Dressing the bump

As the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle announced her pregnancy last month, the Internet is going tizzy over the Suits actress’ maternity fashion choices. Known for her sartorial dressing sense, Meghan mostly chooses to wear coatdresses, midi length gowns and pencil skirts after her fairytale wedding to Prince Harry. But with a baby bump, the Duchess is amping up her fashion game with a maternity wardrobe suitable for her. Looking at her latest rendezvous in Redwoods Forest with Prince Harry, Meghan was not scared to go casual as she was seen wearing an oversized winter coat, most probably borrowed from her husband. At their royal tour in October, she was seen wearing peplum top paired with black jeans, a gorgeous tulle dress, and a pleated blue skirt among others on various occasions.  

If you’re on the same journey as Meghan and looking for some fashion forwards options for your wardrobe, we got some experts to help you through it.  Fashion designer Anupama Dayal feels that the natural hormones help during pregnancy to make women look and feel pretty, she says, “In terms of fashion, there are some of us including myself who never make clothes which are really body conscious, or light cut. We like things to be swift and almost ani-fit which works well with maternity fashion.” But if you’re looking for something more refined Anupama suggests, “I think empire line silhouette, panel outfit, long dresses work really well for a pregnant woman, and fabric should be really soft like crepe and light silk, not starchy cotton or thick fabric. It should be a fluid sexy fabric.” Designer Ritu Kumar, on the other hand, believes comfort and fashion go hand in hand, she says, “All the clothes have to fit differently because you have to make allowances for the baby. Other than that, nowadays, there is a very little difference between maternity fashion and normal fashion. People don’t mind showing the baby bump so they wear jersey dresses. At one time there used to be just smocks so that you could hide your baby bump, but it’s not the case anymore. So, style-wise, you can wear just about everything, but of course, shapes have to change.” And when it comes to fabric, she suggests opting for light and flowy ones, as they are easy to wear.

For those who prefer traditional Indian wear over the western ones, Sanjukta Dutta, who specialises in traditional Assamese fashion, suggests, “Assamese mekhala chaddar, both cotton and silk, which is a two-piece attire, is a very comfortable dress during pregnancy and also very easy to drape and undrape. Anarkalis teamed with good dupattas will always add the colour and grace and will help her be at ease at the same time.” Apart from that she suggests expecting mothers to dress up in colourful hues and expects Meghan Markle to do the same. “Her wardrobe will move from plain colours to more lively ones and will have floral tone added to it. She will keep it simple yet stylish as that is what her most sorted style statement has always been,” she adds

Reminiscing her own experience of going through pregnancy and her preferred outfits then, Ritu Kumar says, “Actually I would wear normal jeans and top and sarees. In those days, we didn’t have special stocks for maternity clothes, so you just hold on to what you were wearing with just a change in the size. Indian clothes are very versatile, you got kurtas which can become lose Anarkali which are very easy to wear.” Mother of two, Anupama recalls her pregnancy outfits and says, “I was quite fashionable and well dressed,” she smiles, “When I was pregnant, I liked wearing drawstring trousers with semi-fitted shirts. It didn’t matter to me that my stomach sort of bulged out which I thought was fine. But I found it harder when I was nursing a younger baby, then I think I wore a lot of loose dresses and maxi dresses.” She also recommends going for comfortable footwear such as flats and staying away from stilettos and heels.

Commenting on what the Dutchess’ maternity wardrobe is going to look like in the coming few months, Anupama says, “I think she also got a lot of confidence, she will surprise us. Megan will not hesitate to wear anti-fit or loose style and still look very hot and beautiful.”