When I found out that we were going to the Grammys when I was 36 weeks pregnant, I knew finding a dress would be a challenge but I was up for it! I only had a few weeks to find a dress, so I hit the thrift store first and didn’t have luck my first couple of tries. Because of my limited time frame and my limited options at that stage in my pregnancy, I couldn’t spend a lot of time thrifting. So I decided to try Rent the Runway for the first time.
The dress that didn’t work
Let’s start with Rent the Runway. The options were stunning, ordering was really easy, and I got a great discount since it was my first order. I loved being able to see how others wore their dresses in the photo reviews. I ordered the Forbidden territory Gown by Badgley Mischka, a simple, full length black dress with a long slit in the front. It had a lot of stretch to it so I thought it could work with my pregnancy bump. RTR also allows you to select a backup dress so I chose the Keep Him Guessing Gown by Cut 25.
No big surprise here: they didn’t fit my pregnant body. Like at all. I couldn’t even zip them up, and unfortunately one of them came with a broken zipper. This was two days before the Grammys. So I did what any pregnant woman would do: I cried. Then I wiped my tears and went out to some of my favorite bargain stores at 8pm to try to find something else.
The thrifty route
I remembered that JCPenney always has a huge selection of dresses, so I went there and within ten minutes I found the Hacci Foil Print Bodycon dress from their Project Runway collection. It fit perfectly and at $54 it was a bargain. The next day, I looked it up online and saw that it was on sale for $15! So I went to the store and they honored a price match. I was elated! I wore a pair of shoes that I got for free from ThredUp using my referral credits, added a $1 vintage clutch, and I was ready to go!
In hindisight, I’m so glad those RTR dresses didn’t work because a midi dress was the PERFECT option. It wasn’t too formal, was incredibly comfortable, and is a dress that I can wear post-baby. Best of all, I wore a $16 outfit to the Grammys!
Want to read about my experience at the Grammys? Click here!
