Maternity Week Day 5: Easy Wardrobe Updates

Taking tips from some of my favorite pregnant celebs, here are a few great accessories to spice up your maternity wardrobe.... And the best part is, they will all fit after the baby is born!

The key is adding color so your clothes can be comfortable and easy. Bright colors create a fresh and fun look for spring and summer.

Maternity Week Day 5 by pcordon featuring blue scarves

Maternity Week Day 4: All Dressed Up

One of the most difficult outfits to coordinate while pregnant is the dressed-up look. It seems nearly impossible to find dresses that do not make you look even bigger, or that too heavily reflect dated styles.  The common mistake as well is to find something that fits loosely, which in turn only makes you look larger.

The key with dressing up is finding a well fitting style without it being too snug.  It may be helpful to find a piece that accentuates a great feature (like thin arms, legs, or decolletage) while maintaining a slimmed silhouette.  In many ways maternity dressing is like non-maternity, just with a large bump in the middle!

Here are some great dresses, maximizing style and minimizing frump.

Maternity Week Dresses by pcordon featuring a maternity

As an alternative to dresses, pairing a skirt with a great top can be very easy as well, not to mention versatile with the use of several different tops.
  

Maternity Week skirt by pcordon featuring asos maternity

Maternity Week Day 3: Work it Wednesday

Lucky for us girls, Rachel Zoe is not only a stylist and designer, but also got pregnant and gave us some excellent examples of what to wear with a bump. 

Here are some great options for recreating the same look, at what I'm sure is a whole lot less than she spent!

Maternity Week by pcordon featuring boyfriend jewelry

Maternity Week Day 2: Rules of Conduct

Maternity dressing, historically, has not been a pretty sight.  It seems not much over a century ago women often went nearly into hiding to avoid going out and looking pregnant.

Here are some helpful tips on do's and don'ts, all working toward developing a great pregnant look!

DON'T

-Wear tops tying in front at an empire waist, especially in a bow- your belly is not a wrapped gift! Just throw that bow away, or even use a skinny belt in its place

- Sport shirts that are too short- showing the belly underneath 

-Give up and just wear pajamas and sweat pants every day

-Have a shirt with a slogan about the baby, being pregnant, or your hormones.  Not so much cute

-Cut your hair short!!! Resist the urge. Longer haircuts are universally more flattering and slimming.

DO

-Wear horizontal stripes... don't be afraid!

-Substitute some well constructed (non-see thru) leggings in place of sweat pants for comfort

- Incorporate contemporary styles into your look

-Shop non-maternity. When it fits, it fits! The size on the label doesn't matter, fit matters

-Have an all black look.  It is slimming after all, and very chic

-Wear fun, colorful prints

-Play up accessories. And best of all, accessories can be worn at all sizes! Layer with scarves when possible as well

-Wear pants that fit. Tops can look great oversized, but pants do not

-Belt a high waist.  Pull it in at your smallest point without the tired bow look.

-Incorporate (sensible) heels when possible

Maternity Week Day 1

Being the first day, I thought it only appropriate to highlight the most important element to a pregnant woman's wardrobe-- great jeans!  Great jeans can be used year round with any top, maternity or non.

My recommendation would be this: having at least one great pair, preferrably in a dark wash with a straight to skinny leg.  The tendency for most women is to choose a looser pair, but the jeans can add a slimming effect to almost any top, whether it billows or not, balancing out a growing tummy.  The key here is finding jeans that fit, and are not baggy on the back of the thigh!

(Asos jeans are pictured)

They can be found at:

Target
Old Navy
Asos
Gap
Loft
Lucky Brand
Piperlime

Another alternative to the dark denim is black denim, especially more feasible during the colder months.  It helps create the same, slimmed look that can easily be paired with any variety of tops.

These can be found at:

Motherhood Maternity
Asos
Pea in the Pod
Piperlime
Joes

Pretty in Prego: Week of Looks

Now that spring is in full bloom, it seems like everyone is pregnant!

I feel like we are so lucky these days to have such great alternatives for maternity fashion that did not exist 20 years ago.  We can wear more than just Muumuus or humongous parachute-like tops.

In honor of all things maternal, next week will be Maternity Week, featuring daily fashionable looks inspired by celebs and other trendy moms-to-be in, as always, an affordable manner.