I have come to the next chapter of my life where friends are turning to me for advice on what to wear and how to remain stylish while pregnant. Personally, I cannot relate to this besides having styled a pregnant client. This time I went straight to the source. I asked maternity fashion designer (and mother) Liz Lange to share her advice...
Today's mommies need not fear about their clothing options. There are so many great choices at every price point. When it comes to fashion and style (pregnant or not) I believe that there are no rules but there are definitely some tips.
Every woman has a different uniform and you need to look to replace your specific every day go-to basics with maternity versions. Whether for you that means jeans and tees or office attire all depends on you and your individual life style.
No matter what you choose to purchase here are some good guidelines:
- Do NOT shop for maternity clothing until you have "popped" or are at least out of your first trimester. If you shop too soon, the clothing you select will either be too big on you and thus unflattering or will not last throughout your pregnancy so do wait. At the beginning opt for stretchy non maternity clothing
- Do NOT hide behind big oversized clothing - that will only make you appear larger. Show off your newly expanding belly with stretchy fitted styles. This will keep you looking slimmer (I promise) and will tell the world that you are pregnant, which is something you should be celebrating.
- Whenever possible show some skin. And no, I don't mean by wearing cropped shirts around town. You can do this tastefully by wearing shorter lengths or sleeveless tops/dresses. For an evening occasion perhaps show off your new cleavage with a drapey or deep neckline.
- Keep your shoes delicate rather than chunky and clunky - it's slimming.
- When you are invited to something dressy, do not panic! No one expects you to be the dressiest person in the room. Make almost any outfit work by amping up your make up, hair and accessories.
- When in doubt dip yourself in one color. This creates an unbroken line and always makes you look longer and leaner.
- Black isn't the only color that will make you appear slim. Any dark neutral will do whether it's chocolate brown, grey, navy….
- For pops of color tie a non-maternity already owned colorful cardigan around your neck or wear it open as part of your outfit.
- Remember that you will literally live in your maternity clothing so invest in a few good versatile pieces which you can mix and match to create a multitude of different looks.
LIZ LANGE has changed the face of maternity fashion forever, launching her line in 1997. Ten years later, after having also developed a line of maternity active wear for Nike, the maternity line for Target (still a best seller there), and authoring a book on pregnancy style, Liz sold the original company. She now has a non-maternity collection, Completely Me by Liz Lange, with HSN, and runs the fun shopping site, Shopafrolic, she co-founded with sister Jane Wagman.
