Maternity Style | Midi dress and ankle boots

O

ne of the unexpected – but very welcome – aspects of pregnancy for me has been the fact that it’s forced me to venture ever-so-slightly out of my comfort zone, fashion-wise. (And everything-else-wise, actually: let’s just say this has been one hell of a surreal year…)

Take this outfit, for instance. Now, I realise it doesn’t look particularly adventurous to most of you, but the fact is, the whole, “midi skirt/dress + ankle boots + slouchy sweater” look is one I’ve always loved on other people, but have never tried myself. Or rather, I HAVE tried it, but only in the comfort of my own home, because every time I put an outfit like this together before I was pregnant, I’d find numerous objections which would stop me wearing it. Ankle boots make my legs look stumpy. Slouchy sweaters make me look 6 months pregnant. My hair is really frizzy right now. (Er, that’s not an objection to the outfit, really, just a side-effect of the second-day hair I’m rocking in these photos – whoops!)

Now that I actually AM six months pregnant, though, that’s one objection out of the window – and as for the rest, well, I’m basically in a position right now where if it fits, I’m going to wear it, and stumpy legs be dammed. And, I mean, most people who see me just comment on the size of my belly anyway, so I guess if I’m going to try something different, now’s a good time to get away with it, huh? Which brings me back to this look…

This dress is from H&M, and I actually have it in three different colours now: this one, black, and pink. I’m probably going to keep on buying these in every colour H&M release them in, too, because, although they’re not maternity, they’re yet another one of those styles that are just so damn comfy and stretchy that you could happily wear them to bed. And, honestly? I sometimes do – the black version is actually my current favourite “nightie”, and I’m not even embarrassed to admit it, because it doesn’t ride up around my waist the way most nightdresses do, and it’s way more comfortable than PJs, too. I’m probably going to regret admitting that on the internet, aren’t I? Well, here’s an even more shocking confession, to help put it out of your mind:

I’m wearing tights in these photos.

NUDE tights.

50 DENIER NUDE TIGHTS.

50 DENIER NUDE MATERNITY TIGHTS: ones that looks so much like surgical stockings when I took them out of the package, that I immediately cringed in horror, then threw them directly into the bin. (I should probably point out here that I’m not normally that wasteful: it was just that they only cost me £3, so it didn’t seem worth the trip to the post office to return them, and I couldn’t think of anyone else who’d wear them, because who WOULD wear 50 denier nude opaques, seriously?) A few hours later, though, I sheepishly went and fished them back out again, figuring I might as well give them a chance, and honestly, I’m glad I did, because while they DO look like surgical stockings when you’re not wearing them, once they’re on, they just look like… well, LEGS, really. Also, they’re thick enough to keep my legs warm, without having to resort to black opaques (Which really wouldn’t have worked with this outfit), so I’m happy. Or as happy as someone in thick, nude tights can be, anyway.

I’ll leave it up to you to decide how happy that can possibly be…

[infobox subtitle=”” bg=”white” color=”black” opacity=”off” space=”30″ link=”no link”]

WEARING:

H&M ribbed dress

ASOS maternity tights

La Redoute sweater (old)

ALDO boots (last winter)

Phillip Lim 3.1 Pashli mini satchel* (sold out in tan, but more colours here)

Related: How to Walk in High Heels

[/infobox]