Up until the 20 week mark when I *finally* shared the news that Luke and I were expecting a baby in summer 2020, the one question I got from a lot of my girlfriends was; ‘Where’s your bump?!’. Safe to say, I got particularly good at concealing any hint of a baby bump, and I thought I’d share some of the styling tricks that I found useful during those early weeks.
Wearing Joseph sweater (affordable option here), Realisation Par leopard skirt (affordable dupe here), By Far mules (affordable here), Phillip Lim mini pashli bag, Mejuri earrings & bracelet, Linjer ring & bracelet
It’s worth noting that as this is my first pregnancy, it did take a little longer for my belly to “pop”. I also noticed that my body would change over the course of the day. Up until around week 18-19, I mostly looked like I’d just gained a little weight around my mid-section (though by the end of the day my belly would look quite pregnant due to bloating!).
Opt for a busy print
This one’s probably a surprise, coming from me, anyway, as I tend to prefer minimal, subdued prints over bright and bold ones. But, there is method to my madness. A busy print can act as a major distractor, and can conceal any changes to your shape, especially if you’re opting for a style that has a darker-based background.
Embrace mid-rise trousers or jeans
One of the styling tools I’ve used for years to balance out my frame is wearing high-waisted styles on my lower half. For the pregnancy however, I found myself leaning into mid-rise styles. The reason for this is two-fold. First, high-waisted options started to become a no-go for me around week 17. They felt tight a little too snug at the waistband, so I started to look for alternatives in my wardrobe that I could still wear. Mid-rise trousers or jeans were an easy fix. The slightly lower rise cut off at the perfect point (for my next tip…), while still keeping the lower portion of my belly comfortably secure. It’s worth noting that I’m the type of person who likes to tuck in their shirts, and this was something I kept up all throughout the first half of my pregnancy. A tip I know some people use is to get a fabric extender and attach this to the button fly of their jeans. This extends how long you can wear your jeans, and if you pair it with a top worn loose, no one will be any wiser.
Slim on bottom, billowy on top
Following on from my previous point, I truly embraced the soft, billowy tops in my wardrobe to help cover up any hint of my baby bump. Again, I drew from one of my style rules, which is to balance the volume of your items on your top and lower half. So I went for slimmer silhouettes on my lower half, and anything that was oversized, loose or super relaxed up top. This worked a treat. The excess fabric that billowed out around my mid-section looked natural, so it hid any bloating or baby bump that was lurking above the waistband of my skirt or trousers.
Avoid your figure-hugging dresses… for now
I think it goes without saying that now is the time to put your figure-hugging dresses on hiatus (until you’re ready to share, of course!), and opt for styles that have a slightly more relaxed silhouette. I found shift style dresses and midi or maxi lengths with a tiered design worked particularly well for concealing a baby bump. The one other style I steered clear of was anything with a belt at the waist; this style looks super cute on as it really accentuates the bump, but it’s not ideal if you’re trying to keep your news on the down low.
So those are the tricks that I used to get me through the first half of my pregnancy, without compromising my personal style. If you’ve been pregnant or are currently on your pregnancy journey too (congratulations!!), I’d love to know if you used any other styling tricks to get you through that initial period until you were ready to share the news! x
