Cute or Frumpy?

I would love to have a column somewhere, somehow, in which I post pictures of women in clothes that straddle that seriously fine line between cute and frumpy. It's pretty deep territory when you're in pregnancy land because every day presents a new opportunity to look like you're either a) suffering from a deep depression, hence you've gained 10 pounds and you can't bring yourself to wear anything other than your husband's shirt that you pulled off the top of the dirty laundry pile and also the body acne is beyond treatment possibilities or b) you're adorable! you've got a cute little pregnancy belly and you totally pull off that husband-shirt-and-jeans look; in fact, it's a little sexy and sweet.

In the past few days, I've tried to work that look twice and ended up on both sides of the fence. The first day worked well; I think my hair (it was clean and blow-dried--highly unusual) and my makeup (I had some on) sealed the deal. Then on Sunday, I attempted the same thing, except this time I actually was too lazy to put on my own clothes and all I cared about was covering the unbuttoned top button of my jeans. Oops! Not so cute, and in fact, kind of ugly.

But it's not all about me. I was in the mid-husband's waiting room yesterday and noticed a distinct difference in the pregnant women hanging out there (p.s. I think TD was a little nervous with so many women in there WHO COULD EXPLODE AT ANY MOMENT). It actually seemed like the women who were older than their late 20's were far cuter than the really young ones. But I'm digressing. I guess the frumpiest woman in there was in scrubs and an ugly hoodie and maybe it wasn't so much her clothes that made her not-very-cute, it was the part where she was crying. Poor kid. There's nothing sadder than a crying pregnant woman in a room full of smiley pregnant women. So maybe the issue, for her, isn't frumpy v. cute. And I'm pretty sure that I'm just an asshole for dragging that poor woman into my fashion discussion.

What I'd appreciate right now is an intense dialogue about the button-down man shirt as a wardrobe staple. Additionally, I'd like to address the adjacent topic: what constitutes cuteness in pregnancy and how can I get it? Clearly I'm unsettled on these issues and need to work them out. If anyone knows where I could go (a chat room/ message board?) for like-minded women, let me know.

xoxoxo
k