Fall 2010 Maternity Style

I've been really concentrating the blog on beauty products lately, but I felt the need to do a few seasonal fashion posts. I tend to do these a few times a year, and while I'm a bit on the conservative side with my style (You would be too if you had my job, who wants their kid's ICU doc to show up in a mini skirt and 5 inch heels? Seems a bit wrong..), but I definitely want to be updated and not frumpy.

Anyways, I've been in a bit of a slump during my pregnancy. One of the first things I did when I discovered I was pregnant is run to the bookstore and buy pregnancy books. Bump it Up was one of my purchases, and while I loved Amy Koch's tips for concealing my belly pre-bump (seriously, I looked like I ate a few too many donuts until about 20 weeks, there was no bump), I'm having a bit of an issue transitioning to Fall.

Why? Because I keep looking at the fall trends and realizing that some of them will be difficult to translate to pregnancy. So, I've decided to do a bit of shopping research in an effort to not only wear a t-shirt and jeans every day. I figure there are likely more pregnant women out there in the same dilemma as me, so I'm sharing here.

Read on to see what the fall trends are, and if I'm even going to bother tackling them.


Military: This may in fact be the easiest trend to tackle this fall, given how little you need to do to capture this look. A little bit of green, some big brass buttons on a coat or some camoflage... done. I'm not likely to go the camo route, but buttons and some green I can likely add into my maternity wardrobe easily.

All of these pics are from Neiman's Military Trend Items, you can go check them out.



Ladylike/Madmen Inspired:
I feel like every few years there is an emphasis on "ladylike" (which makes me wonder where everyone thought it went before, but I digress), and it seems that Mad Men has made the craze not only stronger, but also curvier. Normally I would be all over this, but I'm not sure how well I can pull it off with a baby bump in the way.

Sure, I could follow Amy Koch's advice and belt everything just below the bust (I have the perfect J Crew belt for this as well, it's stretchy and has a flower), but this actually creates a few issues. First is that my chest is ... ummm... how should I put it... especially since my dad sometimes reads this... my chest really has become pretty huge. Belting there makes the whole situation even more obvious. That doesn't necessarily go along with this look. In addition, my ribs are killing me! No one really warns you for this part, but they are expanding like crazy and anything tight around my ribs is very painful. So, no-go on the belt. Which means that I'm an apple when you should be aiming for an hourglass figure with this look. However, some of the little details (frills, lace, etc) could easily be incorporated into a maternity wardrobe.

Images here from Style.com and Banana Republic



Fur:Fur is definitely a big trend this fall, whether it is fake or real. Fur can be tricky, it is easy to make yourself look like Nanook of the North. And while Isaac did use Nanook as inspiration for a collection a few years ago, he didn't take it literally. Look for little (fake) fur details or a vest. I think fur boots or a big ear flap hat makes you look a bit too Fargo. Personally, I'm not a fur person, so I'll be avoiding this one.

Fur trends items are from Bloomingdale's Fur Feature



All Wrapped Up:
Anoraks and big chunky sweaters. Definitely not going to be cold this fall/winter! This is a no brainer, big cozy sweaters are easy to pull off, they just need to be balanced with proportion. Especially with a big belly under that sweater.

Anoraks from Bloomie's and Sweaters also from Bloomie's



Minimalism: This is definitely going to be the easiest to pull off, especially since I'm already a minimalism girl. No embellishments, but you do need to have great details. Whether that is the drape of a dress or the right proportion between a top and your skinny jeans, each little details counts even more.

These outfits are from Saks Fifth Avenue's Pure & Simple Fall Showcase, I recommend checking it out for great ideas.


Now that I've somewhat evaluated the trends, watch for upcoming posts on how I'll translate these trends into maternity wear!

Images: Style.com, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdale's, Banana Republic