Winter wardrobe malfunction

This week rather than a lust item, I have more of a must item. A new winter coat.

I had my first pregnancy wardrobe malfunction yesterday. My main winter coat – the one I turn to when it is properly freezing outside (and shown in this post) – is now too small. My bump has grown quite a lot this past week or so and the buttons on my coat have been under increasing strain. One has already popped off and another has been literally hanging on by a thread. That thread gave way in an embarrassing way yesterday morning.

I was stood on the upper deck of a bus, just about to walk down the stairs and the driver was a little more over-zealous in applying the brakes than I expected. As I reached to hold a handrail, the strain on my coat was too much and the metal button flew off, through the air, down the stairs and onto the lower deck with a clatter. Thankfully it wasn’t packed but still, a metal disc flying through the air from the upper deck caused a bit of a kerfuffle with my fellow passengers! I then had to follow it downstairs, with a very red face, and announce that it was the button off my coat (and a very kind man scrambled under a seat to retrieve it).

It took a while for my red face to fade!

Even once I sew the buttons back on, I still won’t be able to do it up. So I have a winter coat but I can’t button it up...which sounds like it could be ok but I had to road test it yesterday in freezing cold weather and it’s not ok at all.

But the idea of buying a maternity winter coat that will just be for the time left this winter seems ludicrous. I tried to look around the high street yesterday to see what’s left in the sale (not much) and whether I could maybe get a coat that is a different, looser cut that I could wear in future, not just while I’m pregnant. Turns out that even though it’s still winter, don’t even contemplate buying winter coats at the end of January. As far as most shops are concerned, spring is here and coats are unnecessary!

I've spotted one that would be perfect, from Red Herring Maternity at Debenhams, and it’s a very reasonable £69. But I am still undecided. I think I may need to experience another week of zero degrees with a coat flapping around in the wind and see whether my resolve to not buy any ‘unnecessary’ maternity wear dissolves in that time!

Red Herring Maternity dark grey frill front swing jacket - £69