Preggy Planking...

Today was such a beautiful day so I decided to venture out with my family to the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. It is a lush place filled with trees, flora, and breathtaking scenery. Being 8 months pregnant, I found it difficult climbing the trails and calling after my wayward children so after some time, we decided to stop near a shrubbery garden for a break. I then thought that it would be a great idea to do some planking! For those who do not know what planking is, I refer you to wiki's definition:

Planking or the lying down game is an activity consisting of lying face down in an unusual or incongruous location. The hands must touch the sides of the body and having a photograph of the participant taken and posted on the internet is an integral part of the game.^[1] Players compete to find the most unusual and original location in which to play.^[1] The term planking is described as the practice of lying down flat with arms to the side, to mimic a wooden plank.

I'm not into fads too much but this one was too irresistible to pass up given the beautiful weather and the scene. I was relegated to doing a "reverse plank" due to my swollen belly but it was fun nonetheless. Here are some photos from today's excursion...

The "reverse preggy plank"

The "hubby" plank

The "baby plank"

The "sibling plank"

A picture of the Arboretum

Preggy pose..I'm pretty sweaty in this pic

Top: Gap maternity

bottoms: ON Maternity (btw, these pants are fleece and very itchy! I do not recommend them!

Edited to add: Recently there has been some discussion of "planking" and its parallels to the slavery experience of the 1700's .  While I understand that slavery is still a sensitive subject for some, I do not agree with the parallel currently being made between "planking" and the experience of slaves on slaves ships. Everyone however, has a right to their own opinion and I hope this dialogue continues to strike a respectful and thought-provoking tone rather than an accusatory one.  That is all.

Thrifting on Etsy...plus size edition

If you've ever visited Etsy then you already know that it can be pretty hard to navigate.  It's even harder if you aren't 100% sure what you are looking for.  Because there is not one uniform  way for vendors to describe or tag items (i.e., something striped could be called "multicolored" by one person, and "rainbow-colored" by another) it can make it quite frustrating for the discerning fashionista to find that one amazing piece. When searching for vintage clothing on this site,  I employ some pretty easy search tips.  These tips can also be applied to eBay as well.  While you may not yield all the possible options, you will get most of them.  Here is how I do it:

1. When searching vintage clothing I use the following search terms (not all at once):
"plus size"*
XL
"extra large"
16 18
large or L

*I put quotes around the words or phrases that I want to be searched together for further specificity.  Without quotes the term "plus size" will yield results with plus and size anywhere in the title and/or description--we don't want that!

Here is an example:



Eek, 4,300 results.  Maybe if you had some time on your hands you could look through all of them and not lose your mind in the process...slim chance of that happening.  If you look on the right, you will see that our search has been broken up into categories.  We can select "clothing" to narrow the results a little.

You see how the "clothing" category gets broken down further?  Now you can select the category you want. 

You can also refine your results by leaving "plus size" in the search box and adding a color, size, or clothing style or feature.  I like vintage dresses that are sheer so I would put "plus size" and "sheer" in the search box, select the clothing category, then select the dresses category....voila!

Keep in mind that there are many ways you can enter search terms with each method possible yielding different results.  Play around a little bit and try to avoid obscure terminology when searching for clothing (i.e., using "chunky" instead of "plus size"). Most importantly, don't relegate yourself to the term "plus size" when looking for unique vintage pieces.  A lot of vintage clothing is stretchy and forgiving so don't be afraid to look for clothing that is tagged one size or large, or even medium.  The sellers on Etsy are pretty good at posting measurements and describing the fabric type (stretch vs. non stretchy).  don't be afraid to send a message to a vendor asking for further measurements!

My mastery of the search terminology for plus sized vintage clothing has resulted in some pretty cool finds.  Here are a few of them (not all of them are clothing):

Sized XL

Sized XL

Size 10

Sized XL

What vintage pieces have you discovered on Etsy? Where else do you go for vintage clothing?

Recent Buys...

So what if I'm almost pregnant and can't technically wear most of the stuff I have purchased?  I like to believe that I'm pretty attuned to my body (especially the super squishy parts) to know which pieces will fit post-pregnancy and which ones will not.  That being said, I've made several purchases the past several weeks that I'm very proud of.  One was what I like to call a dice-roll.  You know, when you buy something and you have absolutely no idea how it will fit.  Amazon recently offered a discount off of its clearance clothing and I decided to take the plunge on the Democracy Womens Floral Bed Jacket top:

Cute huh?  Well, the floral pattern reminds me of something that belongs on a couch but still...I liked it because it looked really flowy and nonrestrictive, two clothing attributes that I utterly need right now.
In person this jacket is so adorable and the floral pattern is not too kitschy or overwhelming.  The shoulders have a puff detail that I absolutely fell in love with and the fabric is soft and has a slight stretch to it. I bought this in an XL (the largest size).  Verdict: Keeper.

The next item is from ASOS' main range (size 14).  What drew me to this piece was the chunkiness of the stripes and the fact that the piece seemed very versatile (it could be worn as a top, a dress, or a skirt). I've been obsessed with anything stripey as of late so it was not a major shocker that I saw this and fell in love with it.  It didn't hurt that it was on clearance for 17 bux...

When I got this in the mail, I noticed that the white stripes were actually cream-colored, a detail I must have overlooked while reading the description of the item.  The dress skimmed over my hips pretty easily and looked great as a knee-length skirt. Since my belly was in the way, I had a difficult time envisioning it as a dress. The material is extremely stretchy and the garment is solidly constructed.  Verdict: Keeper.

My next purchase was from Talbots.  Oh, Talbots, you know how to tantalize the desires of the pregnant woman don't you?  I purchased this wanting to fully take advantage of Talbot's 40% off sale (which is still going on mind you).  I had been coveting this skirt for some time but hadn't taken the plunge because I was a bit put off by the description of the material as a "linen-blend".  Linen...you know, the same material that wrinkles no matter how many times you try to iron it? Yeah, that material.  My craving for Cold Stone ice cream one weekend brought me face to face with a Talbots.  Spying the coveted skirt on display in their window, I giddily entered.  Oh, this skirt felt like a dream! The material was very substantive and the stitching was divine.  I snuck in a corner and rubbed the skirt against my cheek.  Heaven!  The rest is basically history. Verdict: Keeper.

So that is basically it for now. I've recently purchased a host of items from Forever 21 that have not arrived yet.  Once I do, I will be sure to post a review.  I know, I know...A review is not really a review without trying the clothes on right?  Well, cut me some slack...

More preggy pics on the horizon so stay tuned!