The third trimester is definitely the time to repeat outfits that make you look and feel good, and to do so unashamedly! Find things that work for you and wear them as many times as you like. I've included 55 outfit ideas for the third trimester below, from both of my pregnancies. You can click on the links under the images to view more info about them.
Office Outfits:
In the third trimester, I still wore my ASOS maternity pencil skirts often, but the standout pieces were my wrap dresses. They were such an easy outfit that always fit the growing bump and never failed to look good. I wore wrap dresses a lot! I was able to find some regular non-maternity dresses in my wardrobe that still accommodated the baby bump too.
This is the last pregnancy outfit I took photos of for the blog! While baby arrived a couple of weeks ago, I've been sharing the backed up outfit photos.
I've mentioned before, when I had baby T, that dressing to care for a newborn is all about just finding something clean to wear and doesn't really make for blog worthy outfits. Most of the time you want to stay at home anyway, and not get dressed up and go out. Having a little backlog of outfit posts has let me relax and not feel any pressure to get back into 'normal' clothing, and embrace the pyjama days and newborn snuggles as much as possible. Adjusting to two under two is a big change, blogging has not been at the front of my mind.
Wore this out for a date night with hubby. Back in the first trimester, I'd optimistically booked tickets to a show just a few days before my due date. My reasoning was that I didn't want to be stuck home feeling sorry for myself, missing a sold-out show and being heavily pregnant. When I didn't go into labour the day of the show or the day after, I was glad I'd bought the tickets! It was nice to get dressed up for an evening and enjoy spending some time together before our second son arrived.
I don't see myself using my vintage Chanel bag when looking after a baby and a toddler, so it was good to have a reason to use it before packing it away for a little while.
Baby has arrived, but I've got a couple more pregnancy outfits scheduled to share on the blog. The benefit of being so behind with blogging was that I could schedule a lot of posts to carry me over the newborn time, when getting dressed into 'proper' clothes isn't high on the list of priorities!
It was such a hot and humid few days when I wore these outfits. I felt comfortable in them but wasn't in the best mood when taking photos. I just setup the camera and clicked, not realising that my necklaces were a little screwed up in both photos. Real life is never perfect though, so I'm sharing them anyway. And at 39 weeks pregnant, you just want to get out the house, do what you have to do, then go home and nap when the toddler does!
I was surprised to find I hadn't worn this tank and maxi skirt before - guess I had a few more outfit options in my third trimester capsule wardrobe than I thought!
This was perfect for a morning out with hubby and toddler T. Unfortunately there was a minor car accident on the way to toddler T's swim lesson, but thankfully just superficial damage to the car as it was stopped at the lights at the time the other driver hit it. Everyone involved was fine, and we will be able to get the scratches fixed at a later date once baby has arrived. Booking the car in for a repair and being car-less when going into labour was not a fun prospect!
At 39 weeks, this top is being pushed to the limits (even though it's a maternity tee!) as baby has really dropped down. The bottom hem isn't as fitted or elasticated as the tank above so it doesn't fit snugly under the bump any more. Just as well the stretchy elastic waist of the maxi skirt lets me wear it a little higher around the bump so I'm not flashing any baby belly out in public!
Wore this to run a few more errands, stocking up the house with more food before baby's arrival. We'd been grocery shopping the week before but hadn't wanted to buy too much food, just in case I wouldn't be home to eat it.
Another pregnancy OOTD post! While baby has arrived, I've got a few more pregnancy outfits scheduled to share on the blog. I'm at home enjoying the newborn cuddles and only venturing out when we absolutely have to. You can see my new mum 'style' on instagram.
Autumn in Brisbane didn't bring the cool change it usually does, so my autumn pregnancy style has been pretty much the same as my summer pregnancy style - maternity shorts, singlets, and printed kimonos!
I loved how well the Mulberry Alexa bag went with the colours of this outfit! And as I've mentioned before, this simple outfit formula of singlet, shorts and kimono makes me feel happy and comfortable each time I wear it.
Wore this to run a few errands and attend my obstetrician appointment in the afternoon, not an overly busy day.
Wore this to attend my first Australian Breastfeeding Association meeting. With all the craziness when toddler T was born (and being without a car for a while) I had never gotten around to signing up, so I figured I'd best give it a go before baby was born this time. It's always good to make new mummy friends too.
Kept with my simple fail-safe outfit formula like I've worn above as I'd be going to a new place and meeting new people I'd only spoken to online before. For a little confidence boost it's nice to be happy with your outfit.
Dressing in pregnancy is a fun challenge as the baby bump grows and changes every day! In order to simplify things this time around, I implemented a third trimester capsule wardrobe.
Why I Made a Pregnancy Capsule Wardrobe:
I've never tried a capsule wardrobe before (unless you count living out a suitcase for travel).
The baby bump was outgrowing my current wardrobe faster than I anticipated this time around.
I didn't have the luxury of time that I had in my first pregnancy to try on lots of outfit options each night and find things that still fit. (Or I didn't have the energy to do so after spending time with my toddler!)
The summer heat and humidity (that continued well into autumn in Brisbane) left me less inspired to try new things.
I had lots of great maternity pieces I wanted to wear as much as possible to make sure I got my money's worth.
Third Trimester Capsule Wardrobe in Video Form:
Below is a video covering the pieces in my capsule wardrobe, how I wore them, and my general thoughts about the experience.
I didn't include accessories (scarves or bags or shoes) in this count. I also didn't include 'completer' pieces like my printed kimonos or blazers. I freely grabbed these from my wardrobe as and when I wanted them.
The pieces included were suitable for my part time office job, as well as being perfect for a stay at home mum the rest of the week.
Not everything was a maternity piece, I used pieces from my regular non-maternity wardrobe too.
There were a few times at the start of the third trimester where I wore pieces that weren't included in the capsule, but after realising they were getting uncomfortable I stuck to my capsule wardrobe for the majority of the time.
The 22 items I had were great over summer (and multiple heatwaves!), but would need to be changed for cooler weather. Simple things like swapping the maternity denim shorts for jeans instead, and some long sleeved tops and fewer tanks.
Outfit Combinations from a Pregnancy Capsule Wardrobe:
Some photos of my favourite third trimester outfits from my capsule wardrobe to give you an idea of how I wore all the pieces in the third trimester. Not an exhaustive list, as 3 months worth of daily outfit photos would be a pretty big post! You can see all the outfits I wore in the third trimester here.
For my first capsule wardrobe experience, it was pretty fun, and I hope that it gives you some ideas or inspiration to try your own capsule wardrobe if you've often thought about it too.
While baby has arrived, I used the start of my maternity leave before his arrival to get out and about and take outfit pictures every day so that I'd have some scheduled posts to share, allowing me time to embrace the newborn days and the standard new mum uniform of pyjamas!
I wore these two outfits to make the most of my maternity leave and run a heap of errands and last minute tasks to try be as organised as possible before baby arrived. It means dressing simply too, easy maxi dress outfits don't require a lot of thought and are comfortable to wear whatever the day has in store.
I like the sparkly embellishment on this dress, so I usually save it for dressier occasions. However I noticed it hadn't been worn in a while so decided to dress it down a little with the casual Mulberry Alexa bag and wear it to go to playgroup with toddler T. Every time I wear this dress it makes me smile, even while pregnant, so I'm glad I wore it again.
Doesn't need any extra accessories with the beaded neckline, so it's really simple to wear.
I liked the maxi dress and Mulberry Alexa combo above, so wore it again a few days later. Had a quiet day with a few errands to run in the morning.
I didn't like this outfit as much as the one above. I wasn't sure what accessories to wear and kinda threw things on, although it looks okay in the photos I felt something was a little 'off' about the outfit all day.
Baby has arrived, but I've got a few more pregnancy outfits scheduled to share on the blog. It gives me a chance to enjoy the newborn cuddles and adjust to life with two under 2!
When I got this kimono, I knew that the yellow Rebecca Minkoff swing bag would look great with it, with the yellow in the print! It's taken me a little while to get around to pairing them together though.
Had quite a quiet day, doing the daycare drop off / pickup and attending my OB appointment in the morning. Made some progress on pre-scheduling blog posts in the afternoon too. I want to have a few banked up as I'm not sure how long it will take me to get back into a little routine with blogging when I have a newborn and a toddler.
When I was thinking of another outfit this yellow bag would look good with, I thought about this green tee. While I liked the combination, I thought it was missing a little something so I added the printed scarf. The scarf has some yellow running through it too so it was an easy choice.
We spent the morning getting (or trying to get) the final few things for baby. Was a little shocked to find that our local baby store we bought almost everything from for toddler T had closed down! The store that took its place didn't have the same range which was a shame. At 38 weeks, I'm ordering a few baby things online and just hoping they show up in time...
While baby has arrived, I've got a few more pregnancy outfits scheduled to share on the blog. Being behind with blogging has worked out well, I still have posts to share while I'm spending the majority of the newborn days in my PJs!
First up, although it's April I won't be doing a budget post wrap up. I didn't buy any new clothes or accessories in March, instead shopping for a few things for baby.
Since I didn't buy anything, I won't be sharing my purchases and just doing a my regular post with what I've been wearing. I tried to schedule as much as possible at the beginning of my maternity leave, so I had a busy couple of days of appointments and running errands. My Louis Vuitton Neverfull was a great bag to just throw everything in, and maxi dresses were easy fuss-free outfits.
I may have been a little over enthusiastic with fitting everything in on this day! I had scheduled 4 appointments and spent the morning rushing around between them. Wanted something easy and simple to wear so a maxi dress was my first choice - instant outfit, no further thought needed. At 38 weeks pregnant I can't help but wonder if the next time I'll be wearing this dress I'll be picking it as it allows for easy breastfeeding.
Unlike the outfit above, this dress wasn't my first choice for this day. I'd planned to wear my maternity denim shorts but rain got to the washing outside before I could and my shorts were too wet to wear that morning. Again I picked a maxi dress for simplicity.
It was nice to be a little dressed up for dinner with my parents at least, and this dress is great to wear, even if not what I had planned. I've used the Louis Vuitton Neverfull as a baby bag before, but this time I tried it out with just the bare essentials and it was much more comfortable.
I'm trying to go out now and then with just a little pouch inside my handbag with everything toddler T needs, instead of carrying the baby bag as well as my handbag. While a newborn will mean I'll definitely need to carry the baby bag around with me, limiting what I carry will be helpful with needing to take things for a newborn and a toddler. I'm terrible at over-packing and carrying more than I need!
While baby has arrived, I've got a few more pregnancy outfits scheduled to share on the blog, as I enjoy the newborn cuddles and try to avoid going out too often as we adjust to life with two under 2!
Two casual denim shorts outfits with my Balenciaga tempete day bag. Hard to believe it's almost 7 years old! This is why I like to splurge on accessories. They last a long time and unlike clothes, always fit - even during pregnancy.
When I was trying to think of different outfit combinations with my limited third trimester capsule wardrobe, I was having a look back through past blog photos and was surprised I hadn't worn this tank and kimono together before! I really like the pairing, glad I gave it a go.
Wore this for a day out in Brisbane with my mum and toddler T, we went to the baby and toddler expo and got a lot of great things. In the evening, we had dinner at the in-laws. I'd usually change and try get a little dressed up for dinner, but felt happy and comfortable in this so just wore the same thing in the evening.
This is an outfit combination I've worn before, the singlet and shorts together. Different accessories this time though, to try change it up just a little. It was another hot and humid day - despite it being autumn Brisbane hasn't turned down the summer temperatures yet! Just wanted something simple and easy for taking toddler T to playgroup.
