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Pregnancy Style: 9 Bump-Friendly Fashion Tips

Back in the very old days of Smaggle I had a regular column called Why Don’t You? It was a tribute to the late great Diana Vreeland. She had this spectacular editors letter in Harper’s Bazaar where she’d write these beautiful little style tips like ‘Why don’t you… Find one dress that you like and have it copied many times? You will be much more successful than if you try to produce the same effects each evening.’ or ‘Why don’t you… Tie black tulle bows on your wrists?’. I just loved them. Sadly these columns didn’t last long so there aren’t many of these legendary tips floating around and that made me really sad. Every now and then I’m reminded of Why Don’t You…? and I love to resurrect it.

Most of my fashion and style tips right now are mainly pregnancy related but I’ve actually realised a lot of my style advice over the years is very inclusive. I’m a weight fluctuator (which means I go up and down in weight quite regularly) so fashion tips like ‘Spend $1000 on a Burberry coat and you’ll wear it for it for 20 years!’ (Nope – it’s likely to get way too big and way too small in that amount of time) or ‘Black, fitted cigarette pants are always slimming!’ (Nope – not if you’re bloated and can’t zip them up!) have never really worked for me. That’s why I love the Diana Vreeland tips, they’re available to people of all shapes, sizes and abilities.

pregnancy style

Wearing 

Bohemian Traders maternity jeans (gifted) – (I’m wearing a size 30 which fit great in the legs but are a touch big in the hips for my modest bump – hence the belt! – but I’m sure I’ll grow into them.

Bohemian Traders billow sleeve top in white (gifted) – I’m wearing size large and this is 100% cotton so it’s cool as a cucumber. It also washes like a dream. I’m kind of a grotty person (10/10 cannot eat a meal without spilling it on myself) so I’ve already washed this about three times since I got it a few weeks ago and it’s a very robust little number.

Funkis clogs – I have the summer cut out toe version of these and wore them pretty much exclusively last summer so I bought the winter version and I have zero regrets. I’ve worn either these or my Ecco leather boots all winter and I reckon I’m just about sorted with my tiny capsule winter shoe wardrobe.

Why don’t you…?

1. Add some cute kawaii outfit details? T-bar dolly shoes? A bow in your hair? Ballet pink nails?

2. Embrace nude footwear? Ballet flats for day and sleek pumps for night?

3. Mix it up? Wear leather with lace? Leisurewear with pearls? Red with pink?

4. Wear enormous earrings? Tassels? Pom poms? Big plastic shapes?

5. Try stripes? With bright orange, red or pink lipstick?

6. Let your hair do what it wants? Wear it wild and free with pride?

7. Get something monogrammed? Like your bag or wallet? Or even a little case for your business cards or headphones?

8. Wear white? Be super careful not to spill your coffee?

9. Be a scarf wearer? Chunky knits in winter and crisp cottons in summer?

pregnancy style

Weirdly enough I now follow Caroline Vreeland (Diana’s great grand-daughter) on Instagram and I followed her before I knew who she was. She’s a singer and model living in LA. She’s quite a modern-day Diana actually. She drinks wine, swears, sings, wears outrageous clothes and is a total social butterfly. She also gives zero shits what anyone thinks about her which is the most Vreeland thing about her. She’s quite fascinating – look her up on Instagram, she’s fab.

pregnancy style

This my 32-week belly. I still have to wear my pre-pregnancy belt to keep my maternity jeans up but I’m sure over the next 2 months they’ll start staying up on their own with help from bub. I had a whole plan to do semi-regularly pregnancy updates but honestly, there’s nothing to say. I still just feel like a regular human with bigger than usual belly. My energy levels are great, baby girl is kicking up a storm daily (she sometimes even responds when we rub my belly!) and believe it or not, I’m still wearing most of my pre-pregnancy clothes including my bras. It’s like science fiction, for real. I’m actually really grateful because the longer I go without my belly getting too big, the less likely (or the less time!) it will be that I’ll get bad back and pelvic pain, which thankfully I’ve been free of so far. I don’t even think I’ve been moody but I better check with Mr Smags to confirm that…

Here are some more articles I’ve written about my pregnancy so far, if you happen to be keen on reading about that kind of stuff.

Pregnancy Style – Second Trimester Fashion Tips 

Pregnancy Style – 5 Things I Can No Longer Wear

Pregnancy Tips – 5 Things You Need When You’re Up The Duff

What are your favourite pregnancy style tips? Any vintage ones to share?

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2 Comments

  1. Steph 5 years ago

    I think this is my fav outfit of all time on you, you look amazing!

    • Author
      Carly Jacobs 5 years ago

      Thank you so much! Will def be getting more Bohemian Traders stuff after bub comes!

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