On maternity clothes

At 7 months pregnant. Topshop dress.

Let's be honest, Maternity clothes suck! Most of the time there is no style at all, and we are supposed to wear that for more than a year? Because except if we are lucky ones with an amazing metabolism – some do, I know it ^^ - we definitely won't be back to our pre shape or pre-pregnancy clothes just after the birth of our baby. C is now 5 months old, I am a bit under the weight I was when I just got pregnant, but I still have this floppy belly and don't fit well in my pre-pregnancy clothes. I simply don't have the shape for it. So why maternity brands don't do a much bigger effort??

Of course some brands are trying to make it easier on pregnant women, such as Topshop that does a section with maternity clothes, or ASOS. And they are much more wearable – I actually got all of mines from Topshop – and have more the look of “normal” clothes and less like styless women. Why should we suddenly have a non style year only because we got pregnant?

Some designer, such as HATCH are doing some lovely clothes that can be worn before, during and after pregnancy. I just fell in love with some of them (see pics), but all nice designers for Maternity are really expensive..

Some of my favourites from the current Hatch Collection:

The question would probably be then, if it's something like HATCH that could be worn after pregnancy as well, that looks really nice and stylish, maybe it would worth it to put some more pounds in it... But we don't always have that amount of money.. Especially when we usually would whether spend every penny we have for our new baby to come :) But still a question to meditate for next baby :)

Would you spend more money on maternity clothes if you can wear it after pregnancy? Where are you buying your maternity clothes? Which is/are your favourite brand/store for maternity clothes?

On greeting people.

I've always find it quite difficult when I was meeting new people as I never really knew how to say “hello”. But at least it was just a question of “how many bises is he/she doing?”.

Coming from France I am used to “kiss” people to say hello and goodbye. Every single person present in the room or with your group of friend. Obviously you probably wouldn't do la bise to your boss, teachers, etc. But otherwise it is really common, and was so much easier for me. I mostly just needed to figure out if that person was making 2 or 4 kisses.

Now that I am living in London it is completely different. Not only that I don't know what is the way in UK to say hello or goodbye to people – do I shake hands? Hug? Kiss? One kiss on cheek? Two? - but London is also so diverse in nationality and cultures that it makes it even more difficult. I honestly probably met – when I say met I mean met in a way that I've been hanging out with the person for several times - only a couple of person purely british since I arrived, about 2 years and a half now.

Even with my family in law, who is from Latvia, I never know how to say hi. Do I hug them? Kiss them? Once on the cheek? Twice? - as it doesn't go so well it doesn't make those decisions easy either.

I usually have this awkward moment for quite a while when I just start to get to know people where I will just wave my hand awkwardly saying “hiii” and then would figure out how to say goodbye xD

Does anyone of you feel the same way when meeting new people? Or from a different country? How do you usually react? How do you say hello and goodbye from where you are from? - in the action, not words obviously :)

(Pic: Henri Cartier Bresson and Agnes Varda)