Friday, August 14, 2009

Hope Grows: JCPenney Maternity

I had low expectations for JCPenney's maternity section, as when I browsed through before opening day it looked very small and less than thrilling. But after my usual dressing room visit, I may now happily recommend it as home to some of the most comfortable maternity jeans I've tried on yet. H&M had stylish skinny jeans, but at the rate I was growing, I knew they'd soon be too restrictive. And already my sister's hand-me-down jeans from Motherhood Maternity make sitting down dangerous.

duo tops and straight-leg, dark rinse jeans ($40).



















So I was sure my maternity jeans days were over. But these jeans, all by duo (most styles have the belly panel) were easy to get on, soft, bendable, long (!), and not dowdy. I was kind of amazed. I was expecting mom jeans and instead I got stylish jeans. A few straight-leg pairs even gave me pre-maternity body flashbacks.

I like the gathered sides in the top, and the duo plaid top with the wider-leg, blue-black duo jeans.


















Also, these styles are all $40 and under (a.n.a maternity peacock top below, $36).
















I would not shop JCPenney hoping to find the maternity jumpsuit. But for basics, you should not pass it up. The a.n.a brand does have trendier tops. This is another thing I like about JCPenney's maternity section: their regular brands cross over to maternity. So if you like a.n.a or duo pre-pregnancy, you'll like them for pregnancy, which makes it easy to cull your choices in store and online. Also, the M's fit me in the duo jeans, so they seem true to size. The cropped cargo pants I had to go a size up, but I was meh on those. Stick with the jeans, the really soft Duo T's, and the a.n.a tunic tops.


JCPenney
Manhattan Mall, lower levels 1 & 2, 33rd & 6th Ave.

3 comments :

WendyB said...

Damn, girl, you look good in skinny jeans!

Make Do Style said...

Hot mama to be in skinnies!

Tricia said...

Aw, thanks, you guys do a pregnant lady good. But seriously, I was so surprised these fit and looked so good.