Q&A: What to Wear for Early Maternity?

Q& A: What to Wear for Early Maternity?

I have a dear friend who is in her first trimester, and we've been brainstorming what she can wear now and in the coming months. Tomorrow I'll talk about what I suggest as a stylist (who has never been pregnant), but first I wanted to start with an answer from a real deal stylish mother: my best friend, Tahira. She has the most adorable infant and toddler that you have ever seen. They are curious, sweet, energetic, and smart. Oh, and also so stinking cute. Here is a sample of the recent cuteness.

Tahira is my friend who sometimes makes it hard to be my friend if you are anyone else. She is the gold standard, the best, the be-all-end-all. And, I have to say, she was the cutest pregnant person ever-both times. She has that impossibly perfect belly when she's pregnant that makes her look like a maternity model-you know, the ones that are not really pregnant but are wearing the perfect belly tied to their otherwise not pregnant bodies? Tahira had that belly. Here are some shots from her cute maternity style at different stages of pregnancies.

Tahira's non-maternity style tends to be very feminine, and this worked beautifully while she was pregnant. Long dresses, soft layers, and swooped necklines accentuated her new shape and made being pregnant look effortless. Some of my favorite things that she wore were long vests with a tighter shirt or dress underneath, a puffer vest instead of a winter coat, and sweeping maxi dresses with gorgeous accessories. Here's her take on it. 

In her words...

There is a trick where you use a ponytail holder to make a loop around your button and through your belt loop make your pants a little bit bigger; I always like that trick.


I never liked belly bands. I wasn't comfortable with my pants all the way  un-done. You might do a belly band over the ponytail holder.

Whenever your boobs suddenly get huge in your second trimester just go buy a really good nursing bra. Don't get fitted at  Victoria's Secret. I went to Nordstrom to get a $75 bra probably right before I had the baby, but it would've been smarter to just buy it when my boobs grew two or three or four months earlier. Instead I have a bunch of bras that are not nursing bras and have been useless to me since I had [my son] Zayd.

Learn to define your cheekbone so when your face gets "fat" you can still look like you have a line under your cheekbone. I don't know if the maternity pants and pull over your belly are better or worse than the ones that fit under your belly. They're really all horrible. I like maxi skirts worn over my bump.

 Thanks, Tahira! And check out her cute mama style!

See you tomorrow for my take on it! And if you can't wait that long, check out my Pinterest board for more ideas!