By Hannah Thompson
Congratuations if you've just found out that you're pregnant!
You know when you need to start purchasing maternity clothes when you start bursting out of your favourite jeans and they gradually starting falling down your hips!
This is the point where you can either experiment with the various belly fasteners that are currently on the market to try and get more mileage out of your pre-pregnancy jeans, or bite the bullet and make your first maternity investment into pure comfort! Buy a good pair of maternity jeans.
Bootleg, skinny leg, straight leg, wide leg ..... with elasticated waist pull on or non elasticated waist? Which one should I choose?
Maternity jeans have come a long way and now with so many styles around, its often hard to know which style to choose, so lets look at the fundamental basic styles around.
Staying Up
The most important factor when purchasing maternity jeans has to be the ability for them to stay up. I guess, like most maternity clothes, this depends on your shape, or your baby's shape aka: the bump.
I've tried on a whole heap of different maternity jeans and, in my opinion, maternity jeans with the wide jersey fabric stitched onto the maternity jean waistband is the best style to ensure stay-up ability. If you think about it, it makes sense because the jersey fabric pulls up (and sometimes over) the bump, giving something for the maternity jeans to hold on to.
Of course, there are maternity jeans available that only have a small elasticated waistband and these would ensure comfort, ease of pulling on and will stay up pretty good but the waistband will sit just on the bump at mid point of your belly.
If you really hate the look of the 'pouch' style look with the jersey panel that pulls up over your belly, then opt for the 'under belly' style which look just like non pregnancy jeans and have an internal elasticated system which you can pull in tight for a more snug fit, or release when your belly expands to give more room. The good thing about these maternity jeans, is that they don't look like maternity jeans at all, and you would be more inclined to wear them again after the birth of your baby, whilst slimming back down to your normal size. The waistband usually sits just under the belly as hipsters and this depends on your size and shape of your maternity bump as to whether they stay up!
Maternity wear is now stylish as well as functional and gone are the days of the wide flowing tent-like garments that try to hide the growing bump. Now days, we welcome the use of elasticated, stretchy fabrics like spandex, elastane and lycra that ensure the fabric can grow with your bump and accentuate your new curves and growing bump. Gorgeous maternity blouses, maternity dresses and maternity tops are all available in beautiful modern prints and styles that will look fantastic paired with a great fitting maternity jean.
The most flattering of all maternity jean styles has to be the bootleg cut. This style really helps to balance the silhouette of weight at the mid point of your belly, with the wider cut at the ankle and gives a really streamlined look that in turn, makes you look slimmer. These days, a whole host of colors are available, the most popular being dark indigo, washed blue and jet black.
If you are lucky enough to carry off this season's hottest maternity jean style, then try the skinny leg maternity jean. Popular colors include dark indigo, vintage blue, jet black and washed blue.
Straight Leg maternity jeans are a good alternative to the skinny leg maternity jean as they balance out the leg from the thinnest to the widest point, creating a more streamlined, flattering look to the body. Popular colors this season include dark indigo, jet black, vintage blue, washed blue and white.
Maternity jeans, hands down are a pregnant gals godsend when it comes to good maternity wardrobe investment. There are lots of different price points out there, but of course, this depends on your own personal budget. Don't forget, you will get a lot of mileage out of your maternity jeans for there is a good chance that you will be wearing your maternity jeans well after the birth of your baby until your body shape has returned to normal.
