It’s interesting that I’m enjoying sharing outfit photos much more when I’m pregnant than when I’m not pregnant. Maybe it’s because dressing for pregnancy is a bit of a challenge and cracking the code is immensely satisfying. Maybe, because it’s nice to feel confident in a belly-baring shirt for a time. I’m also embracing writing what’s fun for me on here as opposed to outlining a little box, stepping inside of it and saying, “That’s all folks,” which means sometime after baby girl comes I’m probably going to start writing about things beyond motherhood as well. Taylor Swift just got married at Madison Square Garden and announced her union with an AT&T sign. Anything goes!
If it were up to me, my family’s vacations would be planned months in advance. However, this is hardly ever the case. Like I said in my last letter, we went to Oahu because my husband had a job there. Since it was a work trip, the dates weren’t solidified until a week before our departure. The only reason our hotel was secured two weeks ahead of time was because my husband finally got tired of me asking “Have you booked yet? Have you booked yet?” in the vein of an antsy kid kicking the back of his seat on a road trip. One evening he simply gave up and said, “I think you’ll feel better if you just book something.”
This a long way of saying that I didn’t have much time to figure out what I was going to wear. I didn’t do any try-ons before we left, but since I am pregnant (have you heard?!), I couldn’t just throw a bunch of stuff into a suitcase and hope for the best. I needed to pack items that I knew were going to work and most importantly, that fit. To maintain some degree of organization and sanity, I made a list of what to bring which I always do when packing for my son, but hardly ever do for myself. It was extremely helpful - there were only a few things that I didn’t wear at all. Since we were gone for almost a week, I also made sure to pack clothing that could be worn multiple times and in various ways.
The below are all outfits I put together in real time (bad lighting and crumpled up towels in the background be damned) and that I would one hundred percent wear not pregnant, too. You’ll notice that there are some repeat items from my last outfit post as well - when I like something, I wear it!
The day after we booked the trip I overnighted two cotton sarongs from J. Crew to wear as beach coverups and to dinner. I think this print (and the one you’ll see a little bit below) is so beautiful. I was limited in the ways I could wear them but found they worked best tied underneath the bump. Playing with contrasting colors and patterns is key for me and I really like how the pop-y orange shirt and purple in the skirt work both against and for each other here. (Side note: I’m also very into Chan Luu’s silk printed sarongs right now.)
A Go-To beach outfit. Hunza G is by far my favorite swim line to wear while pregnant. The fabric is so soft and has a lot of stretch. The tote is both unfortunately and fortunately made out of plastic, which means it works incredibly well as a beach bag (someone once asked me if it was Phoebe Philo so there’s that, too).
Dinner at the hotel. Really going for it with the bare midriff here. I packed three white shirts for this trip, all of which had to be stain-treated when I returned home because I was refereeing a toddler most of the time. But IMO you can never pack too many white tees.
I had a bathing suit on under this and wore it thinking we were going to beach hop on the North Shore. In reality, we spent about fifteen minutes on one beach huddled with at least a dozen other tourists vying for a glimpse of a lone sea turtle riding a wave. The rest of the day we were mostly in the car due to a road closure that prevented us from going to any of the other beaches on our itinerary. Louis had his first shaved ice as a consolation and I got to have an uneventful dinner surrounded by more tourists chasing the fantasy of a permanent vacation at Tommy Bahama back in Waikiki.
Day to night. This is the other J. Crew sarong. I wore it once lounging on the hotel beach and to dinner on our last night. A sarong styling tip I have not tried but would like to: Tessa Tran of Chan Luu recently posted a photo of herself wearing a black maxi dress with one of their sarongs tied overtop at the waist and it looked incredible (so sorry I do not have a link or a pic, you just have to trust me).
*StOrY TiMe* I wore this to dinner on our second night when I accidentally booked a last minute reservation at an Omakase-only sushi restaurant. When we realized and decided to leave (I’m not eating an entire raw Omakase right now and Louis is 3), the manager told me he was going to charge me a $100 per person no-show fee. I would’ve understood if it was a flat $100, but $300?! In this economy?! I left in such a blind rage that I forgot the front door was automatic. I reached to slide it open at the exact moment it opened on its own, slicing two of my fingers. My dramatic exit foiled, I let out a small “Fuck!” and stumbled into the street, bleeding and crying like a newly-legal drunk college girl after a bad night at the club. Alas, this aligns with my recent Hawaii track record. The last time I was there, on my first babymoon no less, I got a Staph infection after getting the equivalent of a paper cut from a twig on the beach. The Spirit of Aloha, in my experience, can be a real elusive bitch.
That’s it! Have a great weekend everyone. And please, for the love of God make sure to read the fine print when you make a reservation on Opentable.
xx
C
This post may contain affiliate links, but only for items I have personally used and/or love!
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