It's shocking, I know, but these Seven for All Mankind maternity jeans have lasted me through three pregnancies PLUS loan outs, but not solely on their own steam. In their original form, these babies were the brain child of some fabulously well-intentioned designer who had clearly never been pregnant, and were purchased by someone who had never been pregnant. They started out in 2007 with one of those kooky, ill-conceived half panels, made out of dark blue cotton jersey that clung to everything, with a thick elastic band that cut into my bulging belly, creating a bizarre new type of waistline in the third trimester of my first pregnancy.
I was tempted to toss them whilst knocked up with numero dos, but they're the perfect kick-around, well-worn classic that's always a comfortable Sunday go-to, so I decided to work with them instead. While I do have a sewing machine and am pretty handy, I didn't want to work with a combination of thick fabric like denim plus a super-stretchy panel fabric--seemed too tricky and too tedious--so I took them to my fav tailor and told him my plan.
First, I purchased a belly band in my size from A Pea in the Pod in nude (I was only able to find black and white in more budget-conscious versions, like Target's BeBand). Err on the side of a tighter fit to make sure it's really going to hold up your pants! The benefit of using a belly band instead of sewing up a piece of stretchy fabric is that a belly band is a tube made out of one contiguous piece of fabric, so no extra seams to irritate prego skin or interfere with otherwise smooth lines, and it's already about the right length to cover your tummy all nine months. Then, I measured the front and back rises of some well-fitting full panel maternity jeans and let my guy run with it. The result, $45 later ($25 for the band and $20 for alterations), is one of the best-fitting, most comfortable pairs of maternity jeans--or any jeans, really--that I own. Voila!
For a truly adventurous and capable DIY-er, I'd go the distance and buy a pair of deep-discounted premium jeans in a size or two up from your normal someplace like Nordstrom Rack, hack off the waistband and stitch it on up--at $200 a pop, premium maternity denim hurts, Mamas, as we all know!
- M.
Oh, and hey! Please don't forget to take a sec to vote for Ain't No Mom Jeans for Parents.com's Best Mom Fashion Blog award--we'd love it! Just click the pic : ) xoxox
