Little Black Maternity Dress

Isabella-oliver-dress

BCBG-Cat-Hat

LBD_isabella-oliver

headshot

little-black-dress

babybump

walking-away

When building out your maternity wardrobe, it’s almost like building a capsule collection of essentials that can take you from baby-bump to post-baby. I felt it was most important to invest in pieces that could take you anywhere, from a business meeting, to a night out with the ladies with switching up your accessories and shoes.

It became clear during the planning stages of my wardrobe, that a “little black dress” would be a must-have, for the first time in my life. My closet is pretty full, so when most women would turn to a LBD for an easy fix for a wardrobe solution, I have always embraced colours and prints. But for my limited pregnancy collection, it was important to be practical with my purchases, ensuring that I would have the right pieces regardless of occasion.

Enter this stunning Isabella Oliver a-line dress from Carry Maternity. The fit flowed perfectly over my growing bump making it easy to wear throughout my pregnancy. I loved the subtle features, like slightly flared bell sleeves and perfect neckline. This effortless dress can be worn dressed up or paired with sneakers to take you anywhere.

Dress: Isabella Oliver C/O Carry Maternity,  Hat: BCBG, Frames: Ray Ban C/O Clearly.ca, Heels: 10 Crosby Derek Lam, Necklaces: Catbird, Jewlr

carry-maternity

RayBan-Frames

Baby Blue

asos-maternity-

headshot

blue-formal-dress

asos-baby-blue

One of the unexpected fashion struggles I’ve recently been faced with, while growing this little nugget in my stomach, was planning for a formal event. Typically I shop early and plan ahead when attending a wedding, gala or something that requires a new gown. But when you are unsure of how big you’ll be at the time of the event, it creates an extra level of difficulty and stress.

For my cousin’s wedding a few weeks back, I began my search online, looking for local stores that would carry something formal and fun and that would fit a me at 25 weeks. I kept finding myself on ASOS browsing their huge selection of dresses. Having only shopped on their site once before, and not too pleased with the sizes (or duties) of the items I had purchased,  I found myself hesitant to order, but I finally came around a few days later when I felt that there weren’t other affordable options that would really work. I picked out a handful of dresses with two in mind for this event. Two would provide me choice, given the inability to try it on, or knowledge of how big my bump would be at the time of the event. When the order arrived, this off-the-shoulder blue dress was the clear winner, as the other option could fit a bump double the size and a bust half the size.

blue-baby

vintage-jewels

I do love this dress and it had caught my eye on their site super early during my pregnancy, when I was researching flattering silhouettes. The body-con shape leaves nothing to the imagination and shows the world your beautiful growing bump.

The struggle is definitely real shopping online, especially on sites that you don’t often shop on. But the task is even harder when your body is going through daily changes. I still hope I can find an occasion to wear the other dress as it’s stunning, or at least fit into it to properly to share with you on the blog.

Dress: ASOS Maternity, Shoes: 424 Fifth, Bracelet: Swarovski, Necklace & Earrings: Vintage

Wedding, Set, Go

TRE_1470

TRE_1466

TRE_1446

TRE_1459

TRE_1445

We are now mid-wedding season, and I found myself attracted to a classic shapes this season, that is totally new for me. For the last few years, it was all about gowns when it came to wedding-dressing (two examples of stunning gowns I’ve worn to some fabulous weddings: 1, 2). I loved how glamorous I felt in a floor sweeping gown while twirling on a dance floor. But this season, and it may be the humid temperatures, I’ve found myself tempted by shorter silhouette for formal engagements.

Typically I wouldn’t wear a short dress to a formal event, as it never really felt as elegant as I wanted to, until I laid eyes on this silk embroidered shift dress from Stella McCartney. It was love and first sight. From the colour to the floral details, not to mention the pockets, it truly was like nothing else I have in my wardrobe and knew I had to have it.

I paired this beauty with my favourite vintage choker and the matching earrings I picked up at The One of a Kind Craft Show a few seasons ago, and was absolutely in love with this ensemble.

Dress: Stella McCartney, Necklace: Vintage, Earrings: OOAK, Shoes: Nine West (old)