Mom-agination: It’s All About the Belly

Forget about the stresses of mountainous holiday baking, visiting in-laws, and frenetic gift shopping, pregnant women at the holidays have much more to bemoan about – what to wear to the holiday parties! Whether you’re in your first trimester and barely bulging, or you’re due any minute and bursting at the seam, you can still look spectacular at holiday office parties, formal dinners and family gatherings. Being pregnant at holiday time is a magnificent reason to celebrate and the guidelines below will help you to choose the most flattering holiday dress for your pregnancy stage and body type:

• Barely protruding first and second trimester – If you’re looking to show off your growing belly and stave off those ‘chubby’ rumors, choose a dress style that maximizes rather than minimizes your growing belly with a tight-fitting style, high waistline and plunging neckline. If you’re looking to minimize your growing belly for as long as possible, choose a slim fitting A-line dress that will unobtrusively drape over your belly without appearing tent-like.
• Baby weight is all in front – If you look like you’ve just eaten a basketball, the most flattering holiday dress style for you is a calve-length, slimming dress with plenty of extra fabric in the front. For those lucky women that have escaped excess baby weight in their thighs and legs and ankles, a shorter, mid-thigh length dress style is sexy and elegant for holiday gatherings. A busy pattern will distract from the roundness of your belly.
• Baby weight is in front, sides, hips and thighs – For the woman whose body has distributed the baby weight throughout her middle regions, the most flattering style of holiday dress is a mid-length two-piece ensemble. Choose a dark color for a slimming look. Another option is a spaghetti strap or halter-top style that cinches directly under the bust, accentuating the bustline and leaving the rest of the dress to flow over the body.

What better time to celebrate your pregnancy than the holidays so stop stressing about the perfect dress and celebrate!