My Definition of Value

I have begun looking for freelance fashion design work on Craigslist and some other sites that match up designers with companies offering contract work.  I was prepared to sift through the occasional unreasonable posting seeking a designer to make 20 sample garments in 3 days for free, but I was surprised by the general negative attitude toward the notion that a designer might be primarily interested in a project based upon compensation.  For example here is a posting looking for handbag designers:

"I am looking for designers who are only interested in the job firstly and the money second.  If you're just after cash to make your quote [I think she meant 'quota'] for the week or month, please do not forward me your interest."

Um, yeah that's an actual quote from a website that is specifically designed for connecting freelancers with PAID work.  Where I come from a making a "monthly quota" is defined as "earning a living wage."  This woman owns a boutique and I can only assume she does not just give her merchandise away- so she wants people who solely have an artistic interest in designing bags for her so she can sell them and make a profit for herself? Ridiculous!

This just really got me thinking about how individuals skilled in artistic trades are often looked down upon for wanting paid work.  Just because designing and sewing a garment has been defined as "creative"doesn't mean I'm not making a product that has inherent value, and it especially doesn't mean that my time and hard work have no value either.  My boyfriend is a software engineer- if he were to ever take on side work there is no way in hell anyone would ever expect him to write computer code for his "interest" in it.  There's no reason why creative professionals shouldn't be held to the same standards.

Let me just say that I have full respect for making art for arts sake, but in my opinion that only applies to an individual's personal art.  I sketch, make patterns and work on my own designs for me and obviously I do that work for fun and because I want to.  However, you can't expect people to have the same level of commitment to your project without compensation.  I'm not saying money is everything, but I think when you are skilled in a creative trade, when it's something you worked hard at and paid college tuition for then being compensated indicates that you are being taken seriously as creative professional.  Also, let's face it, positive art vibes are not going to buy baby food or help pay a mortgage- money is a necessity.

I think as artists we need to also do our part.  There are too many creative gigs on Craigslist looking for a photographer "who wants a great learning experience" or a graphic designer "who wants to build their portfolio."  Often these classifieds are from other artists looking for free work from other artists to help with their projects.  If we don't value the work of other creative types, then how can expect other industries to take us seriously? I know you may not have money, so then ask a friend or a family member, or use your skills to barter, but don't expect complete strangers to work for free.  It's time that we too start treating ourselves and our fellow artists more in a more professional manner.  Well at least that's my opinion, if you don't agree I understand, but if you ever help me with my website or model my clothes I will at least insist upon hemming your pants that drag on the floor or altering that blazer of yours with the boxy shoulders...and you'll just have to deal with it.

And We're Back Online Folks!

There's some new decor  in my kitchen my sewing machine, the new serger I received as a gift for doing a good job having a baby, and most importantly a jumperoo to contain/entertain said baby (AKA Mirah).

all business.

all fun.

go team.

Mission Accomplished

Guess what? I had a baby, thus this is officially no longer a pregnancy fashion blog.  Fear not, though- now it will just be a fashion blog (exact direction TBD), plus a place for me to showcase things that I make while Mirah is sleeping.

I'm showing this outfit that I wore today because it is comprised of a skirt and top that I purchased while pregnant.  The skirt has an elastic waist so I was able to wear it until I was about 7 months pregnant, and the loose fitting top lasted until the end.  The best part is since neither of the garments were maternity clothes I can still wear them!

No camera tricks this time, the baby belly is really gone!

skirt~ TJ Maxx

top~ Marshalls

purple tank~ H&M

tights~ Express

boots~ Steve Madden

There is a Season Turn, Turn, Turn

Living in New England means that your pregnancy will usually span at least three seasons sometimes all four, which makes finding appropriate clothing even more difficult.  While *technically* it is still summer, today's weather is way more reminiscent of a fall day.  My typical wardrobe with a few slight alterations got me through winter and the chilly parts of spring, whereas summer forced me to invest larger clothing.  Now, I'm 9 months pregnant, and left with oversized tank tops on a cold rainy day.  I tried on some of my old sweaters this morning- that was entertaining.  Then I found a sweater dress I had purchased last winter- huzzah!

I used to wear this tights or leggings before I was pregnant, but those are too constricting at this stage in the game and more importantly this sweater is barely a dress at this point.  It worked well with my jeans because it actually more closely resembled a regular length sweater thanks to my large belly. 

I also had to be a little creative with my jacket selection.  While I couldn't zip it up to save my life, I was able to at least button the top button which kept me nice and warm.

sweater~ Express

jeans~ Old Navy Maternity

jacket~ AKA New York

scarf~ vintage

boots~ Matisse 

31 more days, but who's counting?

I am.  My posts have been limited because during the home stretch of my pregnancy I have resorted to wearing my three-four most comfortable outfits in a well thought out rotation.  That's a total lie, I wear the same thing two days in a row on a regular basis, but I think at this stage of the game I should be afforded this luxury.  Yesterday however I was able to stray from my routine a bit mostly thanks to the cooler weather.

I love how deceiving this picture is because you're probably thinking where's the belly???

There it is!

This outfit is very basic, but in my opinion, it's the cropped sweater that makes it.  Whereas some traditional cardigans begin to feel tight around the hips or look awkward during pregnancy, the nice thing about cropped sweaters is that you don't need to worry as much about outgrowing them.  Also for the days where I'm sick of wearing the same three-four basic shirts over and over this provides a welcomed change.

Even Mirah has her very own cropped sweater for when she needs to spice things up a bit!

jeans~ Gap Maternity

grey tank~ H&M

black tank~ American Apparel

cropped sweater~ Nordstrom

shoes~ Blowfish

necklace~ TKSB

Mirah's sweater~ Baby Gap

Go with the Flow

In previous posts I had talked about the tendency of oversized or baggy shirts to be rather unflattering on preggers because it makes us look like nebulous blobs.  That being said, I have found that not all flowy shirts need to be avoided, but there is some trial and error, or more likely some luck involved.

So I guess I have to give credit to my mom for finding this style of shirt, since she bought me one in pink and I went back and bought the black and white one I am wearing in the above photo.  I'd like to think that her ability to select a garment suitable for my pregnancy is a finely honed skill resulting from my detailed and insightful blog posts...

Anyway, the manner in which the cascades drape along the body helps to give some definition, even though it is rather baggy.  I like this silhouette because it's something different than the typical empire waist, flared bottom shirt, but it's not fitted either.  To me, it's a nice balance of the two, and more importantly it's not a maternity piece, so hopefully I can wear it again!  

tank and shirt~ H&M

Mom Shorts

When my boyfriend commented on the distressing and mock wear and tear on my new maternity shorts, my response was- "yeah I don't usually like that, but in this case I feel like it makes them look less like 'mom jeans.'"  Being the smarty pants that he is, he declared "well aren't maternity shorts the definition of mom jeans?"

I think we can all agree that "mom jeans" are not just any jeans worn by a mom- it's a classification all by itself.  Regardless I'm very pleased with my new maternity shorts.  They have a modern style so when I pair them with my favorite non-maternity tanks I'm almost forget that I have to dress an 8 month pregger body.

I included a close-up because I just really love the detailing on this tank top.   Lucky for me it also created a slimming, shape that definitely worked in my favor.

shorts~ Macy's

white tank~ H&M

purple tank~ I don't remember

shoes~ Toms

earrings~ goodwill 

The End is Near-ish

The heat, combined with my size has been severely limiting my clothing choices as of late.  I have found my staple comfort outfit- leggings or fitted shorts with a dress or longer shirt; however as I round the home stretch of my pregnancy (only 9 weeks left!) I don't want to keep buying more clothes that may not fit me later on.  

I finally conceded and made a special trip to a larger Target to check out the maternity section...but I ended up with this dress from the regular women's department instead.  I bought it a size up and the empire waist makes it suitable for pregnancy attire.  I wore it 3 times last week so when I put it on yesterday I decided to add a belt to change things up a bit.

Coincidentally, the red in the belt matched perfectly with the faucet handle adornment on my new Jardiniere from The Kitchen Sink Bag!  

dress~ Target

belt~ vintage

leggings~ TJ Maxx

bag and silver necklace~ The Kitchen Sink Bag

One person's trash...

Well it was exactly trash, but I got this shirt from a clothing swap.  When I first wore it I was barely showing and it was very flattering with jeans or a simple skirt.  Then I went through a brief period where the bubble hem began creating an enlarging effect- not good.  Now that I'm rather big anyway, that effect is not an issue, but it still looks better with leggings.

I added this close-up to show how nice the macrame is on the top of the shirt.  Also to show one of my favorite thrift store finds of all time- the yellow earrings I found while I was in college.

shirt~ clothing swap

leggings~ Express

earrings~ thrift store

shoes~ Toms!

The Official Pregnancy Shoe

I've tried various shoes as my feet continue to swell in the hot summer months, but most of the time I would end up in my converse sneakers.  I was started to dub this my summer of dressing like a camp counselor, but then Toms shoes came to my rescue.

These are absolutely the most comfortable shoes I have ever owned and they go with everything- absolutely perfect for pregnancy.  This is a dress that I showed in another post, but I paired with a different belt this time.  I'm not generally a fan of capri leggings, but with all my garment limitations, I'm giving them a whirl.

belt~ vintage

shoes~ Nordstrom

leggings~ TJ Maxx

NYC Trip

I took a quick trip to NYC last week, I figured it would be nice to see some of my friends before I'm completely huge or have a baby in tow.  As a result of sweltering temperatures and the necessity for comfortable walking shoes my fashion choices were less than creative, but I did go a bit camera happy during my stay.

My first night Noga and I had dinner at a mexican restaurant called Fonda in South Slope where she treated herself to a yummy cocktail.  Later I treated myself to a chocolate mousse cake covered in white chocolate, I think we were both quite happy. 

I stopped by my old Manhattan apartment on Bleecker St.  This was the side where my bedroom was, all the way up on the 29th floor...

I went to the bar Max Fish in the Lower East Side.  I chose it because I remembered it as one of the more low key places in that neighborhood.  Much to my surprise when I arrived I was greeted by two bouncers and a mock "velvet rope."  I guess a lot had changed, but you could still get a PBR...my beverage was in the cool green water bottle though.

After a delicious lunch at Life Cafe in Bushwick, my old neighborhood Carolyn, Steve, and I  had a little photo shoot

Porch Photo Shoot

I recently went out to find another pair of maternity shorts, but in the grand tradition of retail stupidity nobody had shorts left for sale.  I know we all want to pretend that our shopping schedule revolves around fashion week, so naturally I should have picked out and purchased my spring/summer ensemble last fall,  but I didn't know I was pregnant then so ha!  In any case, I needed to get a little more creative with expanding my summer wardrobe.

A lot of the non-maternity shirts I've bought end up being rather long because I'm buying larger sizers.  Some of my leggings still fit me, so I can pair them with these longer tanks- not always as cool as shorts, but on the non-sweltering days it's better than jeans.  

'

I'm also wearing a necklace I was playing around with.  The pendant is comprised of two pieces I linked together, and the upper chain is another portion from the necklace I showed in the previous post.  In this one though, I removed the middle bead and replaced it with the green one that I had from an old bracelet I took apart.  Thanks to Dom for the photos :)

tank~ TJ Maxx

leggings~ Express

shoes~ Blowfish

Necklace Beta Testing

This is a necklace I made out of the pieces I showed in my last post.  The red pendent is a clip on earring attached to an old chain.  The lower portion is a segment from a longer necklace that I took apart.  I attached it to the other chain with the intention of making this look like two necklaces in one.  I'm still toying with the idea of having the bottom part be detachable, so that the pendant could be worn alone if desired.  Any thoughts?

This is why I have so much trouble getting rid of clothes

I'm self-admittingly one of those annoying children who can never seem to completely move out of her parents house- i.e. I use the room off the basement as my personal storage unit.  Clearly this ad fails to reach me:

I was there a few weeks ago retrieving more of the belongings I had left after my move from Brooklyn when I stumbled upon a bag of clothes that I had intended to donate to the goodwill.  Out of curiosity I looked through them and discovered a few tops tops that I thought could work as maternity garments.

Among them was this yellow number.  I bought it a few years ago and I don't even remember where it is from.  I didn't wear it much because it always felt unflattering- the material is very structured so the bottom portion maintained a wide shape that didn't work for my normal body type.  However, it does wonders for my pregnant body!  The empire waist cut works very well and the ruched, elasticized portion around the bust has a lot of give, which makes the shirt extremely comfortable.

This does pose a problem though, because I have trouble getting rid of clothes because I always wonder if I will like them better down the line.  Usually I force myself to donate clothes that I haven't worn in a while, but this scenario threatens to throw off my entire system...

shirt~ probably Marshalls or something of the like

jeans~ Old Nay Maternity

sandals~ Mudd

Craftyness

My summer project is starting an Etsy store so that it will be all set up before my baby is born in late September.  I want to eventually make clothes to sell there, but given my time constraint and lack of a serger I'm going to start with making recycled jewelry and small art pieces in thrifted frames.  My hope is that endeavor will help me stay in touch with the world outside of breastfeeding and diapers.

Here are a few items I collected during my last thrift shop excursion.  I'm having trouble find enough chains at the moment, but I'm trying to be patient.  Time to get crafting!

New England Weather and New Boots

Last Friday it barely reached the 60's here in Boston, which ironically coincided with the last day of school.   I spent the first part of the day thinking that it must be early spring and I had forgotten that I have to go to work.  I eventually wrapped my head around the concept of summer and went shopping for more supplies for the Etsy shop I have in the works.  More on that next post, here is what I chose for my shopping trip on a cool summer's day.

The shirt and pants in this outfit were feature in a previous post, but I will not promote the illusion that I never wear the same thing twice.  The new boots were an unexpected find.  They are the same brand as the oxfords I mentioned in another post, and since they were on sale my lovely boyfriend convinced me to buy them.  The best part is that I was concerned about the oxfords fitting my swelling feet over the summer, so I bought this pair a 1/2 size bigger.  I have bad ankles that have suffered numerous sprains and one break over the years, so at times sandals just don't cut it for me.  I can wear these boots with ankle socks and since they're a light color they will work with summer skirts and dresses.

This shirt is a 3/4 length, which is often hard to wear a cardigan over because the arms of most of my sweaters are too tight.  Enter the "boyfriend cardigan" style, I go straight to the source and actually steal my boyfriend's...

It's been a while since I posted a side view baby bump photo, so here it is!

shirt~ TJ Maxx

belt~ Savers

cardigan~ Target 

necklace~ TKSB

jeans~ Old Navy Maternity

shoes~ Wanted

A Summer Without Rompers...

I recently tried on a romper, let me just say- I will not be wearing one this summer.  They are quite possibly the least flattering garment for a pregnant figure.  This realization came with a tinge of sadness and disappointment because I love rompers- the simplicity of only having to choose one article of clothing with the comfort of wearing shorts.  Here are some neat ones I would wear if I could...

The one shown on the mannequin is form Anthroplogie and the two others are from Urban Outfitters.  I realized that along with my comments above, another romper quality I really enjoy is the shape and relaxed fit of the the shorts.  All of the maternity shorts I've seen are either denim or khaki, not leaving much to be admired. 

I found this lone pair of shorts on the Urban Outfitters sale rack, and while they are not maternity, they have an elasticized waist band!  In addition the cummerbund style detailing in the front is very flattering for the baby bump.

So here is my attempt at a romper inspired outfit. I paired the shorts with a loose fitting tank of similar fabric and opted to forgo the belt because it was ridiculously hot outside.  I'll admit my converse all-star shoe choice is not the best for this outfit, but I had to run outdoor water activities with 7/8 year olds all afternoon and I wanted to post an honest ensemble.  I've resigned myself to the fact that when it comes to pregnancy sometimes comfort trumps everything.

shorts~ Urban Outfitters

tank~ Urban Outfitters

shoes~ Converse

The Shirt Dress

I have been promised that I will not be pregnant forever, but I would like to continue writing a fashion blog after my little one is born.  With that in mind, I'm trying to integrate other fashion topics into my pregnancy apparel choices as one method of preparing for my transition into post-partum blogging.

I came across this article about the shirt dress trend in a recent issue of InStyle magazine.  While the dresses pictured above are awfully cute, they are not especially suitable for pregnancy since most of them are button down, woven fabric garments most likely without any stretch. 

As a replacement, I opted for this t-shirt dress made of rayon with a little bit of spandex.  It is the same blunt shapeless cut as the dresses in the article, which is why I added a belt- as recommended above.  The nice thing about the straight shape of this dress is that it doesn't get caught on my baby bump like some others, therefore the length of the dress is less of an issue.

I added this close up to show the twisting on the neckline and the pleats that extend down from it.  These design details mimic the dresses featured in the article and keep it from looking too basic or boring.

dress~ Marshalls? (I've had it for a while)

tights~ Express

shoes~ Wanted

IHDA Trip

Last week I attended the Independent Handbag Designer Awards in NYC because the The Kitchen Sink Bag's Mini-Mattea was nominated in the Red Carpet Ready Evening Bag category.  Unfortunately, TKSB didn't win, but we met some cool people and made some great connections.

I stayed at The River Club in Manhattan, which had spectacular decor- a little vintage with tasteful stylized opulence.  There was an amazing spiral staircase leading up to the rooms that each had unique charm, and you even got a real key!

It was the sort of location that begged for some hipstamatic iphone photos...I especially loved the quirky art on the walls.

The bathroom was the only place with a full length mirror, luckily I was enamored with its quaint design, and so I think it made a formidable backdrop for my outfit photos.  This is the dress I wore to the award ceremony.  I bought it specifically for TKSB shows and events taking into consideration it would need to accommodate my ever changing body.  While I fit into the medium, I was only 3 months pregnant and wanted it to last, so I purchased the size up.  The straps are adjustable, the back is ruched and elasticized allowing for some flexibility in the bodice.  The skirt of the dress flows out casually from the empire waist and is long enough to cover my growing baby bump.  

dress~ Urban Outfitters

cardigan~ target

necklace~ TKSB

shoes~ Wanted

tights~ Express

This is the outfit I wore the following day.  It's finally warm enough to wear my sandals without socks (well, sometimes) and so far they are serving their purpose of accommodating swelling feet.  I also recently bought this tank, which is on the front and stretch cotton on the back.  I was glad to find it because this style of tank is really popular this season, but without the stretch fabric in the back, it won't fit me.

tank~ TJ Maxx

jeans~ Old Navy

shoes~ Mia

Mock-Maternity

In my quest for summer comfort clothes I found this pink skirt with a fun pattern for the bargain price of $12.99.  The best part is, this is not a maternity garment, but thanks to the wide, ruched elasticized waistband it fit comfortably over my stomach, acting similarly to the traditional panel attached to maternity skirts.

Another quality of this skirt I enjoy is it's potential to mask, or at least tone down my baby bump.  Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to have a baby, but at times I get sick of all the gawking when I'm wearing fitted clothes that accentuate my pregnant belly.  Sometimes I prefer to just blend, and thanks to flare in this skirt, paired with a loser top I am able to be a bit more discreet. 

skirt~ TJ Maxx

shirt~ Marshalls

tights~ Hue

shoes~ Blowfish