Last night was one of those rare, perfect evenings when I was home alone with a bottle of nice red wine, a full bag of red Twizzlers, all four boys soundly asleep by 8pm, and because my husband was working quite late, a computer all to myself so I could shop online uninterrupted (we share a computer, so I sometimes have to abandon online shopping and sacrifice my computer time in order to further the Middle East peace process). While I was checking all of my favorite sites and eating an entire bag of Twizzlers paired with cabernet, I discovered that Saks currently has the classic matte jersey Diane von Furstenberg Julian Wrap Dress on sale here in black for USD $298 and the classic Jeanne wrap dress on sale here in black for USD $298 (the Julian is a collarless V-neck style, the Jeanne has a collar). And most sizes are still available! The DVF website also has the Julian Wrap Dress selling in chocolate here, also still available in all sizes.
This isn’t a maternity dress, but this is the ideal dress for a woman who is just barely pregnant and still trying to hide it. I was interviewing for jobs when I was first pregnant with James and I bought this dress in both black and chocolate and it managed to get me through several weeks of interviews (with a pair of Spanx underneath, of course). The dress continued to fit as I grew in unfamiliar ways during those early weeks and it did a nice job of making my belly look less obvious than it was, due to the color and the very loose, forgiving jersey fabric (I did need to start wearing a camisole underneath the dress as I grew bigger). You should definitely go up one size from your pre-pregnancy size and even if you aren’t quite up to the next size yet, the self-tie belt will permit you to adjust the dress appropriately. I also wore this dress very often after the baby was born. I went looking for it when I found out my sister was pregnant and it was sold out everywhere, so this is a good opportunity to snag one for yourself. And obviously, pregnant or not, you don’t need justification for buying yourself a DVF wrap dress. Every woman should have one in her closet.
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So London was cold and icy and Leighton developed a nasty ear infection within several hours of our arrival…but it was still fabulous and injected me with a good bit of holiday spirit. On Sunday night, there were even Christmas carolers at our door! Due to the ear infection, we did not get to see Santa Claus at Harrod’s or Selfridge’s. We did, however, see Santa Claus in duty-free shopping at Heathrow airport and Leighton was so utterly terrified by him, I realized that waiting in line at Harrod’s or Selfridge’s would have been a complete waste of time.
There are several European designers that do design maternity business suits and I own several of these. I have a business suit designed my Italian maternity designer Nicol Caramel, a business suit designed by French maternity designer Formes, and a business suit designed by German maternity designer Paulina Maternity. They are all cut well, of superior quality and I would recommend to all of you that you purchase maternity suiting from any of these designers…as long as you have no intention of growing larger than a US size 8. What I realized is that these suits are designed for the woman whose pregnancy involves an expanding tummy and not much else. None of these suits lasted into my third trimester because I was just too large to fit into them come about 25 weeks. When I was pregnant with the twins, I acknowledged I was going to need larger sizes and I actively attempted to purchase a Nicol Caramel business suit in a larger size. But even the largest size I could find (an Italian size 46/US size 10) was so tight I never even made it out of the dressing room.
Unless you know for sure you will not be expanding beyond a size 8, do yourself and your work colleagues a favor and take the plunge for Isabella Oliver’s Crepe Business Suit. This suit is, without a doubt, the highest quality and best-fitting business suit I have ever purchased. And it is sized for the normal-sized woman.
Although Isabella Oliver is a British-based designer, her stylists seem to have tuned in to the reality that most of us do not look like a seven-months pregnant Gisele Bundchen (i.e. pregnant, yet still able to pull off leggings with a short T-shirt). IO’s sizing is accurate and IO’s pants and skirts are adjustable along the inside of the under-the-belly waistbands, allowing for wear from the start of your pregnancy to the finish. The Crepe Business Suit was just released last spring as part of IO’s 2009 Spring Collection and I purchased it for the last trimester of my most recent pregnancy. The tie on the front of the jacket ensures you will wear be able to wear this jacket right up until the very end (when buttons are no longer your friend). The suit only comes in one dark color, navy, but the jacket and the trousers together will cost you a cringeworthy USD $478 
And one more thing–GO YANKEES! There is nothing worse than being stranded in Jerusalem when the Yankees are playing in the World Series and we could all be in New York eating hotdogs at Yankee Stadium. Nevertheless, the boys showed off their support this past weekend at the Jerusalem Zoo…
It’s hard being postpartum in the summertime. I went bathing suit shopping late last week, which was truly horrifying, I am still not emotionally ready to blog about it. But I am currently giving thanks for long, cotton maxi dresses. Those last few stubborn pregnancy pounds are lingering, those varicose veins are not disappearing as quickly as I had hoped, and while I am still breastfeeding, none of my pre-pregnancy clothing fits past my neck anyway. While I was pregnant, I wrote about several maternity-friendly long cotton dresses I highly recommended 
It’s Splendid, so I don’t have to assure you this is an extraordinarily comfortable dress. And because it is Splendid, it also is not a bargain. At USD $210, this maternity dress is an investment. But I am living proof that you will get your money’s worth and wear it for months after you give birth (you’ll need a good tailor to straighten out the hem). I use it as a day dress, as a beach cover-up, and after a particularly grueling day with the boys, I have been know to sleep in it. But it’s also a very pretty dress, and I get compliments on the color all the time. Throw a cardigan over it and it will work for fall as well.
My god, it is so hot here in Jerusalem today. My car thermometer read 95 degrees at 930am this morning. It is too hot to take the baby outside, so I have all of the boys stripped down to their diapers and have pulled out the water table and the garden hose for them to play with. Luckily, the filthy garden hose somehow seems to provide hours of entertainment.
If you live somewhere almost as hot as this place, perhaps you are looking to add to your summer maternity wardrobe this week. Blossom Mother and Child, the ultimate in high-end maternity fashion, launched its 40% off Summer Sale this week with much of its Spring/Summer 2009 line included in the sale. Click 
The Silk Georgette Maternity Pleat Top is also part of the sale and is reduced to GBP 131 (USD $217) 
I try very hard not to be swayed by celebrity maternity fashion, so I tend to ignore what most of the starlets are wearing during their pregnancies. After all, those of us who are not Nicole Richie can’t fit into Balenciaga pants when we are with child, let alone afford them in the first place. But I recently came across this photo of “Gossip Girl” actress Kelly Rutherford in a beautiful Paulina Maternity summer dress and I felt compelled to share it with you. I LOVE “Gossip Girl.” I feel I am entitled to such guilty, mindless pleasures while I am stranded here in the Middle Eastern desert and I have been known to check iTunes about 25 times a day on Tuesdays waiting for the new episode to appear so I can download it and watch. It is going to be a very long summer without Serena, Blair, and Chuck.
And if you are very early on in your pregnancy, it can be cute as well. It also works if you are still trying to camouflage your pregnancy or if you’ve just had a baby and are trying to disguise your new muffintop. But note that it has no definition around the middle (no empire waist, no sash in the back) and if you are in that second-trimester stage where you just kind of look pudgy, this dress may not be your most flattering bet. The Never Ending Story Dress is available 
Made from 100% cotton, Olian’s Cargo Pants are extremely lightweight and perfect for spring/summer, especially if you aren’t so into showing off your pregnant legs but don’t want to suffer in the hot weather. The waistband is a midrise elastic band, which I’ve found isn’t always the best option if you are extremely pregnant, as it can slide down and drive you crazy. But I’d say that at 12 days postpartum, I now look about 5 or 6 months pregnant and the pants stay up, fit perfectly, and are so very comfortable. Needless to add, they are also a great postpartum option for these slightly uncomfortable weeks when even the thought of putting on a pair of stiff, denim jeans might make you cringe in pain. Olian offers the pants in navy 
I recently discovered Paulina Maternity, a German-based maternity line, which makes a great short-sleeved summer maternity blouse called the “My Girl” blouse. The front half of the blouse is ruched down the front placket and looks like a normal, cotton blouse. But the entire back of the blouse is made out of elastic cotton jersey so all of the stress placed on the shirt by your expanding belly is absorbed in the back of the shirt. 
Because the back of the shirt stretches so easily, the front of the shirt fits extremely well and I haven’t had to worry about losing a button, even at that very rotund point around my navel where a small button seems a very risky fashion choice.
But Mama-La-Mode asked Lotus London to adapt its gorgeous silk, beach kaftans for maternity and while I am usually very skeptical of “adapted” maternity clothing, I have to admit, it works. The kaftans have a belt and Lotus London has added two sets of belt loops that work either under your bump or above. The kaftans are roomy and even at my current size, the periwinkle “Anais Poncho” at left which I purchased is still long enough that I feel comfortable wearing it on the beach (I should tell you I ordered one size up from my pre-pregnancy size just to make sure). Out in public, I’ll need to wear it with pants, but if you aren’t that pregnant, it would certainly work as a summer dress (it actually comes with a slip underneath to make sure it’s not see-through should you wear it without a bathing suit). 
And priced at a steep GBP 259 (USD $373) 
If you don’t happen to live in a warm climate, aren’t going to be spending much of your pregnancy beachside, and don’t want to make quite such a large investment in your beach look, Mama-la-Mode does have several of Lotus London’s beach kaftans on sale, reduced 
