The way you feel about your body seems to change on a daily basis when you’re pregnant – some days you feel on top of the world and want to show off that bump in a form-fitting dress, other days you feel bloated, messy and hormonal and you just want to throw on one of your husband’s biggest jumpers and hide.
That’s why maternity style can be so hard to get right. You’re dealing with very ambivalent feelings about yourself, and of course that affects the face you want to present to the world.
There are other factors at play too, from wanting to retain a sense of your own identity at a time when you often feel reduced to a life support system for a little human, and of course having time or energy to care when you may have other children to chase around after as well.
It's pretty clear I’ve always been the sort of girl who loves getting my glam on, but it is extremely hard – but not impossible – to feel that way when you’re pregnant. And although going out for the evening is really rare for me right now, but I was well overdue an evening out.
Black vest dress | ASOS
Shawl collar biker jacket | H&M‘
Natalie’ reversible geometric metal and leather necklace | Stella & Dot
Riveted metal bangles | Cocopanda
Clear Perspex ankle boots | ASOS
‘So Black’ quilted flap bag | Chanel
There’s nothing that rescues any situation so much as a little black dress, and this holds true even at 7 months pregnant.
Definitely one of the most useful items in my maternity wardrobe, I’ve been layering this plain black vest dress with a white shirt for the office, with a long-sleeved Breton tee for weekends, and here it came into its element on its own. It's not maternity wear but it is stretchy enough to accomodate my rapidly expanding bump!
To offset the classic vibes of the dress, I wanted my other accessories to bring something edgier. So I opted for these nude leather and Perspex boots. I have a strange fascination with Perspex shoes (it must be the repressed stripper in me!) and I’ve wanted a pair of these for a while.
My taste is always more on the side of bold and ultramodern than it is frilly and romantic, and I just love the way these boots reveal where they should conceal. They’re not very ‘mumsy’ but perhaps that’s the entire point.
Bizarrely, when I was expecting Theo, I spent a lot of time worrying about dressing ‘appropriately’ for my new role as someone’s mum, but clearly I got over that and realised that actually, you should dress however you want, whether you have children or not. The contrast of the shoes with the refined dress and bag is something that interests me.
A plain shift always benefits from a bold necklace, so I dug out one of my old favourites. A few years back, when the statement necklace thing landed I really embraced it and added quite a few to my collection. To me, it represented a fashion ‘cheat’ – through a fabulous piece of neck candy on over any old thing and it looked like you’d made an effort. As someone who always feels like style is a bit of a foreign language, I loved that. Then they had their moment and went away, and it was all about more delicate, layered pieces.
But I’m hoping it’s been long enough now that I can embrace them again (hey, if it works for Prue Leith…). I love the geometrics and the mixed metals in this design, and Stella and Dot are always great quality that doesn’t cost the earth – definitely a brand I have a lot of love for. I also threw on a couple of mixed-metal riveted bangles.
On top, I threw a little leather biker jacket from H&M that is an eternal classic for me. It’s not maternity wear and it certainly wouldn’t do up at this point, but at least it keeps my arms warm! A leather biker is a staple for me.
Back when I was 12 or 13 and just beginning to make more conscious choices about how I dressed it was one of the first pieces I asked my mum to get for me, along with a strapless black dress. Not much has changed with my style since then really.
I used my beloved classic Chanel bag as well – it’s the ‘So Black’ edition, so all of the metal hardware is black as well, and I love the minimalist, less shouty look this gives it. It’s the perfect going out bag.
Finally a stack of mixed metal riveted bracelets tied it all together! For a beauty look, I decided to go for a bold, bright lip to add a splash of colour to my very monochrome outfit:
Nars All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation
Beauty Pie Pro Glow Super Strobing Drops
Urban Decay Naked Skin Colour Correcting Concealer
Hourglass Ambient Light Powder
Ardell Faux Mink Lashes 817
L’Oreal Paradise Mascara
Urban Decay Naked Basics Palette
CYO Semi-Permanent Eyeliner
Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade - Dark Brown
Mac Amplified Lipstick - Morange
I also used:
Show Beauty Premiere Texture Working Spray
YSL Black Opium perfume
The Sanctuary Spa Wonder Body
I’ve worn this same look twice now. Once for dinner at The Alchemist with my friend Kaj - We met doing our Chartered qualifications and bonded over revision and night classes!
She was about to do the London Marathon when I saw her, so we had a lovely evening of mocktails and gossip.
I wore the same outfit for the surprise 30th of my dear friend Katie as well. She’s Theo’s godmother and very special to me, so it was beautiful to celebrate with her. Here’s to mama glam rearing it’s tired head!
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