Pressure To Look Stylish In Pregnancy

Back in the 70s/80s, pregnant women used to wear dungarees. Or tent-like smock dresses in pastel colours, often with twee bow detail at the neckline and Peter Pan collars.

But in 1991, Demi Moore (followed by a growing number of celebs) went and changed everything by posing naked for the cover of Vanity Fair when she was seven months pregnant. From then on it became fashionable to show off your bump and shapeless maternity wear was quickly replaced by more flattering, form-fitting styles.

But even though we’ve been saved from nine months of dungarees, we now have a new problem: there’s so much more pressure for women to dress fashionably right up to the point that they go into labour.

Take Beyoncé, who continued to wear sequins, cut-out dresses and statement wedges throughout her pregnancy. Hers was undoubtedly the most glam bump in the business, she looked amazing throughout her pregnancy – but then again doesn’t she always. Ok so I doubt she spends the whole day running around at work on those incredibly high heels and maybe she is just like the rest of us and grabs her pjs as soon as she gets home. But seeing the images of so many glamorous celebs dressed to the nines proudly showing of their bumps are common place now.

And where celebrities go, the majority tend to follow.

I would imagine that a lot of women really do want to wear the latest trends when they’re expecting. Which is fair enough really, it’s not right to feel as though you should hide away wearing a shapeless sack, which tends to just make you look fat not pregnant.

Being pregnant doesn’t mean you have to lose your identity. So if you love a bit of leopard print, buy some – even just a scarf or some comfy flats. If you’re a magpie, you can pile on the sequins and layer up jewellery to the max. You can still stay true to yourself whilst remaining comfortable.

But while it’s true that you’re more likely to feel better during your pregnancy if you make a bit of an effort, there usually comes a point where you no longer care what you wear as long as it fits (or was that just me?).

That’s when most women embrace the late pregnancy wardrobe of leggings, T-shirts, baggy jumpers and comfortable shoes. After all, this is one of the only times in your life when you have a good excuse to spend days in your pyjamas – and it would be a shame to let the opportunity go to waste, wouldn’t it?

Given a choice between tottering around on heels looking like a balloon with legs sitting at home with your feet up in late pregnancy, I know which I’d prefer.

What do you think? Are we under too much pressure to look super stylish when pregnant? Should it be the one time we can just relax and enjoy rather than trying to pour ourselves into LBDs and heels?

Tags: Maternity Wear, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Blog, Pregnancy Clothes, Pregnancy Clothing, Pregnancy Weight Gain

Posted in Pregnancy