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Introducing Addressed, a weekly column where we’ll, ahem, address the joys (and tribulations!) of getting dressed. We’ll look at runway and real-life trends, talk to people whose style we love, and, most importantly, answer your fashion queries. Download the Vogue app, and find our Style Chat section to submit your question.
On the Vogue app, user AnitaSimonetti asks: I’m 5’3” and pregnant in my third trimester, and all the style inspiration I try turns out to be not useful. Since I’m short, I always end up looking like a tent! If I try open tailored pants under the belly, I’ll end up dragging them…if I try an oversize open blouse, I look like I’m in my PJs, but I refuse to buy maternity clothes as they have no style. Any advice?
I love this question mostly because I really enjoyed dressing for my pregnant body—I never felt so free and so without self-judgment. Unfortunately I had a pandemic baby so the opportunities for really dressing were few and far in between. First, I completely agree with you that buying maternity clothes can be tricky for people with a very specific sense of personal style because they often feel very generic.
These days I think it’s entirely possible to make it through the whole nine months wearing “regular” clothes; which is good because until very recently, women were expected to hide or downplay “their condition” as their pregnant bellies were a tell-tale sign of—gasp!—sexual activity. Consider, for example, that in 1952, when Lucille Ball announced her pregnancy in an episode of I Love Lucy, she wasn’t allowed to use the word pregnant. Three decades later in the 1980s not much had improved. It was the decade of the body, when Lycra and aerobics ruled, but maternity wear was at its most shapeless. Stranger still, pregnancy clothes had a decidedly child-like aesthetic, featuring bows, princess sleeves, and sailor collars.
From your examples—and your mention of your height—my instinct is that you might be better off looking at more body-conscious styles, and by body conscious I mean “aware of your body,” not necessarily tight-fitting clothes. Because you’re 5’3,” I would recommend hemming any pants you’d really like to wear, but if that seems like too much trouble (which, I get), I would suggest a pair of leggings or narrow trousers in a scuba-like material, like this pair from Theory, or these capri pants from COS. I understand the mention of leggings might give you the ick, but once you size up to accommodate your belly you’ll find that they won’t look like leggings. You can wear them with tunics and T-shirts for every day, or use them as the base of a dressier “suit,” paired with a button-down shirt and a tailored jacket (left open).
I would also recommend adding a simple jersey tube skirt that can be easily scrunched up or down, and a pair of easy elastic-waist knit pants that fit comfortably around the belly (if you wear them higher up they will likely not drag on the floor, or at least that’s how I got around that problem!). These three things were the only new things I bought during my pregnancy. (I had a pair of vintage men’s Levi’s that I also wore throughout, and when I wasn’t able to button them, I held them in place with a hair tie looped through the buttonhole, though I could’ve also bought one of those extenders.)
But regarding the question of the oversized button-down shirt, I think the instinct to go big can be counterproductive. With tops you want to go for boxier fits—think something from a menswear or unisex brand—rather than just size up, because this will give you the width you need without adding length which is what you want to avoid. Something like this shirt from Eckhaus Latta—which also has the bonus of an interesting back pleat detail—or even a super-classic Oxford shirt from Gap.
If you want to make a bold statement with trendier designer clothes, the sky’s the limit! Think dresses and separates from Issey Miyake, romantic pieces from Dries Van Noten (how good is this skirt or this top!), or Jean Paul Gaultier mesh. The most important thing to remember is that your style doesn’t need to change just because you’re pregnant—you’re dressing a new body, not a new you!
