This will be a very photo-heavy post as I share a few of my favourite second trimester outfits. 38 different pregnancy outfit ideas! There are links below all the photos if you want more details.
My single maternity wrap dress was a real wardrobe workhorse, being worn almost weekly, although I continued to wear my regular non-maternity dresses in the second trimester as well. Fit and flare or empire waist dresses were perfect for this.
I only needed one maternity maxi dress for both pregnancies, the majority of my existing maxi dresses were stretchy enough to work through all three trimesters. There were a few I outgrew in the second trimester though.
I added a second pair of maternity denim shorts to my wardrobe for my most recent pregnancy as I was heavily pregnant over summer and it was too hot for jeans. Previously I was doing a full work week and with the cooler temperatures and dressing for casual Friday, my maternity jeans were worn a lot more.
My last corporate style post during my pregnancy! Here's what I wore for the last two days at work before maternity leave. While baby has arrived, I was so behind with blogging I've got a few more pregnancy outfits scheduled to share still. Means I can relax and enjoy newborn cuddles as the scheduled posts go live.
For those who asked on my previous office wear post, in Australia we are entitled to a year's maternity leave, with the ability to extend that to 2 years. The government will pay minimum wage for 18 weeks and most employers also offer a paid parental leave period in addition to this, so some of the first year can be paid. Hubby even gets paid parental leave for 2 weeks to help with the crazy newborn days which will come in very helpful. I'm very aware that I'm lucky to live in Australia and have the benefits we do.
Fourth and final wear for this dress! Not bad for a $1 opshop (thrift store) bargain! I bought it just to give me another office option during pregnancy. Only being worn 4 times I probably didn't need it as much as I thought I did, but when you hit that panicked stage in the second trimester worrying that you have nothing to wear you can go a little crazy shopping...at least it was only a dollar. It will be donated back to the store now, it served me well!
The only thing I didn't like about this outfit were the shoes - at 37 weeks with the crazy humidity it was really painful squeezing my feet into these all day!
I saved my favourite office wear for my last day, this beautiful maternity wrap dress worked so well through two pregnancies for me. One of those pieces I'm so glad I invested in. Even though I got it second hand, it was a bit pricey and the most expensive maternity piece I bought. Worth it though as it's always made me look and feel good.
I did break the office guidelines just a little and wore open toed sandals on my last day - but there was no way I was squashing my feet into shoes for another 8 hours! These were much more comfortable, even if I did have to have them as loose as they could go. The swelling has been much worse with this pregnancy, probably because of the high humidity.
Looking for more pregnancy style inspiration? Get my eBook: how to have a stylish pregnancy - on a budget! With a worksheet to help you build a pregnancy capsule wardrobe for all 3 trimesters!
As mentioned in my previous post, I'd been talking about and thinking about my handbags, and how things will change with them when baby's born. When toddler T was a baby, it took me a while before I started carrying my bags again and not just throwing my things into the baby bag.
The Mulberry bayswater is one of the bags that I'm sure will be neglected for a while. It's perfect for the office, not so much a day with a toddler. In my final weeks at work before maternity leave it was good to get it out again.
Can't believe this is only the third wear of this dress! Considering I got it at the op-shop (thrift shop) for $1 it's still a pretty good cost-per-wear though. I had the usual second trimester panic that nothing fit and I had nothing to wear so I went op-shopping and found this for only a dollar. A size larger than my normal, I knew it would work in pregnancy. It's a great piece for the office, although I don't see myself wearing it much after pregnancy so I'll try squeeze in a few more wears before baby arrives.
Another day at the office, another printed wrap dress! Unlike the one above, I feel I'm wearing this dress a lot this pregnancy! It's almost a weekly thing....
It's nice though having a go-to outfit for work though. It makes picking out something to wear the next day much easier, no matter how tired I am at the end of the day.
My third trimester work outfits are starting to get very repetitive! Although I do have maternity pencil skirts and tops, I've been falling back on the easy office wear option of a wrap dress frequently. I wore my damier ebene speedy bag with both outfits as I don't feel the checkered print competes too much with the prints on the dresses.
This dress has definitely been my most worn office wear this pregnancy! I'm so glad I bought it during my last pregnancy. I think wearing something once a week is perfectly acceptable in pregnancy, especially in the last trimester.
I've fallen into a third trimester pregnancy capsule wardrobe as the baby bump outgrows most things I own, so I'll need to do a post about that. This dress is one of the key pieces.
As I mentioned last time I wore this dress, being a non-maternity piece I'm trying to get as much wear from it as possible before the baby bump outgrows it. I was pleased I could squeeze in another wear.
When I was planning in the evening what to wear the next day, I was thinking of a different singlet to wear under this dress and thought that my turquoise one would look nice and match the print. I noticed in the morning that it didn't really match like I thought it would, it's more green than blue. Wore it anyway as I was running late and couldn't be bothered grabbing another top! It did bug me a little through the day though.
Keeping dressing for the office during pregnancy as simple as possible in the third trimester, I've been relying a lot on my wrap dresses - both maternity and non maternity ones.
I was eager to wear this dress again to the office. Although I bought it a size larger than usual so it would fit the third trimester baby bump, it's still not a maternity dress so I'm not sure how many times I'll be able to wear it before the bump outgrows it, and I'm trying to make the most of it while I can! I thought the magenta bag might be a bit of a bold pairing with the turquoise print on the dress, but really liked the way it looked.
As it's the second time I've worn this dress, and I'm reviewing everything I buy to make sure I'm adding the right things to my wardrobe, my purchase review:
I'm glad I bought this dress! It was an impulse buy in the sales and I wasn't sure if it would even fit around the bump, but I've been really pleased with it. I know I'll be able to wear it post-baby so I think it was a good pregnancy purchase. It's super comfortable for the office too. A purchase I'm glad I made, that will be worn now and after baby arrives.
Unlike the two bright colours together above, this is the magenta bag worn with a neutral dress. As much as I liked the colour combination in the first outfit, I think the magenta popping against a neutral outfit is my favourite way to wear it.
Just like last time, I'm starting to feel that I'm wearing this dress a lot over my pregnancy, but it's such an easy outfit option for work!
Gong Xi Fa Cai to everyone celebrating the Lunar New Year! Neither of the outfits below feature the traditional red or gold, instead I'm sharing what I wore to work a few weeks ago. Toddler T is still getting generously showered in little red envelopes though, we celebrate Chinese New Year.
The advice that I would give is to fast from social media. When you give it up, you give up your ties to it and it's hold on you is gone. Just distance yourself from it at least for a while.
There were lots of great entries, and similar advice, but I liked Sarah's mention that sometimes we need to to break the 'hold' we feel social media has on us.
I was excited to wear my new dress! I saw this on incredible sale at the Iconic for boxing day and ordered a size larger than my usual so that it would hopefully fit the baby bump. Was really pleased to find it accommodated a third trimester belly nicely. It's still on sale too...
I had an important meeting in the morning and then lunch with friends in the afternoon, this dress was the perfect office wear for that. And the print nicely disguised the fact that I spilled a little sauce down the front at lunch, haha!
While the dress in my first outfit isn't a maternity piece, this maternity wrap dress is one of my favourite pregnancy purchases from last time around. It always looks good, worked well for another day in the office and the navy MAB tote goes with everything of course.