Maternity Clothes
(Erika/Mom) It’s been a few years since I’ve had to don maternity clothes. I haven’t missed it at all, except for the last few days as Lizzi and I decided to look at maternity fashion. For the most part, maternity fashion is an oxymoron but I must confess that it’s gotten a whole heck of a lot better in the past five years. We might attribute that to all the stars like Angelina Jolie and Nicole Richie looking so amazing during their pregnancies. Also to designers like Ruby Fay who aren’t trying to hide the belly as we all tried to five or so years ago. When I think of some of the horrible things I wore while pregnant, I’m glad that I have very few photos of myself around as a reminder.
The problem did seem to lie in the effort to conceal the belly, rather than show it off. The curves of a pregnant woman are very beautiful and while I’m not a big fan of actually showing skin, I do like some of the more form-fitting maternity fashions we’re seeing today. Kim at sheknows.com gives a nice list of 5 must-haves for “a stylish 40 weeks,” which includes body-hugging tops and jersey dresses.
The advice I always got was to put something distracting near your face or wear great earrings or hair accessories to bring the eye away from the stomach. So I dutifully wore lace and bows and all sorts of weird things. I think I probably looked best when I wore a simple jumper and a pretty sweater. Jeans and a feminine empire-waist top look good on nearly all figures. This is a nice outfit from Elegant Pregnant:
This look from Ann Taylor Loft is simple but very attractive. Black is still best if you’re trying to keep a scary-large pregnancy from alarming people:
Now let’s see what Lizzi’s perspective is on maternity fashion.
(Lizzi/Daughter) As more and more of my favorite celebrities start getting pregnant, I notice that the goal is to show off your baby bump rather than hide it. I saw Heidi Klum at the Emmy’s this year and loved the way she wore her dress because she looked proud of her baby bump:
To show off your baby bump without looking like your clothes don’t fit, try wearing a top or dress with an empire waist and dark-wash wide leg jeans with heels or flats. The simpler, the better. But always add cute accessories so you aren’t boring.
One store which I think is great is A Pea in the Pod, which carries stylist maternity clothes. My favorite pieces were a Nicole Richie dress:
This purple evening dress:
And these Seven For All Mankind jeans:
A Pea in the Pod also has something called “The Tummy Sash” which is a versatile basic for before, during, and after pregnancy. It allows you to wear your pre-maternity pants longer, provides extra support for your maternity pants, and allows you to wear your post-baby pants longer.
My favorite look for maternity, I found on Pickles and Ice Cream, which is another awesome maternity clothing website. For a lot of their tops, they paired wrap sweaters, which add a lot to a plain tank top.
Pickles and Ice Cream also carries Juicy Couture maternity tracksuits which are great for working out or lounging around the house!
When I see a mom-to-be, I like it when they wear looks like these:
Casual Look:
Maternity Cardigan and tee from peacocks.co.uk
Maternity Jeans from dorothyperkins.com
Boots from Ugg Australia
Vivienne Westwood necklace
Special Occasion Look:
Maternity dress from Topshop
Rock & Republic Heels
Necklace By Malene Birger
I remember Mom wearing some big tent dresses when she was pregnant with my brother Dana. I guess she wouldn’t have won any fashion awards, but when it’s your mom it really doesn’t matter, does it?
(Erika/Mom) Thanks, honey.
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