Is it possible to have a stylish pregnancy?

[SuchStuff]

Admittedly, I'm not that stylish in my non-pregnant state but things definitely went downhill when I was pregnant with DS and hit rockbottom style-wise after DS was born. Therefore, I am hoping to do a bit better this time round!

I am 13 weeks pregnant and a SAHM. What can I do to avoid looking frumpy for the next 6 months?! Where should I shop? What looks should I avoid? All advice welcome!!

By the way, I did think about posting this in pregnancy but I decided it was much more about style than growing a person!!

With both pregnancies, I tried to avoid 'maternity' clothes for as long as possible and bought regular clothes but in a larger size. These clothes were also useful post pregnancy.

I think SamCam did a pretty good job [http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG7560471/Chic-maternity-solutions-for-Samantha-Cameron.html info here]]

I felt more stylish when pg because I wore necklaces and wrap dresses and just generally felt good. I slob around in jeans and tops normally. I wore empire line tops with mat leggings which looked good, well felt good anyway. I think it helped being forced into a sort of capsule wardrobe. Mine had: leggings, mat jeans, some wrap dresses, waterfall cardigans, couple of Isabella Oliver tops. I wore some non mat clothes for as long as I could too.

I have gone for a combination of clothes in a slightly larger size Cos is really good as they do beautiful colours in quite asymetrical styles (you need to try them on!), Jigsaw have done some great A line style wool dresses this winter which I live in for work. A couple of Isabella Oliver dresses are a really good investment and H&M preggo range is great for more chilled out stuff. Chunky necklaces are good as they brighten up plain tops. And manicures and some good lippy work wonders when you are feeling green, as you feel more together even if you don't feel like you are!

Yes indeed. www.funmum.com/shop/category/best-selling-maternity-clothes/
I don't live in the UK but recently was in a maternity store and was amazed at how nice the clothing is.

Yes, it is possible - try Isabella Oliver. I loved the jeans on there - I wore them loads and when I'd had the baby I sold them on ebay and they went for £34.

I am 17 weeks pregnant with DC2 and still just about fitting into my regular clothes but plan to buy two pairs of jeans (sahm so I live in them), leggings and wrap dresses (although I got cankles last time and had to stop wearing dresses towards the end ). I also have a few non-maternity wrap cardigans and jersey dresses that I plan to wear.

I also like Isabella Oliver and Seraphine, especially for tops and dresses. I found that the Isabella Oliver jeans kept slipping down last time and drove me crazy so have bought a Citizens of Humanity pair (expensive but got them with a discount at Mama-la-Mode and I will ebay afterwards). Pretty Pregnant have some nice clothes, not cheap but they have a sale on at the moment. Look at US eBay for maternity jeans (J Brand, Sevens, COH and Paige).

it is possible and I recently attempted it - found it hard to find under the bump leggings and trousers though as I found it very uncomfortable having anything tight over bump! By the end I was living in plain jersey seperates and resembled a grumpy balloon though I did try to wear a scarf/jewellery/carrty a nice bag etc. Isabella Oliver is good and they usually have an excellent sale. I found H&M Mama excellent for basics in my first pregnancy but this time round not so great. Good luck!!

Thank you so much for all comments - I actually feel rather hopeful about it now!!

mama la mode and blossom mother and child.

you can get Sevens and Paige jeans plus the J Brand cargo pants.

i have bought quite a few items from both lately (12 weeks).

also blossom do chloe tops and dress for the pregnant.

isabella oliver and seraphine for basics. dont massively rate their jeans as they fall down.

am going for tunics of various shapes and colours with leggings/jeggings.

i used be stylish but found towards end of first pregnancy and subsequently being a sahm it went out the window unfortunately. have 18 month old dd so if i do wear anything stylish it is usually also covered in food/snack. meh.

i am going to make a real effort this pregnancy to stay stylish or dh will wonder what has happened to me.

hope you find something and manage to stay stylish

Yy to jersey tops and waterfall cardigans. They are very useful for bf too. Remember you will only be very pg for about 8 weeks but probably ( hopefully) bf for much longer

If I were going to be pregnant again, I would do the same as last time and buy very few, very plain pregnancy clothes but go to the hairdresser/manicurist/pedicurist a lot more often and invest in lovely flat shoes (which are needed post-pregnancy too).

My SIL got a new haircut during her last pregnancy and looked fab so I think Bonsoir is onto something there.

LOL bonsoir I cant imagine you with swollen ankles

Ankles in France aren't allowed to swell. It's illegal. There is no French word for "cankle" as a result.

I think the key is to stop thinking in terms of "maternity wear". Obviously you will need some maternity clothes but mostly you can wear regular clothes, especially cardis, wrap dresses, long vests and blazers/jackets throughout your pregnancy.

A decent pair of maternity jeans helps (I rate 7) and then team with a long vest (I am 31 weeks with a big bump and still comfortably fitting into H&M long vests in my regular size) topped with a blazer/jacket simply left undone and a scarf round my neck.

Continue wearing nice jewellery and blow drying your hair and the compliments flow (I certainly seem to get more when pregnant than when not !)

Lol @ georgie and no french word for cankles!

It's true - water retention in pregnancy gets treated in France

I think it is possible for some people to have a stylish pregnancy.

I am not one of those people.

Just get a capsule wardrobe (in my case two pairs of black trousers and two black skirts with five different coloured v-neck tops). If you wear a small amount of clothes in rotation, people will assume that you have developed it as a style - worked for me.

I agree with wearing regular clothes for as long as you can but don't overdo it - overstretched leggings and trackie bottoms or t-shirts that can't quite make it over the bump aren't a good look.

Agree with lallonglegs.

Def. get one or two really well made dresses that will prob cost more than H&M. I made the mistake of 'going cheap' with plenty of stretchy clothes that looked horrible by the time I was 8 months gone the first time.

2nd time, I bought 2 well made dresses and worked around them. I like Babes With Babies best. www.babeswithbabies.com.

I even wore one of my dressees for bfing.

Good luck and congrats on the pg!

Thanks for all these comments - so much I wish I'd known first time round! I'm going to invest in a decent dress, buy a normal, long Cardigan and also some decent maternity jeans. It's a starting point, anyway!

Thanks again!

i got lots of compliments when i was pg. shame they didnt continue after, still havent lost the mummy tummy....

i sort of agree with lala longlegs re capusule wardrobe (good skirt, dress, jeans and trousers as a staple) but go further and say wear proper pregnancy gear as soon as possible. one size up/aline always noticeable as hem at front rises up which doesnt ever look stylish. also be proud of our bump, dont cover it up, pregnancy gear shows your bump off than anything else.

also rather than spend money on lots of clothes spend money on nice shoes and lovely necklaces/scarves/accessories which makes any woman look stylish with the added bonus of being able to use the post pregnancy,

congrats.

sorry, should have written "able to use post pregnancy"