Ladylike CosmoPrep

I revived this outfit to take DD to the doctor. I forgot to add a belt but I don't think it takes anything away from the outfit (though I think it looks slightly better with a belt). Any way, I thought the sandals paired nicely with this skirt because it mimics the graphic pattern. I also happen to love a black and white pattern paired with green. What colors do you love to see with a black and white pattern?

So here is what my pregnant shape shifting body taught me
over the past 10 months:

• Proportion is the most important factor in dressing a body that changes weekly
• Color and or pattern are very important elements in translating my signature style across different proportions
• Colorful/dramatic accessories (scarves, shoes, totes, and handbags) help add my signature touches to outfits that are otherwise basic or boring.
• I don’t necessarily need as much in the way of jewelry/sparkle as I thought I needed to feel like myself.

I have included today’s outfit along with my favorite outfits spanning the 9 months of my pregnancy.

Today (pic #1) I am wearing my favorite tunic. It is a Dana Buchman piece I picked up 4 summers ago from Kohl’s paired with capri length leggings and pewter Merona sandals from Target.  I love graphic black and white sunflower print. I am not sure if you can see it but there is cobalt blue trim on the tunic as well. I adore the proportions of this outfit. I have a no-effort defined waist because of the tunic’s excellent cut.

Pic #2  - November – This outfit was worn a mere week after I discovered I was expecting DD. The snazzy jacket and tights with the column of black formula was a favorite for me last fall. This skirt worked well for me through month 4. I was able to pull the cinched waist up as my belly expanded but after a certain point, you run out of length and the skirt looks too short.

Pic #3 – December – I love this outfit – it is definitely special occasion/holiday outfit. It is the essence of my style – high-contrast, defined waist, classic, crisp and fun (a swishy skirt is ALWAYS fun to wear). I had not begun to expand at this point, but I will be more than pleased to wear this outfit combination again this fall.

Pic #4 – January – I think you all have seen me in this sweater/shirt/color combo in many variations. I have to confess that as my bustline continued to expand I used this (my favorite cardi) to “hide” the pulling across my bustline apparent with just the button down alone. The great fit of the sweater (which expanded with me – up to a point) covered all of those sins up ;-) 

Pic #5 – February – I just love this outfit. This is a navy waterfall cardi tied like a wrap top layered over a white tee and deep teal skinny cords. I loved the addition of the cheetah scarf which picks up on the tan color in the boots. Yep no maternity clothes here but I had to accommodate my growing bustline, which would not fit in my woven tops by February. I will definitely be wearing this again once fall settles in.

Pic #6 – March – this outfit is just comfy. I was not in any maternity clothes at all. My pants were secured in place with a ponytail holder and a belly band. These are my Levi’s and I love wearing them rolled at the ankle. I also like wearing them with this soft gray blouse I picked up from Sears 2 years ago. I think this was my favorite outfit from early spring. I had to lose the Calvin Klein oxfords when April came around because I could no longer bend comfortably to tie the laces.

Pic #7 – April – The only maternity gear I’m wearing in this picture is the jeans which are from LOFT. This is where I realized that my cardigan sweaters in general (but not always) needed to be in proportion to my growing belly so that I would not end up with a cropped look which would throw off the proportions. I also realized that lavender could work as a neutral with my skintone.

Pic #8 – May  - This violet ponte knit dress from BR was a life saver during this pregnancy. Pairing it with gray helped make the color work in professional settings. The violet color was prominently featured but did not overtake the entire outfit. White and silver accessories provide a modern polished feel to the outfit. None of the pieces are maternity so I’ll definitely wear this one again and probably not looking very different than I do here.

Pic #9 - June  - I loved how this pink black and white outfit combined lace and stripes to create a casual ladylike outfit. It’s only heightened with the high bun on top of my head. What really helps this outfit work is the length of the BF sweater and the length of the striped top. None of these pieces are maternity – so you’ll see this outfit again before the weather looking slightly different on
my deflated belly. I liked this outfit so much that I wore it to my babyshower.

Pic #10 – July  - green and blue was always a theme. I love the pattern on this top. I have had it for the past 5 years. It is a maternity top but I bought it well
before I ever became pregnant. I loved both the print and the fit.  The BF jeans are maternity as well. It seems as if most maternity things fit best at least on my body during the very last 4 weeks because that’s when my baby bump was large enough to fill out the clothing as intended. A little backstory on this pic, it was taken on 7/31/14 on our way to the hospital to meet DD, who arrived the very next day.

If you’re still reading at this point, let me know what you think of today’s look. I still have a bit of a belly but for the most part I am back to my pre-baby weight. (I only gained 19 pounds! YAY!)

The newest member of the Day Vies family arrived on the very first day of August 2014. This little one came straight from fairyland and has sprinkled stardust all over DH and me leaving us utterly enchanted.

We were shocked when the doctors informed us that her eyes were blue. I remember thinking that this is a very inappropriate time for jokes. (I'm trying to verify that my child and all of her limbs and digits. I also want to know that they are working properly!) However most doctors don't tell jokes and this one, though pleasant, wasn't joking. (Blue eyes. WOW. How did that happen???) They have darkened to a deep gray blue -- like a stormy sea and are fascinating to watch (when they're open). We don't know what color her eyes will be, but definitely not our mere-mortal shade of dark brown.

Thank you YLF for all of your well-wishes and positive energy -- it worked! I now have a beautiful daughter!

Well, I have been reading all these weeks that rarely do babies show up on their due date. It seem that my baby wants to be the rare bird to start the process on her due date at the very least. Perhaps she'll show up before midnight ... I predict she'll show up tomorrow, but it's awfully close to the original intended finish line (Perhaps she gets that desire to always be on time from me? ;-)) Any way here are some things I wore right up to the end.

First up is favorite dress, you've seen this one before. I had to make some changes to how I wore it because my bustline has increased along with my waistline, so I had to layer a minty green cami underneath. I like the effect of the kelly green and the mint.

Second is another Old Navy dress. It's a sun dress with spaghetti straps which I wear with a regular bra, hence the light weight cardi in navy also from Old Navy. I like the impromptu square neckline the sweater and the dress create. I also added my yellow LC tote which I carried with outfit 1 as well. I have not been one for switching purses lately -- too likely to forget something for all that.  Next time I post, I'll be a new mom!  Happy Thursday YLF!

I don't think this turned out too bad for 38 weeks along. DH thought it would be nice to have dinner out and go to the theater one last time -- just the two of us and no babysitter to worry about. Not sure when DD will arrive but as I said in my last post, we're on baby watch.

This is not a maternity dress at all. I actually bought this dress in February and  wore it in this post. It fit differently of course, but I bought it with the idea that it would grow with me and be an appropriate base for me to dress up with accessories for a fancy event over the course of my pregnancy.  I think the theater qualifies as a fancy event. With the unusually mild temperatures and low humidity lately this dress was perfectly comfortable to wear. Normally temperatures and humidity would be high meaning that anything with sleeves would be a nightmare to wear.

I'm wearing:

• Black ON dress sized 1X (purchased on clearance! YAY!)
• Silver tone Simply Vera Wang earrings and statement necklace
• Pewter Merona sandals from Target

Happy Saturday and thanks for looking! BTW - I included a profile photo as promised in my last post. Some ladies (including myself) were waiting for me to "look pregnant". Oddly I look more pregnant from the side than the front.

This is what I wore to my now weekly doctor's visit. There are no maternity clothes in sight and I believe everything with the exception of the bag and shoes came from Kohl's.

I figured out how to wear this Simply Vera Wang sleeveless top. (YAY!) I love the contrast of the bright blue with the gray floral print. It's a petite large and as a result does not cover my belly, however I figured if I wore a bottom that went over my belly the hem of the top wouldn't look too short. It worked out just fine with my trusty skort.

I was also informed by my doctor that by and large I am at the finish line and DD may show up any day now over the course of the next 4 weeks. So I am officially on baby watch :-D (not to be confused with the TV show Bay Watch)!

I'm wearing:

• Back cardigan - Daisy Fuentes
• Top - Simply Vera Wang
• Trusty white skort
• Black lace ballet flat
• Kenneth Cole tote in red-orange

I love this sweater because it is a lovely shade of cobalt. I love blue with white  there is something so clean about the combination. The sweater is linen from JCrew (I picked it up last year), and the white "skirt" is actually the skort I picked up nearly 3 weeks ago. Silver accents finish things off.

Happy 4th of July!!!!

This outfit was cobbled together at the last minute before I had to rush out the door for my doctor's appointment. I really like the vibrant colors and of course there is the blue yellow and green theme again. I think the tunic is the star of the show. Funny how I never really wore this top until I got pregnant -- the proportions work better with a rounder tummy.

I'm wearing:

• Tunic by Apostrophe (Sears)
• ON BF crop jeans
• ON grass green BF sweater
• Sandals with gold trim (Kohl's - last year end of season purchase)
• not shown white hand bag.

So my maternity inspiration on the forum Golden Pig/Natalie is a master at finding and pairing matching patterns and wearing them together. I thought of her when I paired my zebra printed jacket with my zebra printed kitten heels.

I was lamenting to Beth Ann on my post yesterday that some maternity tops are ridiculously DRAB. This one would be a prime example. In my defense, I bought this top online and had no clue that the blue had more gray undertones so it was not going to be the sharp vivid cobalt I wanted. I mentioned to Adelfa in her post earlier this week that "fake cobalt" looks great with black and white patterns. There's something about the high contrast of black and white that sharpens this shade of blue and makes it pop in the way you intended.

Also this top is made to grow with you but the sizing is HUGE. So even at 35 weeks this top has way too much room around the belly area for me. I thought the jacket and the white belt would give some structure and shape to this top. I think I succeeded.

I'm wearing mostly maternity today, but I would definitely remix this outfit and wear it again as a non-pregnant lady. How did I do?

• Old Navy maternity top in "fake cobalt"
• white belt
• Zebra print jacket 
• Loft maternity boot cut jeans 
• Ellen Tracey zebra print kitten heels 
• Coach white patent handbag

I wore this to run errands yesterday. I also realized that I will never love pastels more than I love my vivid colors especially when paired with navy. This look may not be on trend but it's definitely representative of my personal style.
The only thing that's maternity in this outfit is the navy tee.
I'm wearing:

• ON green boyfriend sweater 
• ON navy maternity tee 
• White skort (scored 2 weeks ago! ) 
• Aqua Crocs 
• Yellow LC tote 
• Yellow skinny belt