Whoever said beauty is pain… was an ass. These days, very few events can coax me out of stretchy fabric.

At 20 weeks and [cough cough] pounds and counting, I am beyond the point where I am squeezing into regular clothing, and so therefore am firmly in Stretchy Waistband Land. And praise the Lord Jesus, I love it here.

There is one item of clothing I wear all the time pregnant, but also wore all the time while not pregnant—black leggings. Specifically, I wore these ones:

Usually when an item of clothing is designated as maternity, it means weird extra fabric around the waist and an unflattering fit. Not with these guys. Not at all. I had to share these with you because I promise, whether you are pregnant or not, they are a good buy.

Why? They’re black (=go with EVERYTHING). They’re stretchy. (Duh.) They’re made of quality fabric that somehow retains that shape after dozens of washes and dozens of pounds gained and lost. (I’ve had mine since my first pregnancy 4+ years ago and have worn mine probably 25 times.) The color stays true. And above all, they are capital “C” Comfortable. Sleep-in-em Level comfortable. Pry-em-out-of-my-swollen-pregnant-fingers comfortable.

Note: They don’t cover your bump, which is probably why they’re also so rad for non-pregos. That means when you’ve got a giant bump (ahem), they sit a bit low, but they are still snug enough to stay up. And when you’re not pregnant, they sit a bit below the belly button.

Go forth and be comfortable, my friends. And remember: Beauty is not pain. Beauty is Lycra.