How to Look Stylish in a Mumu - Buying Pregnancy Clothes in Korea

When expanding rapidly in places you didn't think possible making you feel like a***insert large mammal of choice*** , (dugong is one of my personal favourites); it's hard to remain stylish and more importantly feel good about yourself. Thanks to my mother passing her infinite wisdom and finely tuned shopping skills onto me at a young age, I never find acquiring certain things impossible, merely a challenge. So for the first time I was thrown into not only a foreign area of shopping but one that had to be done in a foreign country. To be honest, at first it was somewhat daunting, especially when I had already experienced the difficulties of fitting my pre-pregnancy body into most Korean sizes.

Tip #1: Maternity Clothes

I'm sure you've heard it before but I'll say it again, don't buy too many maternity clothes. They are expensive and you'll only wear them for a short period of time. Plus if you buy too many "in style" or "seasonal" pieces, they will probably be outdated or inappropriate if you decide to pop out another baby in a few years. My suggestion is to buy 3 key pieces. Maternity jeans, maternity cargo pants and a pair of somewhat dressy black pants. Believe me, that's all you'll need. Although the department stores such as Lotte or Shinsegae have maternity sections and there are a couple of stores in Myeong-dong that sell maternity clothing, they are still designed for Korean body types and will probably not fit quite right. Save yourself the headache and invest in these items from overseas. If you're lucky, like I was and visit home early in the pregnancy, you can go to maternity stores there. Or if you're not as lucky, there's always online, especially eBay because many of the maternity clothes come from Hong Kong who will ship to Korea without any problem and at a cheap price. Remember, buy your regular size in maternity wear and there will be ample space for your growing belly without the clothing falling off.

Tip #2: Tops and Dresses in ONE SIZE

Load up sister! Go for flowy, flattering tops and dresses in dark colours, marked ONE SIZE. My favourite stores to buy these comfortable clothes are Indian clothing shops (particularly in Ewha Fashion area and Samcheong-dong) or Forever 21 in Myeong-dong. These tops and dresses will last your entire pregnancy and the best bit, they are the fraction of the cost of maternity clothes and you can wear them after you pop the baby out (provided you aren't sick of them by then and would prefer to burn them).

Tip #3: Tights, tights and more tights

Get them in every colour, full length, 3/4 length; whatever you can get your hands on. They will save your life! They can be worn under dresses or long tops and at a push even under one of your man's shirts (thank goodness my husband is over a foot taller than me because his shirts come down to my knees). You can even get away with non pregnancy tights. You will be surprised at how long you can go with your usual pre-pregnancy tights before having to invest in a larger size (mostly to make sure your butt is covered!) When it does come down to buying larger sizes, go for bigger sizes in regular tights. I don't think it's necessary to buy specially made maternity tights and as I mentioned before, you'll pay out the nose for them. If you can find them go for "extra long" because simply put, there's more material in there to stretch!

Tip #4: Damn, it's winter

The most annoying bit about being pregnant during winter is the possibility of outgrowing your winter coat. Outerwear is notorious for being expensive and only needed for about 4 months out of the year. How annoying! I'm currently in this dilemma since I will be at my biggest in the dead of winter. There's no avoiding having to invest in a new coat. So I've come up with a plan. Avoid buying a nice fitted coat in a larger size because unless you plan on being pregnant in winter again or have a friend with a very large beer belly to donate the coat to; there's really no point. Thanks to my mom again, she has suggested I go for a poncho style coat in an empire waist style. This will allow the coat to hang nicely off the shoulders but still allow room for the belly. The best bit is that this style of coat can be worn even when you're not pregnant.

Quick Tips:

- Empire waist is your friend!

- Cotton drawstring pants ARE NOT JOGGING PANTS/TRACKY DAKS! So wear them instead!

- Accessories will always fit, so pile on the scarves, hats and jewellery.

- Shoes will fit for most of the pregnancy (unless you are unfortunate enough to have swollen feet and ankles from early on). Either way, you can pick up a pair of shoes for 10,000 won in most subway stations, along the side of the street, up and down Myeong-dong or in the markets. So get what you need, you'll never have a better excuse and so what if the shoes disintegrate in a few months, they only cost 10,000 won!

- Or simply wear your man's shoes with thick socks (unless he has size 15 feet like my husband, then at least you'll have a nice pair of flippers!)