Amy Tara Koch - Bump It Up: Transform Your Pregnancy Into the Ultimate Style Statement

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A Ballantine Books Trade Paperback Original

Copyright 2010 by Amy Tara Koch
Interior illustrations not otherwise credited are copyright 2010
by Annika Wester/CWC International, Inc.

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Ballantine Books, an imprint of
The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

B ALLANTINE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

eISBN: 978-0-307-78034-8

www.ballantinebooks.com

v3.1

Dedicated to the babes
who supplied me with
the most bewitching of bumps,
Isabella and Brette

In the beginning there were skinny jeans. Body-skimming knits cavorted with tailored trousers and thigh-grazing dresses in the streams and valleys.
Silky G-strings and non-industrial-sized support bras tilled the fields. Stilettos roamed the earth. And it was good.
Then came pregnancy. Slim-cut ensembles were cast from Eden. Muumuus took control of the land. The seas swarmed with jumbo sweatpants and sensible shoes.
And it was not so good.

I ts no secret that pregnancy doth not bring out ones inner glamour girl. Hormones flow, stomachs protrude, and once-clear complexions zigzag with nonspecific dermatitis. Workouts are traded in for TiVo. A nondescript sack filled with Cheetos replaces the once-chic hobo. And fashion obsessions are usurped by fantasies of tucking into a vat of buttery mac and cheese. Yes, denying ones fashion instincts and reaching for your fat pantsthose baggy sweats in your bottom drawer reserved for sitting about the house on Sundaysis a natural response to pregnancy. As a career fashionista (I have served as Chicago Tribune style columnist, a trend reporter for NBC, and a style expert for USA Today and Vogue), I envisioned my pregnancy following in the chic, minimally swollen footsteps of Gwen, Heidi, and Gwyneth. But as the first twelve pounds wrapped themselves around my midsection, I began to cave. The urge to hide in jumbo-sized clothing was overwhelming. I garbed myself in my husbands button-downs. Over sweats. Yoga pants became to-the-office pants. One morning, in my tenth week, I glanced at my dumpy reflection in the mirror as I left for work. In my expansive, dog-walking pantaloons-and-sweatshirt combo, I bore an uncanny resemblance to my potato-picking Russian ancestors. There was no question. The Baggy Belarus look had to go.

I hit my local chain maternity store. Nausea washed over me. Where were the sportif strapless dresses and va-va-voom bejeweled shifts worn by the current spate of knocked-up celebs? The pricey drawstring pants (paired with ONE HOT MAMA tees), drab button-downs, and decidedly non-Tory Burch tunics were simply not the look that I had in mind. I waddled to Starbucks and pondered my fashion future. I had built a career on style. How could I allow my self-esteem and professional credibility to be eradicated by polyester-blend leisure wear?

Then I had an epiphany: Forget investing my unborn childs college tuition on a full-blown maternity wardrobe. Bump-savvy celebs were not miracles of nature. They had simply mastered the high art of mix-and-match fertility fashion, a combination of must-have maternity with easy civilian silhouettes that embraced and enhanced their bump. I might lack Gwyneths gene code, but a decade of covering fashion shows and interviewing beauty gurus gave me confidence that I, a scrappy five-foot-four editrix, could eschew pregnancys frump factor and step up to the fashion plate.

I knocked back some Tums and got down to the business of reworking my existing wardrobe. Skinny jeans, skimpy tops, and anything that made me look and feel like five pounds of bologna in a one-pound bag were packed away; empire-waist dresses, tunics, and other bump-friendly silhouettes were positioned front and center. Lycra (from my moms Jane Fonda days) became my second skin. Big baubles were my new best friends. And eye-catching accentsvintage jackets, exotic reptilian bags, capes and shawls, colorful thigh-length sweaters, hardware-laden oversized toteswere my joie de vivre. I cast Pucci-esque innerwear as outerwear, skirts as dresses, and chain belts as necklaces. I revisited seasons-old wrap dresses and off-the-wall knits from storage. I raided Grandmas closet for Jackie O scarves and quirky accents like Peruvian coin belts and carved jade pendants. Later, when my bump materialized for the whole world to see, I purchased only core maternity items that could be accessorized for every occasiona pair of designer pregnancy jeans, a super-long, stretchy black tank top, maternity tights, a chic maternity pencil skirt, and one pair of multitasking black trousers. I bought non-maternity piecesblack bias-cut and empire-waist jersey dresses (cleverly cut to accommodate a bump), a groovy, unstructured sweater/shawl, an early DKNY leather tunicthat would work during my pregnancy and beyond. I borrowed maternity and non-maternity items from friends. I took the fashion credo God is in the details to heart and had a blast super-accessorizing. The key to preggo chic? Creativity. Effort. And the commitment to pushing the sartorial envelope even as you feel your breakfast rising in your throat.

Bump It Up is a cheat sheet to chic, a pregnancy primer that shows moms-to-be how a handful of wardrobe reader, the most in-the-know tips on the planet, I stepped behind the scenes of the glossies and canvassed the real style mavensdesigners, editors, publicists, and socialitesresponsible for launching trends among celebrities and the stylists who assemble them. In Advice from the A-list, high-profile beauty and fashion folks share the experiences that enabled them to finesse the incredible bulk of pregnancy. And for those who are served up hormonally induced lumps and bumps instead of the coveted pregnancy glow, celeb skin gurus weigh in on how you too can tap into that (faux) radiance.

The moment the double lines of your pregnancy test confirm your bun-in-the-oven status, you are privy to a cornucopia of new vocabulary. Sharing these terms with other moms and moms-to-be is your ticket to an elite members-only club.