Tuesday, January 11, 2005

an ode to low-rise pants

Why do I hate maternity clothes so much? I think the word "maternity" might be part of the problem. The word alone sounds vaguely bloated and tentish -- two things I had hoped to avoid while pregnant. Unsuccessfully when it comes to the bloating part, I might add.

I have to confess that I was completely unprepared for how alarming it would be for my body to change like this. Obviously, you expect it to change, but you don't really get it until it happens to you seemingly overnight. I've never struggled with my weight and in fact, never really gave it much thought prior to this experience. However, once I got pregnant I realized that that body image -- the old thin one -- is much more a part of me than I ever thought. But I've weighed the options, and have decided to embrace my love for cheeseburgers even if it means I have to work a little harder afterward to fit into my old jeans.

But you know, I should count my blessings. First of all, how lucky am I to be living in the era of low-rise pants? How did people ever cope with pregnancy in the 80s, when jeans came up to your rib cage? Yuck. I've tried so hard to like maternity pants but just haven't been able to do it. However, now that I'm getting close to six months along and TOTALLY showing, I do feel a little silly walking into my standard teenybopper stores and trying things on. I already feel conspicuous as a 31-year old shopping there, but add the big belly and the whole spectacle becomes a bit ridiculous.

Oh well. It's a free country. But please, next time you see me perusing a rack of clothing at Forever 21, bite your tongue and walk on by.

2 comments:

Poka Bean said...

So glad you're not a pregnant mother in the 80s having to deal with rib cage-height waistlines. Not to mention, how could you bend over to peg your jeans with such a rapidly growing belly??? Yes, the new millenium is your pregnancy era. And I say, embrace those cheeseburgers, baby. That boy needs MEAT!

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star said...

I don't really know you, but I'm a good friend of poka bean. I don't mean to latch on to this one point, but I feel I must respond because this is a passion of mine: 31 is NOT too old to be shopping at Forever 21. You know why? Cause NO ONE is too old for a bargain. And all the more reason to go there when you're pregnant because shopping at a non-bargain-buy maternity store is like buying insurance (the kind that doesn't cover fatality due to consumption) on the ice cream you're just about to consume. In a few months, that $100 pair of jeans you bought at "baby style" or "a pea in the pod" is going to be in a box in your garage marked "maternity clothes" for God only knows how long, so why wouldn't you make the proverbial toilet-paper squares that are your maternity clothes as cheap as possible? There. I've said my piece.

In short: You go on with yo bad self. And if I ever see a pregnant woman sifting sheepishly through the low-rise jeans in Forever 21, I will go up to them and shake their hand for you.