What to Wear Wednesday: Guest Blog Post about Maternity Fashion from Start Close In Styling

Thanks for having me here today! I’m Ella, the personal stylist behind Start Close In Styling, where I showcase my clients and post about looks I’m obsessing over. My talent lies in making new use of clothes you already have and in finding versatile pieces to complement your style. I’m thrilled to be here today to talk about maternity fashion. I have a styling client who is in her second trimester, so it’s been on my brain a lot! Find the links to today’s pictures and more on my Pinterest boards.

Keep Elements from Your Personal Style

So much is changing in your body in your life that it can be really grounding to still feel like yourself in some ways. Clothing can help with that while you’re pregnant. While it can be tempting to ignore maternity fashion all together (until it’s impossible to ignore) or to feel like you have to wear floral prints or all pastels, try to infuse your own sense of style into your new shape. I love stripes, but lots of pregnant women shy away from them. One good trick is to find a mid-width stripe (not too skinny or wide like a rugby stripe) that breaks up the belly while also feeling youthful and stylish.

Highlight Some Trendy Items

 Now that you feel like yourself, it would be fun to add in some trendy touches. You may be in luck because a lot of the trends for Fall 2013 are ones we’ve seen before-you might have some in your closet already! Military is a big trend for Fall 2013, and it’s as easy as pulling out anything army green from your closet. I love a good maxi skirt for maternity, and this chevron print could be dressed up with black on top or worn to work with a white t-shirt and cardigan. I actually love the coral color with army green, and coral is universally flattering!

Buy Pieces Your Can Dress Up-or Down

Speaking of dressing up, maternity is a good time to buy items that are versatile. A good dress that can be dressed up might feel like too much of an investment with your shape changing so quickly, but you don’t want to feel like you can’t go anywhere fun (Dinner! A party! A movie!) or fancy (A wedding!) because you’ve only purchased work clothes or yoga pants.  These two dresses could be worn with a cute wedge heel and one of these necklaces for a night out or dressed down for the office with a longer length cardigan or boyfriend blazer. The necklaces are a great find because they won’t touch your belly or move around much but could dress up a basic maternity t-shirt or simple dress.

I hope you had as much fun today as I did! I’d love to see you over on Start Close In Styling someday. Let me know if you’d like to set up a virtual shopping session for your maternity style!