Choosing Maternity T-Shirts: What to Look For
Whether you are expecting your first bundle of joy or your fifth, one thing is certain: you’re not going to fit into your current clothes for long! Luckily, the maternity clothes offered today are far superior to the choices our mothers and grandmothers had. Today’s maternity items also tend to be more comfortable, functional, and fashionable. One of the greatest additions to these clothing lines has been maternity t-shirts. Whether browsing online, or wandering the mall, the choices are vast. Here are some pointers to help guide you when choosing maternity t-shirts.
• Finally, Function!
Don’t waste your time pulling hubby’s large size t-shirts out of the drawer. You can do so much better than that. When choosing maternity t-shirts you will need to consider one very important question: are you currently nursing or do you intend to nurse this child? One of the sad secrets for first time moms is that you may continue to wear your maternity clothes for a month or two after the birth, until your body starts to resemble its actual shape again. If nursing is a factor, you will want to make sure your t-shirts are also nursing shirts. Nursing shirts usually are designed with discreet flaps that appear to be part of the t-shirt design, so no one will even know that you are wearing a multi-functional piece of apparel.
• Will It Fit Tomorrow?
Frankly, you will be asking yourself this question throughout the whole pregnancy. Everything from your hair to your shoe size is subject to change. When in doubt - size up!
Comfort should be an expectant mom’s number one concern. Most maternity t-shirts come sized in small, medium, large, and extra large. Bigger is definitely better since you’re dressing for two now. If a t-shirt feels the least bit snug, you are better to choose another style, or go up a size. The great thing about maternity t-shirts is that they are supposed to be casual and loose fitting- both great qualities for an expanding belly!
• Express Yourself
Choosing a maternity t-shirt as a way to express your individuality has become very popular. Whether you choose a pink t-shirt with the word “BABY” spelled out in crystals, or an unadorned soft cotton t-shirt with nursing flaps will be a very personal choice. T-shirts can be surprisingly feminine or typically casual depending on your taste and desires.
Listen, when you are pregnant your mind is going to be on a hundred important and exciting issues: decorating the nursery, choosing baby names, and baby-proofing your home. Just don’t forget to make sure you that you have the right tools to get all those things done. A pregnant woman needs to know she can quickly reach into a drawer and pull out an attractive, comfortable, and well-fitting piece of clothing that she can move in all day long. So when you are choosing maternity t-shirts keep in mind your personal needs, fit and sense of style. This will help you make sense of the wide array of choices and arm yourself with one basic component of a great maternity wardrobe.
Using the Color Wheel to Pick and Tweak Your Perfect T-Shirt
The color wheel is a wheel made up of all the possible colors and starts with the three primary colors: red, yellow and blue, and the colors created by mixing together any 2 of these. Such secondary colors include green, orange and purple. There are also tertiary or intermediate colors like yellow-orange, red-orange and yellow-green, which are those colors that would exist between each tertiary color and primary color. You can create a beautiful colorful T-shirt for yourself with a color wheel design on a custom-made T-shirt.
The color wheel is a very informative tool that teaches about the colors themselves and how they are formed, the use of color, what certain common color terms mean and matching colors together. The color wheel is the basis for any kind of design.
Tints are the result of mixing white with any color; for example pink is the result of red and white. Shades are the result of mixing black with any color; for example navy is a shade of blue. There are many beautiful shades and tints you can use in designing a custom-made T-shirt. In fact, a very attractive image often results when shades and tints of one color only are used in design.
Complementary colors are colors that are opposites on the color wheel, not ones that are side by side; therefore they stand out more vividly when placed together. Printing pink lettering on a green shirt is a great use of complementary colors. Such letters will definitely be noticed with such use of color.
Analogous colors are colors that are side-by-side on the color wheel. Because they share a common primary color they blend well together and make very sophisticated designs. Using analogous colors in custom-made T-shirts gives an understated, classical look to the tee.
Neutral colors are those naturally occurring earth colors that are not a part of the color wheel. They include white, black, gray, brown and beige. Such tones are wonderful background colors and match practically all colors. They can be used easily in custom-made T-shirts for the shirt color without having to worry about clashes with the colors of the design. Some of the best T-shirt designs are simple ones that use only neutrals, like white images on black.
Then there are the warm and cool colors. Warm colors contain reds, yellows and oranges, and are sunny. Cool colors include blue, violet and green and bring to mind colder things in nature like the sky, water and winter. Using a grouping of warm colors in your custom-made T-shirt will evoke a summery feeling of warmth. Using cool colors will do the opposite.
Now that you are armed with more knowledge about color and its uses, you will be better able to match designs with the right color T-shirt. You will also know which color letting to choose for your favorite color T-shirt when you are looking for a custom-made T-shirt with a message. Take advantage of the color wheel today and show off a beautifully put together custom-made T-shirt of your own design.