looks: I wore this diagonal blue/white striped shirt (via Destination Maternity) paired with Motherhood skinny jeans, and red Steve Madden patten peep toes for the day and then switched to Alfani camel boots at night

Saturday night out: This is the Lilac shirt from Overstock I mentioned before. I saw it on my preggie friend Vidya and had to have it immediately.  I love it.  Tons of ways to wrap it, shows off the belly, and is soft as silk.  I paired it with my Unisa peacock slingbacks and a pair of Forever 21 skinny jeans (—> also a cheap clothes option.  I normally wear a 25/26 and these stretch skinnies are a 27 and I can button them up and be super comfy all evening).

Monday’s work look: I scored this skirt from Gap Maternity for $15!  Weee!  It’s purple and black ‘geometric’ design is fun, yet subtle enough for work.  The waist band fits at my belly button now, but as I grow it will also work right under the big ol’ bump.  I paired the skirt with a black tank from Motherhood, Express cardi, and Guess modified maryjanes.

Bodysuit basics: This is the 3/4 length black maternity bodysuit I received from Bashful Bump.  I was hesitant at first since I hadn’t worn a body suit since 7th grade, but ended up really liking this!  The material is great and it’s so nice to be able to *tuck something in* vs where something as a tent.  It’s a great layering piece.  I’ve paired it with my J Brand Mama J jeans and black Enzo boots.

25.5 weeks preggers look: The top and bottom of the outfit above are both from Gap Maternity.  The pants are a full-panel black work pant (no stretch in the legs) and the top is a coral lightweight sweater – this was the first time I could wear it since it seems to run fairly big and I got the XS.

What look do you like the best?

Any unusual places you find great steals?