A rant about maternity clothes ~ 19 1/2weeks

Now that my belly is getting too big for any of my pants, and the nice Bella Band is losing its effectiveness at hiding the fact that I'm wearing unbuttoned, unzipped regular pants, and it's too cold to wear dresses with no tights but all tights are way too...um...tight...it's time to shop for a few strategic maternity clothing items. Which poses a problem. See, at 5'9" and size 10/12, I'm not a plus-sized woman, but I'm certainly not skinny, and I'm taller than average, with short, thick, muscular legs and a long, thick-ish waist. My style tends to be somewhat tailored, and I learned long ago that most "stylish, trendy" clothes just aren't made for women like me. So I have to pick and choose where I can. Internet shopping is rarely a good solution for me, and I need to visit many shops to find components for a few decent outfits. 

Maternity shopping compounds this problem to a ridiculous degree. Because I'm sorry, but I've never once known an actual pregnant woman who looks like this:

These are maternity clothing models. Wearing maternity clothing. Seriously.

Even if the pregnant women I've known were petite, which I am not, they did NOT wear 4-inch heels and skinny jeans/leggings on a normal day. Because let's face it, 8-10 hour semi-active work days are generally incompatible with 4-inch heels for all but the most heroic of non-pregnant women. Add the healthy 25-30 lb weight gain we're ALL supposed to put on by full term and... skinny jeans and heels??!!  SERIOUSLY!!??

Of course, these models aren't pregnant. They're just wearing the belly thingies that maternity stores have on-hand so we can see how clothes might fit when our tummy gets bigger but no other part of our body gets any bigger, or can be expected to be any bigger than a model's, or a celebrity's body. Because that's totally how we gain baby weight. Right? 

Not I. 

Also, even though we live in one of the biggest US cities, maternity clothing is a very niche market. Plus, because we're a captive market, clothes tend to be both expensive and cheaply made. I know there are places to buy used items online, but I tend to have issues buying that way, too, because I'm so weirdly made. 

Anyway, I've found a few promising places to shop online, which I'll share once I've confirmed that they work for me, but I just had to rant for a moment. 

Next post: Why is everything for baby girls pink?!!