Maternity Style Inspiration

I am not one of those pregnant women who will be constantly telling you how beautiful and wonderful I feel during my pregnancy. Don’t take that the wrong way; I always feel so lucky and amazed to have a little person growing healthily inside of me. But, as someone who works hard to stay in shape and be healthy, and loves building my wardrobe and planning outfits every day, I struggle a lot with looking at all the clothes I love in my closet and knowing I can’t wear 99 percent of them for nearly a year! To say nothing of seeing great new pieces deeply discounted and knowing I can’t order them because I won’t be able to try them on for months, and by that time, I may not be able to return them if I don’t like the fit! And, in case that all sounds terribly shallow, I also find it very disconcerting to have my body change so drastically, both outwardly and in the way that I feel, week to week throughout a pregnancy. I’m sure pregnancy hormones don’t help, and I hope I’m not coming across too complain-y, but I know other pregnant ladies must feel the same way I do!

To combat some of these bad feelings I’ve developed a few simple rules for myself that have made a huge difference in my second pregnancy so far (I’m 27 weeks pregnant, today).

Do something physical every day. This is also one of my general intentions this year (and last), but while I’ve been pregnant it’s made a HUGE difference in the way that I feel compared to my last pregnancy. Staying home every day with a toddler, and also being pregnant, it can be really easy to feel fatigued without even having worked out for a minute. But even taking 10 minutes to do some strength training exercises (I love this 30-1 circuit for when I’m feeling lazy–sometimes I’ll just pick 3 out of the 5 exercises!) or even yoga stretches has really helped me feel better about all the changes. Knowing that my body is still strong even though I can’t always see it in the mirror makes me feel so much more positive on a daily basis.
Make a maternity “capsule” wardrobe. Although I didn’t set out to create a “capsule” wardrobe, and I don’t even know if the amount of things I am using would qualify, I broke down one day during my first trimester when everything was starting to get too tight and I cleared out every last piece of clothing (including tights and pajamas!) that would not fit me again until after the baby came. I hauled it all away in garbage bags to the attic. That way, I don’t have to look at it longingly every day and make myself feel bad that I’m not one of those tall, lithe (lucky) ladies who can still wear most of their pre-pregnancy clothing until well into their third trimester. Now, when I look into my closet or my drawers, I only see things that fit. It’s such a little thing, but it’s made me so much happier to get ready when I’m going out!
Take cues from pregnant celebrities (who you might not normally emulate). I feel like I have a pretty specific style, that I’ve cultivated through many years of trial and (definitely) error. My style icons include Alexa Chung with her high waisted jeans and cropped sweaters, and Olivia Palermo, with her pencil skirts, sleek skinny jeans and always on-point layering. But I’ve come to accept that while I’m pregnant, I may have to embrace silhouettes I normally wouldn’t gravitate towards. And that, finally, gets us to the point of this post, which is that I have been scouring the internet for ideas on how to stay inspired by my clothes while still looking good and feeling comfortable with a bump. Some of the best looks I’ve found have been from Kim Kardashian and Chrissy Teigan, who both embrace body con dresses with over-sized sweaters or coats, which is actually a brilliant combination for both comfort and maximum baby bump accentuation without showing off all your bumps (lol). The more I looked, the more I saw this formula on a lot of gorgeous pregnant ladies. It’s the simplest layering trick but it’s made a huge difference for me and has definitely made me get more use out of my blazers, ponchos, blanket scarves, long cardigans, vests and light jackets this winter! So, without further ado, here are 27 of the best inspiration photos I’ve found for a stylish pregnancy (and check out more on my Pinterest board here).