How to dress like a pinup (or Rockabilly girl/50s girl etc) when you've got a blooming lovely baby bump!
As many of you know, I'm currently in my third trimester - pregnant with baby number two!
I love my pregnant body - my big, round tummy housing my squirming, wriggling little Baby Pear. I feel pretty confident when I'm pregnant. There's a certain glow that you just can't simulate at any other time. Of course, some days my legs and back are aching, I'm absolutely knackered and suffering with chronic indigestion.... but for the most part - I feel good!
During my last pregnancy and again this time, there was one thing that I wouldn't compromise on and that was the way I like to dress and style myself. Call it Rockabilly, Pinup, Vintage...whatever - I just did not want to swap my usual look for dowdy pregnancy clothes that were not 'me'.
It takes a bit of altering, searching and putting much more emphasis on hair and make-up (heehee) but you really can stick to your usual pinup-y retro look while carrying a bun in your oven.
In the first trimester when my bump was still relatively small, I was able to wear some of my normal clothes, depending on where the waist lay. Dresses like the Lindy Bop 'Delilah' were so comfortable because the waist on this dress fits just under my bust and the amount of fabric in the full skirt meant that there was plenty of room for my bump to 'breathe' underneath. I wore this dress for every event I attended in my first trimester, until I outgrew it and had to find something looser.
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| Lindy Bop's 'Delilah' dress |
In my second trimester and now into my third, this style of Hell Bunny dress with either a halterneck or removable straps has been an absolute dream. The elasticated back means that there's plenty of stretch, the way the bust part fits means that there's nothing digging in and making me uncomfortable. The halter neck gives room for adjusting accordingly and the full skirt covers a big bump beautifully. I always team these dresses with leggings as they are very short - but they are just so comfortable and I've worn them with both pregnancies. It's great being able to pick a cool, cute dress that is totally my style, yet it's comfortable to wear even at my biggest (I wore these dresses pretty much until I popped last time!)
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| Hell Bunny Unicorn dress with removable straps |
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Hell Bunny polkadot halterneck dress
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I've been pregnant over summer both times, so these dresses wouldn't be as easy to wear if you were pregnant during a freezing winter. Although with a cute bolero, cardigans and thick leggings, they could be adapted for winter Mummies.
As well as still wearing my favourite brands, I mixed things up with basic dresses which had prints that I like. I love leopard print & simply bought stretchy dresses from the High Street a couple of sizes bigger than my usual size - these leopard print dresses are from Primark & Dorothy Perkins.
Styled with a pretty cardigan, plenty of vintage jewellery and some victory rolls, they weren't too far off the type of things I'd normally wear.
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| The dress on the left is from Primark, the one on the right is Dorothy Perkins |
http://www.primark.com/en/homepage
http://www.dorothyperkins.com/?geoip=home
And I couldn't resist this ice-cream print dress from H&M - it's so stretchy and comfortable. They have lots of different prints in this style too.
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| Gorgeous little ice-cream print dress from H&M |
It's worth looking at High Street maternity brands - This black and white polkadot dress is from New Look's maternity collection. It's so light and comfortable and easy to give it that vintage look with some pretty accessories and a cute handbag & shoes.
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| Polkadot dress from New Look's maternity range |
When baby is here and I'm looking lustily at my Collectif Vanya skirts again, planning how to style myself when breastfeeding is next on my agenda! If you're planning to breastfeed, there are some gorgeous easy-access tops and dresses out there.
I recently bought the Collectif Jenny cherry print cardigan which has a wrap-over style. A plain black nursing vest under this will be simple, but will look great.
I've also got my eye on the Lindy Bop Matilda dresses, as they have a button front.
Cute little tea dresses (vintage or High Street) with button fronts are also perfect for easy access when breastfeeding, like this little vintage shirt dress I got for a steal at a flea market.
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| Button-front dresses are cute - and practical for breastfeeding |
Aside from clothes accessories, make-up and hair styling will keep you looking like a pinup/rockabella/vintage lady - no matter how tired I am and how much I feel like I can't be bothered, when I'm going out I make sure that I have my victory rolls or beehive set, cats eye flicks and red lips painted on - I just don't feel (or look) like me without it! (Headscarves and bandanas for lazy/dirty hair days - I love you!)
So if you're pregnant or planning to become pregnant, good luck and enjoy!
I hope you've enjoyed reading my blog - thank you!
Laura Dolly Cupcake xxx
