How to look stylish when pregnant?

[PeachMelba78]

Hi,
I could really do with some help on this! Last time round I was more casual than I liked in my pregnancy, and I didn’t have the money to spend on more expensive maternity wear.
This time I have a lot more to spend, but I am struggling to find much in the way of stylish outfits. Plus I would like to conceal it until 3 months which will be difficult as I show very early. Any tips for me?

Hi OP congratulations on the baby .
Tricky to advise without knowing your age / size / style but if you haven't already I would start by having a look at Isabellaoliver

www.isabellaoliver.com/uk/m/shop

And seraphine

I felt incredibly stylish once I got my Isabella Oliver staples .

Concealment tactics are tricky too - much harder on my second pregnancy but dark tops and slightly drapey blazers helped ..
not sure that's much help !

Good luck

I'm only on my first pregnancy, but honestly I think it's almost impossible to look stylish while pregnant. You will see bloggers buying trendy items in a size up to squeeze into, but I'm convinced this must only be for photo purposes! Who wants to be left with a load of oversized clothes they can't wear once they've had the baby?

For normal people, actual maternity clothes are the best option but they really aren't stylish. You can look perfectly nice (like the Duchess of Cambridge) but that's about it. Of course I may be biased as I'm struggling with such a limited wardrobe - all my old clothes focused on the waist.

Having said all that, you can up the stylishness by making sure that shoes, accessories and things like blazers/jackets/cardigans are on trend. I work in an office so the basis for my wardrobe has been bodycon tank dresses (from isabella oliver and seraphine) which I can layer up with maternity tops, normal shirts worn open or knotted, or jackets. But bodycon style in general is very much not fashionable anymore!

For tips on concealing, check out the Extra Petite blog, she did a great post on it the other day.

For me, the biggest failure of maternity clothes was the fabric used. That awful soft t-shirt fabric is used for pretty much everything and it horrible in everything except actual t-shirts. So my advice would be to buy anything you can in "real" fabrics - I managed to get a beautiful dress in a suiting fabric from Asos which made me feel much more normal and less like a giant toddler which is how I felt in all the soft Jersey. But this was very much the exception rather than the rule.

As for hiding it, if you don't normally do the flowing scarf thing, I would say avoid it. I'm the most unobservant person and even I find myself wondering "hmm, pregnant?" when a colleague arrives in a long loose top and dangly scarf. I'd just go for normal enough clothes and brazen it out, with a jacket if it helps.

Seraphine is great if you have money. I coveted (but couldn't afford) their dresses when I was pregnant.

Thanks everyone!
I have been wearing looser clothing for a while now, just to make sure that I didn’t look weird when a bump started.
I did already read the Extra Petite post on concealing a pregnancy and I thought it was very useful.
I am a similar build to Jean, but unfortunately I showed very early last time and this is an IVF surrogacy so I was very puffed up from the start!
I have looked at the websites mentioned but I hadn’t realised about the fabrics so I will be carefully checking descriptions.
Thanks for all your suggestions!

Well, I have already resorted to maternity dungarees which are amazing but not exactly stylish! My best buys so far are a Mamalicious dress from ASOS and 2 tops from New Look which are stripy in a really nice cotton.

I'm 14 weeks and showing but until we announced this week I could wear my stretchiest high-waist jeans and a long t shirt with a cardigan, or a loose shirt, and got away with it.

I've looked at Isabella Oliver but I don't pay Baukjen prices at the best of times (£70 for a casual top) so I think I'll try eBay!

I bought a lot of Isabella Oliver and Seraphine dresses last time. My colleague is doing the same but via eBay which I never thought of.
I agree that it’s hard to look fashionable, but you can look nice (until 8 months when you just look ENORMOUS).
In terms of concealing, why not try some loose smart tops (Cos style) plus jeans? (could be maternity jeans, no one will know under those tops!) The other thing that works well is empire line dresses or faux wrap dresses

I’m only 8 weeks but trousers getting tight and keen to conceal for a while more (have had recurrent miscarriages and am applying for new roles at work).

During my (only successful) pregnancy before I found it very hard. I’m naturally hourglass shaped so all my clothes nip in a the waist. So I just felt like a blob (and that’s happening again now!).

Agree with oversized clothes not being a good look- they will be too big everywhere but the bump which is fine if you are naturally slim legged and look good in skinny jeans and a long loose top, but that doesn’t work on me!

I had a look in cos yesterday- they have lots of dresses which are fitted across the shoulders and have a very pronounced A-line so I’m planning to get a few of those and start wearing them soon. This comes in several colours for example. As always with Cos it looks totally different on me compared with models!).

This is what I’m wearing today. My bump has gone down a bit from the hormone injection, and the style of dress is one I have been wearing so I don’t think anyone will suspect anything. Hopefully it will last for a couple of months!

That looks lovely OP. I also wore lots of Isabella Oliver and Seraphine and actually got stopped a few times in the street. I had the most amazing pregnancy jeans from AG. They were pricey but looked amazing. Another good buy was a long jersey blue and white striped skirt, a white vest top and a navy wrap top over the top. That concealed in early days and looked lovely in later days.

Thanks! The tips are very helpful, but what is AG @verity ?

Oops @verite even!

Brand of jeans that also do maternity as well. I’m not going to lie - they are pricey but 30% off til tomorrow. They were so flattering though - felt amazing in them.

www.apeainthepod.com/ag-jeans/

Brilliant thanks!