Maternity Monday : How to Dress the Bump Stylishly

Hi friends! As I mentioned in my announcement, this pregnancy was a total surprise – and frankly I never expected to be pregnant. So, I really had never paid attention to maternity style. I was pretty clueless as to how to dress stylishly while pregnant.

While I’m still figuring it out, I have learned a few things already. What I’ve come to discover when it comes to my growing belly is that comfortable clothing is of the essence. Anything restricting or giving even a slight feeling of discomfort has been pushed to the back of my closet until post baby. What has moved forward in my closet are the flowy dresses and tops, the form fitting, yet stretchy, dresses, and the looser fitting pants.

Personally, I haven’t bought any true maternity pieces yet; I’m simply buying a size or two up from what I’d normally wear or sticking to the aforementioned flowy items. I haven’t found dressing my bump all too challenging just yet, but now that the bump is growing more and more by the day, that might change; we shall see.

In the meantime, I’ve been looking to other stylish mamas to see how they dressed during pregnancy. In fact, I’ve gained so much inspiration from others that I decided to tap some of the most stylish mamas out there to share specific advice with me and with you. These five ladies made pregnancy style look completely effortless. I’m such a fan of each of their individual styles, in general, so it wasn’t a surprise that when they started dressing their bump, they looked just as wonderful.

Keep on reading for tips on dressing while pregnant, favorite items, and more from these five stylish women.

 

Caroline Harper Knapp, Founder of House of Harper (@houseofharper)

1. What tips would you give a mother to be on how to dress the bump stylishly? 

Stick with your pre-pregnancy style.  You are already experiencing so many changes with your body, it is important to feel like yourself as much as possible.  You can find great flowy dresses and tops for most of your pregnancy so that you aren’t investing too much money in maternity clothes that you can’t wear after baby.

2. Where were your favorite places to shop when you were pregnant?

My favorites are ASOS and Topshop maternity for on trend, affordable pieces.

3. What were your favorite pieces to wear while pregnant? 

A quality pair of maternity jeans. I prefer the low rise / under the belly fit (my one investment), maternity overalls (seen in the above photo) and on trend off the shoulder dress.

 

 

Monica Abney, Founder of Classy & Fabulous (@classnfab)

1. What tips would you give a mother to be on how to dress the bump stylishly?

Before the bump pops out, you can still wear most of your regular clothes as long as you do a few alterations. One of the best clothing purchases I made was a denim band. it helped me wear most of my regular pants until I was 7 month pregnant. Also, and most importantly, when the bump is out, embrace it. I don’t think I had ever worn so much body hugging clothing as I did while pregnant. I loved my new curves and I was so proud of my bump!

2. Where were your favorite places to shop when you were pregnant?

I am not sure if I will ever be pregnant again, so I didn’t want to invest in maternity clothes. Luckily, I was pregnant while the weather was warm so I wore lots of flowy sun dresses. When I did purchase maternity wear, I loved trendy pieces from ASOS, all at a fabulous price.

3. What were your favorite pieces to wear while pregnant?

The first two trimesters I traveled lots so leggings were my bff, jersey body hugging dresses, and comfortable, but chic, sandals. At the end, I was wearing a black maxi dress almost every day!

 

 

Morgan Hutchinson, Owner of BURU (@shopburu)

1. What tips would you give a mother to be on how to dress the bump stylishly? 

HAVE FUN with it! It’s the one time in your life when you will feel proud of your protruding belly. Live it up! Experiment with silhouettes, fun colors and fitted styles. It may sound crazy (especially when your back is killing you and your ankles become kankles), but there will be a day when you are nostalgic for your bump. Take every opportunity you can to dress it up and show it off.

2. Where were your favorite places to shop when you were pregnant?

Well, to be totally honest, if I didn’t get it from BURU, then I selected styles from HATCH that BURU didn’t have in stock.  I really tried to shop my closet and style my favorite special pieces with new bump-friendly styles when I busted out of my “real” clothes.

3. What were your favorite pieces to wear while pregnant?

If I wasn’t in a dress, then I was in my HATCH x Current Elliot Maternity Boyfriend Jeans. The wash and rips are perfectly on trend and the fit is so smartly cut that I am still wearing them (and no one would ever guess they are maternity).

My due date was in November so I had several really cold months to deal with. I stayed warm by pairing a $25 seamless black (really tight fitting) turtleneck with almost everything. It was slimming and made me feel more confident as the fleshiness of pregnancy became my reality.  I loved layering it under dresses, blazers, and even overalls. It just seemed to tie it all together while showing off the bump and hiding the unwanted bulges.

 

 

Sherri McMullen, Owner of McMullen (@shopmcmullen)

1. What tips would you give a mother to be on how to dress the bump stylishly?

Wear whatever makes you feel beautiful and comfortable.  Most days I wore a dress because dresses are easy to get on and off.  Ha! Towards the end of my pregnancy, my feet were so swollen, I wore sneakers every day – Adidas black leather and white Stan Smiths because they worked with everything, including dresses!

2. Where were your favorite places to shop when you were pregnant?

I shopped my store and my closet. 🙂

3. What were your favorite pieces to wear while pregnant?

I actually did not buy anything maternity and wore my favorite designers, Rosie Assoulin (the white top I’m wearing above), Tome, Acne, and Ulla Johnson knit fitted dresses paired with over the knee flat Isabel Marant boots. I was pregnant in the fall and winter so I wore great outerwear – vintage furs, fitted sweater dresses, boots.

 

 

Valerie Dittner, Founder of Adorn Yourself Accordingly (@valerie_dittner)

1. What tips would you give a mother to be on how to dress the bump stylishly? 

When you’re pregnant, don’t be afraid to buy regular tops and dresses. Just buy them a couple sizes up so they fit over your bump. Remember to elongate your silhouette with v-necks and button down tops and dresses so that you look as tall as possible. Invest in a good pair of maternity jeans with a stretchy band that goes over your bump. That style is the most comfortable and easy to wear. I loved NYDJ black skinnies, especially while pregnant.

2. Where were your favorite places to shop when you were pregnant?

My favorite places to shop while pregnant were HATCH, Roberta Roller Rabbit, and ASOS. HATCH makes flattering, high-quality pieces that are the BEST bump-friendly basics. Roberta Roller Rabbit for colorful, light weight dresses that I could wear then and now. And ASOS for more trendy pieces that I could buy a couple sizes up and feel super current and on-trend.

3. What were your favorite pieces to wear while pregnant?

My favorite pieces were my sleeveless trench because it fit over my bump, my HATCH LBD because it layered perfectly under everything, my HATCH black jumpsuit because it was a cool piece that made it so easy to get dressed, and my white ASOS shirt dress because it felt fresh and crisp in all seasons.

In Closing

So, what do you think? Aren’t these ladies so incredibly fashionable? I hope you enjoyed reading their answers as much as I did. Now, I’d love to hear from any of you mamas or mamas to be out there. What are your tips for dressing stylishly while pregnant? Would love for you to weigh in below. Have a great rest of your day!

Photo credit : Morgan – Brooke Schultz, Caroline – Ailee Petrovic, Valerie – Adorn Yourself Accordingly, Monica – Classy & Fabulous, Sherri – mcmullen