Pregnancy Style Diary, week 22.5 | I wish I could

Hello everyone! How many times when you were pregnant you thought: "I wish I could wear..."

Today it keeps happening to me. First, there was this beautiful purple Milly coat I tried on at Holt Renfrew (I cannot find it online, sorry). I have been looking for a purple coat for ages. It was right there, hanging in the store. It had a A-line, and right now I would look ridicoulous to wear it even if unbuttoned. The winter is coming too, and that coat will definitely not do it. I spent a good 15 minutes to ponder with the sales associates about the size that would fit me post-pregnancy. The uncertainty was too large and I had to let go. (Let's hope I find it on sale in January!!!)

Still at Holt Renfrew, there was the Brunello Cucinelli collection. Nothing to say about it, Brunello's relaxed style would be ideal for pregnancy. If you have 2000$ laying around to shell out for just a sweater, of course.

On my way home, I peeked into the window of another store and got mesmerized by a golden, fully sequined mini dress. It would have probably never fit me even before I got pregnant, and it would be completely inappropriate for every single one of the occasions I can think of.

Then there was the Outnet's party special feature. Call it another incarnation of the Cinderella syndrome. The thing is that next year my husband and I will celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. Since we had our first date, and then lived for a while, in Hawaii, before I got pregnant I was secretly imagining a vows' renewal cerimony on a sandy beach, with my son as a ring bearer and no family drama. Hence the attractive power of the Outnet's beautiful gowns.

I even started a board on Pinterest now...

P.S. Remember these shoes? They are also part of the Outnet's special -- if you have a size 40 and above though. Also,  click here for more posts in the "What I wore through my pregnancy" series.

Happy Halloween!

Hello everyone and Happy Halloween!

I am still a bit disappointed with their new "shop their closet" approach, but one has to admit that nobody does still life pictures as The Coveteur. Which one is your favorite for Halloween? I am totally digging this Alexander McQueen clutch.

P.S. I hope you get to take your kids trick-or-treating tonight, and my thoughts are with all families who have been affected by hurricane Sandy. We feel so blessed because so far we have gotten just some wind and rain!

Pregnancy Style Diary, Week 22.4 | Feeling a stranger in my body

This pregnancy is such an emotional and physical rollercoaster, much more so than the first one. The first two months, I was knocked down, but hey I could tweak my jeans to fit and wear all my summer clothes.

Just last week, I felt great and extra-glamourous getting dressed in my ever-shrinking closet, but a few days later I began panicking at the fastly growing vacuum. At the beginning of this week I must have also gotten some virus from my son and had three pressing deadlines at work, so I ended up with palpitions and a self-imposed bedrest by today. A calm weekend made me feel much better, but on Monday morning, as we were driving to the office, I felt sick again and completely out of breath. Then it hit me: could it be that my bra was too tight? I undid it, and voila, I could breath again.

A trip to the closest maternity store ensued. I am not big chested, and I regularly wear a 34B. The sales associate sent me home with a 38B and I swear to you that, by looking at that giant thing, I could not help but think: how did I end up wearing my granny's bra? I am barely 6 months pregnant! What am I going to do in two months?

The same estranged-from-my-body feeling continued this morning. I stepped out of the car and  twisted my ankle a little. No big pain and no harm done in the end, but at that moment I started crying like a fountain. I kept thinking: I am barely 6 months pregnant, why do I feel like I cannot do anything I normally could? More tears. Fortunately the rest of the day got better...

P.S. Click here for more posts in the "What I wore through my pregnancy" series.


Photo: Yoshikazu Yamamgata's giant bra and panties project via Style Bubble.

We're having a boy!

Hello everyone! Are you willing to listen to a small confession?

Today we found out that we are having a boy. My son was thrilled -- I knew he much preferred a little brother to a little sister. My husband was also thrilled, although he had no preference either way. I was thrilled that everything seems to be fine, but there is a tiny little part of me who wished we were having a girl, and I felt terrible about it. Absolutely awful. The worst mother in the world. The picture above made me realize why. There is a way women can connect, and stay connected, that I wish I could have experienced.

When we got home in the evening I was still feeling terrible. Then I tucked my son into bed and I helped him fall asleep. He hugged me very tight, as he does every evening, and looked at me like I was the most special person in the world. I got it then. I would not want it any other way.


Photo: Momfilter.

Resort is here

Hello everyone! Going anywhere warm this winter?

I am having a tough Monday (allright, I agree, aren't they always), and Neiman Marcus added to it by announcing that the resort collections are here. Which is not an uplifting news for a few reasons. First, it reminded me that this year in January I will be stuck in house at minus 20 degrees Celsius (while last year in Italy, at least, we enjoyed mild temperatures until early January). Second, I will enjoy no spring afterwards, because in Canada we go from 2 meters of snow, to the disgusting meltdown, to +20 degrees Celsius with at the most three days of (rigorously rainy) spring weather. Third, even if we would have, by some kind of miracle, a longer spring, I doubt I would have shed the baby weight by then and would be in the mood for buying new clothes.

I hate the woman at the nail salon who yesterday told the tale of her upcoming trip to Miami.

P.S. Do you even believe at the launch of the resort collection at the same time as the Christmas book. Every year I marvel to this conundrum.


Photo: Neiman Marcus.

On my mind, Halloween edition

Hello everyone! Are you getting ready for Halloween?

Since last year in Italy we did not enjoy a much halloweeny atmosphere, we have been looking so much forward to it this year. In fact, we decorated our pumpkins too early and the squirrels made the best of it :)

Yet with the storm coming, we do not know any more what to expect. Will our basement get flooded? Will we be able to take my son trick-or-treating, as he has been dreaming about for months? Whether you are drafting a contingency plan or not, here are three things that may help you stay in the mood:

Eddie Borgo's capsule collection for Yoox

Net-a-porter's gothic glamour edit

Fashionologie's easy fashion costumes


Photo: Net-a-porter.

May the pumpkin be with you

Hello everyone! Did you have a good weekend?

We finally had a sort of a quiet weekend. On Friday, I had a minor physical breakdown (I have definitely overdone it lately), and I realized that my body needed to take it slowly for a few days. We took my son to his usual activities (including a rigorously dressed-up skating lesson), stocked up for the upcoming Frankenstorm, and got groceries.

The highlight of the weekend was our local library's Halloween scavenger hunt, which was a big hit with my son and his friends. In order to enter the hunt, everybody had to drop off a decorated pumpkin. Our had been quite plain -- my son had wanted to do it himself, and I had not had the strength to suggest any elaborate project during one of our latest marathon weekends. My best friend, on the contrary, who is my inspiration -- raising three kids (of whom the youngest is just over two months old) and keep up with her work while she is on maternity leave --, helped her son to decorate the pumpkin pictured at the top of this post. It is Yoda, and it won one the library's prizes. So well deserved!

FW12 trends | The crop

Hello again everyone! Here come the second daily post on the Fall trends. I hope you are following our series!

Contrary to FW11, there is not much to say about pants this season. There is little doubt that pants for FW12 are, with few exceptions, cropped, a cut meant for showcasing that embellished footwear that I mentioned in my previous post. It is my favorite cut, and I just wish the dozen pairs I have in my closet would fit me...


P.S. This is the fifth post of our FW12 trends issue. Earlier posts:

1. The Edit: Go big or go home
2. The Fall face
3. Color havoc
4. Hold on to your slippers and tie your laces

Photo: Fashionologie (clockwise, from top left: Max Mara, Derek Lam, Emilio Pucci, No. 21, Michael Kors, Sonia Rykiel). 

FW12 trends | Hold on to your slippers and tie your laces

Hello everyone and good early morning!

Hubby dearest has left for the airport at 5 am and seemed like trying his hardest to wake me up in the process. I have been awake since 5 as well, cranky, and wishing I could stomach coffee because I am not sure how I am going to get through today. To cheer myself up, what better to do than to talk to you about shoes for Fall?

As pre-fall had let us foresee, this is the season of the smoking slipper a.k.a. the slipper that will cost you 500$ and above. The smoking slipper is marketed as a luxury loafer in order to maximize its popularity. Nonetheless, it generally lacks the arch support of the latter, and from my test feels more like a flat ballerina. It is a trend I am not too fond of not as much because of the price tag but because wearing a slipper, no matter how expensive, will make you look like you forgot to put your shoes on. My favorite pairs are thus the less-slipper looking, and if the price point would not be an issue I would totally see myself wearing Miu Miu's tassel glitter loafer at all our family's holiday parties. If it is the style for you, you can start with the good selection by Neiman Marcus or take some time to sift through Yoox's virtual racks, where you'll be able to find options for all price points.

Boots are, as every Fall, all over the spectrum. Knee-high boots have been reinvented with fringes and big fold-overs (Givenchy reigns in the latter category -- and Zara has plenty of look-a-like), lower boots take a spin with studs and the like (seeking desperately Chloé's Susanna booties).

I am in love with Balenciaga's lace-up pumps (I mean, who isn't? But expect to pay 1500$ for a basic pair), metallic cap-toe shoes (why is it that the nicest ones have miles-high heels though? I am looking at you, Derek Lam Devon booties), and white everything footwear as seen at Celine (although I dare you sporting this trend when being around kids). If I could wear 4" heels, modernist shoeware like Phillip Lim or Stella McCartney's would also be on top of my list...

Next post on Fall pants coming up in a few minutes, so stay tuned!


P.S. This is the fourth post of our FW12 trends issue. Earlier posts:

1. The Edit: Go big or go home
2. The Fall face
3. Color havoc

Photos: Balenciaga's lace-up pumps by Venue Magazine; Chloe's Susanna booties by The Beauty and The Geek; Phillip Lim Kadi cut-out booties in burgundy by Shopbop; Stella McCartney's pumps by Stella McCartney.

Another launch

Hello again everyone!

Today must be launch day. H&M has just unveiled the full Maison Margiela collection. The full campaign site will not open until November 8 in both the US and Canada, but you can access all pictures and prices now through Fashionologie.

Pictures of a few pieces have been surfacing since August, and I have to confess that I was not very interested until... this morning. I. need. these. shoes. Perhaps even that puffer coat, even though it looks like a  blanket. The only issue is: who can I bribe to go and stand in line for a poor 24-weeks pregnant lady like me? My husband is not in town...

P.S. You can check all my favorites on Pinterest.

The Coveteur 2.0

Hello everyone! Are you a fan of The Coveteur?

It is one of my favourite websites. I love its innovative way of displaying the contents of celebrities' closets while contextualizing them in their home style. Once I read somebody writing about it: "It is so difficult to do still-life pictures, and they do it so well." It is totally true. The pictures are gorgeous.

Today The Coveteur launched its new website. It will have larger pictures (plus), and may include editorials post as well (plus). But. It is so much more shopping oriented. In fact, one of the main purposes of the new website is to provide an integrated shopping experience. Users can "covet" items and place them in their own virtual personal closet (you are now required to register with either your Facebook or Twitter account, although I was not able to do it yet -- the system is still in beta after all). They can also "Get the Look" by clicking on an item and seeing similar items they can purchase.

I understand the business strategy behind this change, but I do not like it. How about cultivating our own individuality? I think there is still something magical in peeking into a celebrity's closet and just getting inspired.

P.S. The transition seems to have also obliterated The Diary of The Coveteur, the Tumblr feed that provided a "behind the scenes" look about the shoots. I do not like this either...


Photo: WWD.

FW12 trends | Color havoc

Hello everyone! Would you wear pastel tones in Fall?

When it come down to color, I am quite traditional -- something instilled in me by my Italian upbringing. In our house, pastels, cotton wear, and short sleeves all went in storage with the first frost, no questions asked.

You will thus probably not see me wearing pastels this Fall, even if was I never so tempted to betray my upbringing by Jil Sander's hues for FW12. Color combinations have gone havoc this season, and oxblood is as much in fashion as pastels and the ever-forbidden combination of black and blue. Maybe I will venture so far as wearing my Rockstud Valentino pumps with a neutral dress and coat. Just maybe. And definitely not past Halloween.

P.S. This is the third post of our FW12 trends issue. Earlier posts:

1. The Edit: Go big or go home
2. The Fall face

Photos: Fashionologie (Top: Jil Sander. Middel: Acne, Peter Som, Yves Saint Laurent, Haider Ackermann. Bottom: Ohne Titel, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Zac Posen, Stella McCartney)

Pregnancy Style Diary, Week 21 | Less is more

Hello everyone! Are you curious to read the latest chapters in my pregnancy style diary?

As I am turning 21 weeks, I am surprised about the fact that I feel more glamourous than usual. I totally attribute this feeling to the careful and constant editing that my closet is undergoing due to my ever-chaging size (talk about getting bigger faster during a second pregnancy!). What I keep thinking about is Dana's post about taking her kids' toys away in the attempt of making them more self-conscious about tidying up. Her experiment had the unexpected consequence that the kids were happier, playing more with each other, and not asking for their toys back. "It seems that the toys were holding them back," she wrote. This is how I feel now about my closet.

I learnt that purging and editing are two different things. Generally, every season or so, I try to discard items I no longer wear, and keep everything else on display. It seems all those clothes hanging in my overstuffed closet were holding me back. Now the constant editing makes it easier to get dressed in the morning because all pieces fit together and can be mixed-and-matched effortlessly (said from someone who sucks at mixing-and-matching I consider it a big accomplishment). I will make sure to keep this valuable lesson in mind even after the baby comes...

P.S. Click here for more posts in the "What I wore through my pregnancy" series.


Photo: Brightest Young Things'  Emily Wall editing her closet down to one rack.

The school uniform debate

Good evening everyone! Do your kids wear a uniform to go to school?

After lunch, I had to pick up a couple of extra items for my son's school uniform, and I realized that I have not yet written anything about our back to school experience.

For the first time in his life, my son has to wear a school uniform. Last year I read an article in one of Italy's top newpapers about the uniform vs free dressing debate. Not even the most expensive private schools in Milan require an uniform, and teachers complained about the fact that parents often chose fashion over practicality and that kids (especially girls) got into unhealthy dressing competitions. For this reason, teachers missed the practicality of the uniforms that kids used to wear to school (public or private, it did not matter) when I was a kid. On the other hand, parents defended the need for kids to express their individuality through their clothing choices. The article's arguments were fitting to the Italian context, where the attention to style and fashion is embedded in the society's DNA as much for locals as for foreigners, for whom they are often felt as key to fit in. (Gabrielle's experience in France seems to be similar, and it made me smile to read that she has never dressed so fancy as she does now in France compared to when she was living in the US).

I do not have a strong opinion about school uniforms, but my experience so far is that it simplifies tremendously the morning rush. Mute is now every discussion about wearing short sleeves t-shirts when it is -20 degrees Celsius outside just because it is a favourite, of a super-hero, or with a favorite dinosaur depicted on it. My son does not get frustrated to look for what to wear in his closet, and can easily get dressed by himself. During the weekends, it is also easy to plan laundry loads, because I know that at the very least I need to wash 3 pairs of pants and 3 polo shirts. Finally, the uniform has created a nice after school routine, whereby when we come back, we get cleaned and changed already into loungewear or pyjamas, so that my son is ready to go to sleep after dinner and I do not need to chase him to get him ready for bed. (My son felt so grown up to have to go and choose his school uniform that he wanted to go in dressing room all by himself, as you can see in the picture above.) Do your kids have to wear a uniform? Would you like it if they would have to? I'd love to hear your thoughts.


P.S. If the kids' outfits are standardized, there could not be more heterogeneity when it comes to their moms' style choices. I have to confess that I miss a bit the moms who I met regularly standing outside my son school in Italy last year, and from whom I always got some inspiration (such as the color of these shoes). This year, aside from the display of ultra-expensive handbags (did they sell the Hermes saddle bag at Costco or something? everybody seems to have one around here), clothing and, particularly, footwear are incredibly uninspiring, and generally disconnected from the latest trends. More on this in another post...

Star Wars poster art

Hello everyone! Are you a Star Wars buff?

After my last post, a few people emailed me to ask where I got the two Star Wars posters pictured above. They are by the talented Samuel Owen, and they stole my heart because they combine my Star Wars and fashion obsessions. Also, since the space where I put them should evolve into a combined work space / kids playroom, I thought the photos' subject was totally appropriate.

I had done quite a bit of research before choosing this duo. I was looking for something more than a vintage poster. My top choice (above) was the 2010 series by Olly Moss for Mondo, which was unfortunately unavailable (I had no luck finding it on eBay either). Runner up was the series by Justin Van Genderen (below), which is available through Imagekind at a very reasonable price.

Which one would you choose? I'd love to know.

Another weekend marathon

Hello everyone! Did you have a good weekend?

We made it to Monday, through yet another flurry of jam-packed activities that we had on our list alongside my son's scheduled sports and activities (science class on Saturday and skating on Sunday): decorating the house for Halloween (which involved trips to the Dollar Store, Target, and so on), dropping off our pumpkin for the local library's Halloween scavenger hunt, getting started on my son's school project (a presentation about himself and his family that is due Wednesday), organizing our basement/guest space for our friends arrival on Monday, getting ahead with the cooking for the above mentioned visit (thank God the Thermomix I brought from Italy finally works!). On Sunday, we were able to also fit in a lunch with friends after skating, which meant, however, that our dinner schedule was delayed -- so that I found myself to have to tell my son at 7:15 pm: "If you want to watch your favorite cartoon before going to bed you have 15 minutes left to eat your supper." Needless to say, I did not do anything for myself, if we exclude the one hour I collapsed on the couch completely exhausted.

Come Sunday evening, I wished I had a weekend, one of those where you do not wake up at 8 am to a preschooler's request to paint right there and then, where you do not hurry through breakfast because the same preschooler wants to decorate the Halloween gingerbread scary house (project that ends with one hour of cleaning the black frosting from the kitchen counters -- NTS: avoid projects involving black frosting at all costs from now on), where you do not multitask to do the laundry/tidy up the house/cook for a week until the day is over, and all you want is to crawl up in the bed you did not have time to make.

Why, oh why, our weekends always end up like this? How do yours look like?

Pregnancy Style Diary, week 20.5 | I raided my husband's closet and I wish there was more

Hello everyone and happy Sunday!

We are having a relaxed lunch at our friends' home today and I was looking for a casual, cozy sweater to wear. As my discomforting trip downtown was totally unsuccessful, I sifted through the few pulls that still fit me. Nothing appropriate for the occasion. Then I remembered reading an article in a magazine a few years ago. A famous woman in fashion (whose name I do not remember, unfortunately) explained how she solved a lot of her maternity wear issues by wearing her husband's sweaters and shirts. Maybe it could work for me?

I turned to my husband closet, and I discovered what an untapped resource it was! I discovered my husband's round-necks fit me perfectly. I just wish there were more in his closet! Maybe I should keep that in mind for Christmas...

P.S. Click here for more posts in the "What I wore through my pregnancy" series.


Photo: Lambert/Getty images.

Pregnancy Style Diary, week 20 | The first low point

Hello everyone! Did you ever hit a low point in the quest for being fashionable while pregnant?

Today that moment arrived for me. The thing is that I am getting big as fast as temperatures are dropping so that I need to cover up, but most sweaters I own cannot cover my bulging belly anymore!

Today I thus squeezed in between many errands a visit to The Bay downtown, officially to buy stockings (yes, you need special ones of those too!) and unofficially to look for loose sweaters.

I tried everything. From a few Topshop pieces (Topshop opened at the Bay's "Room" a few weeks ago, and I can tell you it is not the most exciting brand you can find there) to Lord & Taylor's cashmere (another new arrival at the Bay) to a Jessica Simpson sweater. The result was discomforting. I remembered why it is difficult to wear non-maternity wear when your pregnant belly cannot be hidden anymore: the fit is all off. If you take a size larger than you normally wear, your belly may fit fine, but the shoulders will look big.

At least I bought stockings.

P.S. Click here for more posts in the "What I wore through my pregnancy" series.


Photo: Shutter Daddy.

The weekend, a day earlier

Hello everyone and happy Friday!

Fridays are my favorite days of the week. It is when I get to do real research work with one of my best collaborators in my office outpost downtown, which means I also get to dress up and window shop a bit on the way. Since I take the bus downtown, on Friday morning I can also linger at home a little bit longer after my husband and my son have left for school. Bliss -- unless dirty dishes from the night before are still piling up in the kitchen, which has happened and it was not pretty.

Today I had to give all of this up because my housekeeper has kindly decided to come in the afternoon and I need to be home. You may think: you gave up your favorite day for that? Well, I am sure you understand if I tell you that we have guests coming to stay with us on Monday and my alternative was to spend the whole weekend cleaning the house. After all, the housekeeper always comes first, right? Especially if she is such a good one as ours.

Anyway, since I had errands to run, I decided to get a step ahead of the weekend and cross a few (ok, several) things off my list -- including an early visit to the market, where I took the shots above. In order not to feel miserable in the process, I anticipated my nail appointment and I had sushi for lunch. Things started going a bit downhill after lunch however, and my outing ended with a discomforting shopping experience (more on this later) and the first flurry of the season (yes, you read right, and I don't want to talk about it). Thank God the weekend starts tomorrow.

Prada vs Prada

Hello everyone! Have you ever heard of power walking?

I am not talking about the Olympics sport. Rather, with an analogy to power dressing, I am talking about the power of wearing a great pair of shoes. I have always loved shoes, but I have been quite a conformist until recently. One might say that my love for ballerinas had been holding me back! As I have not been able to wear them anymore, last fall I expanded my footwear closet horizon by adding platform booties, a pair of Valentino Rockstud pumps, and a pair of Dolce & Gabbana animal print kitten heels. Perhaps because my clothing options are shrinking as rapidly as my belly is expanding, a few weeks ago I discovered how fashionable and on trend wearing a pair of these great heels made me feel. Hence when I saw this pair of Prada suede purple mid-heel pumps in Holt Renfrew last month, I begged the sale representative to find a pair in my size. I had been searching for a pair of shoes in this color since I saw a mom wearing it in Italy outside my son's school last year, and I love the fact that the heel keeps the same shape as Prada's hectic stilettos from the Fall runaway (which I would never be able to wear).

Since my budget is limited, my order meant returning the pair of Prada boots I had gotten on sale at Winners just a couple of days before. Do you think I made the right decision?

P.S. I have not been able to find the same pair of Prada shoes online. If you are interested, Bluefly has the same style in black patent leather, Saks has the same style in patent navy or nude leather, Nordstrom has the same color in a ballerina style or in a 4" pump. As for the boots, I found them on Bluefly as well (they fit large to size, so you may want to go down half a size).

Are you into vintage?

Hello everyone! Are you into vintage fashion?

Today, the BoF announced that online marketplace Byronesque is set to launch with the goal of giving worldwide access to "a carefully edited selection of designer vintage from a growing network of specialised boutiques, beginning with One of a Kind in London, Quidam de Revel in Paris and The New World Order in New York."

I love the idea of vintage. My mom's has kept a few of her 1960s Valentino dresses, and I am terribly sad that they are too big for me (and too difficult too tailor) because they would otherwise be my favorite pieces. 

I find shopping for vintage fashion a difficult task, however. First, defining what vintage is not as straightforward as one might think. A lot of clothing for sale at certain consignment stores, for instance, can be vintage, even though it does not wear such a label. Second, finding the right place can be even more difficult, and judging the right price almost impossible. I envy many bloggers, such as Jane Aldrige or Chiara Ferragni, who can score great pieces for cheap at thrift stores or on ebay. I have never had such a luck, or a skill. In  Italy, I had stumbled upon two great places by accident: Bahamamama, which is a nail store/beauty salon/bar/vintage reseller; and Oggetti Smarriti, which is an antique store specialized in vintage glass frames. In Montreal I would not be able to name you a reseller, but if you are interest the auction house Iegor periodically hosts sales of vintage fashion (the next one is scheduled for October 17), and always has a small selection in its online auctions section. 

When I checked out Byronesque's website, my doubts, issues and questions related to vintage fashion increased. The pieces on sale look stunning. But the price point? I really wish there was a vintage fashion guru to advise neophytes like me.

Pregnancy Style Diary, week 17 | Time for maternity wear

Hello everyone! When did you start wearing maternity clothing?

A few days ago, I officially "popped", as one of my friend says. Plus, summer is over, and last weekend I had to put in storage the beloved summer dresses that have made feel quite well put together so far. Time for maternity clothing (rather than just maternity jeans) has come.

As we are not planning on having a third child, I do not want to spend too much money -- just enough to get through a couple of months after the delivery date, when it should be late spring again and layering my summer dresses should come to rescue. Fortunately, I do not need coat, and probably I will not need a puffer jacket, since all the ones I have are roomy enough (thank you A-line!) Most of my tops and sweaters, on the contrary, will not do the job of accommodating for a growing belly, and I need a couple of more dresses.

Today, I thus took the day off and drove all the way to the Carrefour Laval, one of Montreal's biggest shopping centers, which happens to host the two main chains of maternity wear: Motherhood and Thyme maternity. Wasn't it a disappointment! The quality of virtually everything in either store was so low and the prices so high that I felt almost angry for what it says to expectant mothers. Why don't we have GAP maternity or A Pea on the Pod on Quebec? I grabbed a bag of maternity stockings and left as fast as I could... with nowhere to go, until I stumbled upon Zara. In the hindsight, this is where I should have gone first!

Everything on display had studs on, was bottle-green or burgundy colour, or all of the above. Since one of the main things that was absent, together with style or quality, from the maternity stores I had just been to, was some season-appropriatedeness, I tried on a ton of stuff. I ended up scoring I really nice, faux-wrap bottle-green top and a grey long sleeves tee with leather trim, which are totally in season and should accommodate my growing belly. I also dared to buy a pair of waxed skinny jeans in the same colour that I am hoping can be turned into maternity jeans. And then there was this bag, which was speaking to me in a quintessentially Alexander Wang-meets-Celine kind of way. I have tried, bought and returned Zara handbags more times that I can remember. This one I could not let go though. Maybe I will get home, take it our from the paper bag and think: "With all the expensive designer handbags I own, why should I wear this one the most?", and I will return it. Or maybe not. I'll keep you posted.

P.S. Click here for more posts in the "What I wore through my pregnancy" series.