goldenpig

I have been pretty busy lately with work, hospital call and three kids, so I haven't had time to continue with compiling my pregnancy WIW's, but since there are several more YLF'ers who are expecting I thought I'd better finish up soon! I posted my first trimester lookbook and my second trimester part 1 lookbook (weeks 14-20) previously. (And here was the thread where I announced the pregnancy).

Here is the second half of the second trimester--weeks 21-27, from October to December. This is well into embrace the bump territory. I bought a few key maternity pieces that I wore a lot that fall, including a mustard cowl neck sweater (9, 13, 28, 33) and burgundy maternity skinny jeans (6, 13, 19, 28, 33,37) and Gap Always Skinny maternity jeans (10, 22). I still was able to wear a lot of my old pre-maternity pencil skirts and dresses though...pretty much everything I wore was non-maternity. I kept the skirt waistbands slightly unzipped or hiked them up above my belly. Belts had to migrate from my natural waist to an empire waist, but my demure bombshell persona still felt better having a defined waist, even if it was right under the bust, LOL. Cardigans and coats could still be worn open. I let my sweaters and dresses stretch over my growing belly. Instead of tailored fit, the silhouette became more body-con. Although occasionally I would switch it up with loose-fitting poncho styles (10).

Which are your favorite(s) from this group? I'm partial to the mommy and mini-me polka dot party dresses in 1, the Halloween trio of lil' skeletons in 11, and I definitely had fun doing the Blogger Copycat Challenge while pregnant! Had to adapt and get creative (kind of the motto of my whole maternity dressing, actually) while still sticking to my Demure Bombshell roots (such as 38).

Questions, comments, additional tips for other 2nd trimester ladies much appreciated! Stay tuned for 3rd trimester and 4th trimester (postpartum)!

1-5. Week 21
6-12. Week 22
13-20. Week 23
21-26. Week 24 (including Blogger Copycat Challenge week!)
27-32. Week 25
33-35. Week 26
36-40. Week 27

I've been drooling over the Tory Burch Fall 2013 Lookbook. (The ad always seems to pop up on my sidebar). I just love all the rich colors and textures and pattern mixing. I can't really afford to buy her stuff right now though given all the stuff I bought already (namely Ms. Scarlet and my burgundy leather jacket), so I thought I'd try re-creating the feel of her collection with stuff I already have. What do you think, was I successful?

I know it's quite ALGO, but I think Tory Burch likes to pile on the prints, layers and rich colors and textures like I do, so this felt like a very "me" outfit. It  also has my usual waist definition with the belt and even has my fun whimsical details like the quilted hearts purse. It's still a little warm to be wearing full on fall looks here, but mornings are foggy, so I keep forgetting it's still summer! (Actually, summer is usually colder and foggier than fall around here). I was too excited to wait!

Thanks for your comments and suggestions!

Lafayette148 burgundy leather jacket
Halogen teal houndstooth cardigan (some of the houndstooth pattern is actually burgundy!)
EmersonMade bees and crowns ivory blouse

Anthro Moss Mills leaf belt
Halogen burgundy tweed skirt
WHBM burgundy and cream bracelet
Clarks brown pumps
Betsey Johnson burgundy quilted hearts satchel.

You've seen these outfits before but repeats are OK, right? I was trying to think of a way to tie these two outfits together, because I don't like posting singlets of outfits I've posted before (because I'm worried you might get bored of repeats), and I also like to have a theme when I post two outfits together and have them relate to each other. So, these two outfits remind me of Hawaii. First one because of the palm trees swaying in the breeze, and the second because of the koi fish ponds they always have at the hotels. I wore them both to work, on call at the hospital so I wanted something that was very comfy and easy to wear on long work days with lots of walking. Easy breezy!

Speaking of Hawaii, DH just found a great deal on a trip to Hawaii in October...so excited! We'll have to pull the kids out of school for a week, but it's preschool and 1st grade, so hopefully that's OK. It's the only week we can both get off together and since we didn't have a family vacation this summer it will be our only big trip for the year. I can taste the pina coladas already!

1-2. Tommy Bahama palm tree faux wrap dress and white cardigan
Easy Spirit nude pumps
Cole Haan turquoise stripe purse
WHBM bracelet and necklace

3-5. Zara fish crossover drape blouse
Halogen lace cami
Halogen red pencil skirt
WHBM red necklace
Tommy Bahama red bracelet
Ms. Scarlet 

Stuart Weitzmann burgundy ballet flats

Since everyone is getting their jackets now, I thought I would post a roll call to collect everyone's pics in one thread! Big fun!

And since the jacket is now down to $24, I ordered five in various sizes for my two sisters, my sister in law, mom, and teenage niece for Christmas presents. I used the HELLO15 code to get 15% off and Big Crumbs for an additional 4.2% off. That's about $20 each for a leather jacket. Wow! We are going to have fun being a biker chick gang this Christmas!

ETA: And feel free to post any leather jacket pic if you don't have the Spiegel--thanks lyn!

Yesterday I bought a jaguar print T shirt and Vince Camuto lace print tube skirt at Nordstrom. I was going to wear it this weekend, but after seeing Angie's post today on Big Kitty tops I could NOT resist wearing it today! Work appropriateness be darned! My patients will get the same care no matter what I'm wearing, so I might as well have some fun! I tried the combo with my Halogen knit moto jacket (the one that you all liked so much) and my Tahari black leather jacket, but neither of them gave exactly the right vibe I wanted. So I pulled the Spiegel out of the return box and the tags finally came off. I know it may not be as flattering on me or fit my style as much as others, but for $60 I can have fun with this new to me casual slouchy cutaway silhouette and if I get tired of it, just pass it down to my sister. I have been flip flopping back and forth about keeping or returning the Spiegel jacket and finally this outfit pushed me over the edge (cliff). I'm a lemming after all. Whee!!!

Bobeau jaguar tee
Vince Camuto granite lace tube midi skirt
Mia Nanette black lace up booties
Spiegel draped leather jacket
Michael Kors black studded satchel
Nordstrom silver cuff

Whoops. This is what happens when to me when I go return stuff...I end up getting more stuff! I told myself I was done shopping after NAS, but true casual tops (as opposed to work tops repurposed for MOTG) are a relative wardrobe hole for me. Here are four tops that came home with me...what do you think? K/R? I'm showing a couple different sizes for most of them--the first ones are the size I bought, but let me know if I picked wrong.

1-3. Pleione mixed media blouse size S in pink rose. It looks like a button down but is a pullover. The color is more raspberry sorbet, not fluorescent pink as the pictures make it seem. I forgot to take pics of the M, but it seemed like the small was baggy enough as it is.
4. Amber Sun blue striped T in size S. They didn't have a M in that color, but had a M in a different stripe color (5). I was worried the S looked too tight around the tummy and would have probably gone with the M, but the SA said the M was too baggy on me and bunching in the back of the arms, so I went with her advice.
6-7. Pleione scoop neck bird print blouse size XS. I honestly can't see much difference between the XS and the S (7-8), and I'm not even 100% sure that 7-8 is the S, LOL. The XS was slightly more fitted and the S a little more baggy, but not too different.
10-11. Bobeau jaguar print T size M. I went with the M because that seemed like a better length than the S (12).

Thanks for the advice!

Oh, I also exchanged two Vince Camuto tube skirts for a size up (the S was too clingy on my belly so I wanted to get the M), but the skirts are no longer on sale (I got them 2 for $79 but now they are $69 each). The SA let me exchange them for the sale price and even let me order three more at the sale price (I'm still dithering on patterns). They also never complain when I bring a bunch of my online purchases to return (if they're rolling their eyes, they're doing a good job of hiding it!). Yay for Nordie's customer service, they're the best!

I wore this blouse for lyn*, who was excited to see it in my hanging in my closet in my closet cleanup thread. I still really like the owl print, but find myself passing over the blouse when I'm choosing what to wear. I don't know why I don't feel like wearing it more often. I wasn't able to wear it during pregnancy obviously, but now that I fit into it again, it's not the first thing I reach for. Maybe it's a combination of the bright lemony yellow (I find myself gravitating toward more subdued, darker and richer colors--this blouse seems more spring than autumn), the puffy sleeves, the pussy bow tie (I think I OD'ed on those two years ago when I bought this and five million other PB blouses, LOL), and the tighter fit (I've been gradually moving toward a more relaxed fit, as everyone has been doing slouchy/baggy lately). It's also a bit on the short side too. All of that said, though, I'm not sure if I'm ready to pass it on yet...I guess I'm kind of sentimental that way, and a bit of a sucker for cute prints.

What do you think--do you like it or not? Is this outfit 2013 me, or 2011 me? I didn't feel 100% fab in this outfit. Is it the blouse, or the styling? Maybe it would feel more me with a pencil skirt (I liked it better before when I wore it with a skirt). Any other outfit tweaks or different styling suggestions? I tried it with burgundy flats to bookend the jacket, but subbed the bronze ones at the last minute. And feel free to tell me if this blouse is dated and needs to go...though I might not be ready to listen yet. ;)

Lafayette 148 burgundy leather jacket
Anthro Lemon Liftoff owl blouse
AG ivory skinnies
Born bronze flats
WHBM burgundy and ivory bracelet (bookending the jacket and pants all at once!)
Jack Georges brown briefcase

Some old favorites. This dress was an Angie pick from a couple years ago. I love the way the skirt flutters when I walk. I feel like I could be a flamenco dancer with my dress and shoes. And of course my old standby the red corset trench from 2 years ago. I get compliments from all kinds of random strangers when I wear it. Patients, hospital staff, people at the grocery. Even old men. Fun!
(Bonus shots of me at work--the nurse asked to take a pic of me with her phone because she loved my outfit, so I asked her to take one with my camera too).

(And the back of the trench in case you hadn't seen it yet.)
Anthro Elevenses red corset trench
ASOS Motel Indiana roses dress
Ms. Scarlet
Clarks black mary jane pumps
Black and silver bracelet

I know there's a million other things I should be doing, but in the middle of the night a couple of nights ago I was up after feeding the baby and in a fit of energy, cleaned up my closet. Everything was all jumbled up and messy. I reorganized everything by type (SS shirts, LS shirts, skirts, jackets, pants, dresses) and color within each group, reorganized all my shoes, etc. Nice and tidy now! I also purged about 20 pieces of clothing & gave them to my sister, even some things I had just bought this year but weren't 10s. Like a green & white Anthro empire waist tunic (7) that I bought thinking I would use it during pregnancy--it didn't last long because it quickly got too short for my expanding tummy, and then postpartum the empire waist wasn't the most flattering b/c I still looked pregnant, plus with the back tie it makes it too hard to nurse in this top--I can't lift it up. So I let it go, because it's not practical for me. I purged some things a couple months ago too (my sister took most of it). So now my closet is back in shape and while I still have too many clothes (over 30 skirts and 30 dresses, yikes!), at least it's not super over-stuffed and messy anymore--I can see everything now and find things. I know I need to fix the boots--I used to have paper towel rolls in there but somehow they've disappeared, so I need to collect more or pony up for real boot trees.

Anyone else want to post closet pics too?

I tried on the Spiegel leather jacket in size 4 in this unstyled K/R. I was pretty sure I was going to return, but several of you said you actually liked it on me, and after seeing it on others, the silhouette is kind of growing on me. So I thought I'd give it a second chance and try it styled to see what you think. Also I tried the Amber Sun ponte moto jacket but it was a bit tomboy for me. Rae suggested I try the Halogen knit moto jacket (1-6, 9-10) instead. What do you think? It's a lot more cropped and fitted through the waist and sleeves, which I prefer. I can wear it as a soft blazer at work, but also use it as a MOTG casual jacket. It's like a more stylish version of the REI black fleece jacket I used to wear a lot pre-YLF. I'm pretty sure I'm keeping the Halogen. but the question is whether I should also keep the Spiegel jacket (7-8, 11-12) too? Is that too redundant to have a knit and a leather jacket in the same style?
Thanks!
Natalie

ETA: I just realized that the knit jacket is Halogen, not Caslon! Whoops--I'll correct the post. Caslon makes a similar moto hoodie.