Well, the Met Gala was a serious letdown for PF. Not a single pregnant celebrity or model showed up–or at least an evidently pregnant one. Although, actress Diane Kruger could have been carrying triplets underneath this Prada concotion and we never would have known it.
Still, there were some beautiful dresses and much to my surprise, new mom January Jones’ yellow Versace gowns was one of my favorite. Her recent admission that she is busy eating her own placenta in custom smoothies prepared for her by her doula confirmed to me that she is rather odd, but the woman is gorgeous and she really looked stunning on Monday night.
On to more pressing and relevant concerns for all of us non-celeb, non-placenta-eating pregnant and postpartum women. I am pleased to announce that Slacks & Co., the UK-based maternity designer, has finally, finally opened its online boutique…and 1-2 day shipping to the US is a mere GBP 10. Slacks & Co. specializes in designing high-end trousers for pregnant women, with a focus on taking looks right off the runway and translating them into maternitywear. I simply love this line and there is nothing out there quite like it for pregnant women. I am wearing a pair of the line’s black London Cigarette Pant as I sit here writing this. Slacks & Co. has designed its maternity trousers to look nothing like maternitywear and at 3 months postpartum, I am particularly thankful for that. I wear a pair of these just about every day to work and comfort myself with the knowledge that I and only I know I am still in maternity clothing.
The primary and solitary complaint I have with Slacks & Co. is simply that they are so hard to find, with very few US retailers carrying the line and only a select few of the line’s vast array of trouser styles usually available. The new online boutique changes that, offering specialty pieces like the Dallas Faux Leather Tregging or the Buenos Aires Jodhpur. And yes, these trousers are specifically designed and tailored for the pregnant physique–none of the suspect tactic of adding an elastic belly band to regular fitting trousers and marketing them as maternity, one of Pea in the Pod’s most frustrating tactics.
So, happy shopping. Buying a pair of these trousers may truly revamp your maternity wardrobe…and give you the postpartum one you don’t even know you need yet.
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Not so with the red 
which is designed with a strong, thick elastic waistband perfect for clinging tightly to the underside of a large pregnancy bump or for giving you a comfortable waistband into which you may tuck your favorite black nursing top. And, it’s a beautifully made skirt. It is not lined, but the material is sufficiently opaque that it does not require any type of slip underneath. For those women who have been asking how they are possibly going to make it through the summer months in compression tights, this skirt is a perfect option. Slip a pair of footless compression tights underneath this floor-length choice, add a pair of adorable sandals, and no one will know you are suffering froim varicose veins and sweating profusely underneath your gorgeous, trendy skirt.
for USD $198 and is available in additional sizes at 
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.
When it becomes time for all of you to shop for nursingwear, I am happy to say that there is now a good selection of nursing T-shirts and nursing camisoles out there from which to choose. When I was first shopping for nursingwear just four years ago, there wasn’t near the selection there is now. Several nursingwear retailers have also introduced nursing dresses, allowing the postpartum fashionista to spruce herself a bit without worrying about nursing access.
I write about Isabella Oliver’s maternity line all of the time. If you own even one of IO’s pieces, you already know how crucial they are to the devoted fashionista’s maternity wardrobe. I keep in sporadic touch with the very nice women working at IO and they recently suggested that I “test-drive” one of the dresses from their non-maternity line, Isabella Oliver 365. I already own two jackets from the 365 line, but I hadn’t yet purchased any of their dresses. I don’t know about you, but my postpartum, “slummy mummy” physique has become very used to jeans, T-shirts, and sweaters/jackets. Very nice jeans, very nice T-shirts, and very nice sweaters/jackets, but still, it’s become kind of a uniform.
Anyway, we are flying back to NY next week and, believe it or not, I have a real business meeting! And my husband will laugh at me, but I am not exaggerating when I say I have nothing to wear. My pre-pregnancy office attire doesn’t fit and is woefully out of style. And, luckily, I can no longer wear my office-friendly maternity clothing (although I do really love some of my maternity work dresses). So I asked Lucy at IO to suggest a postpartum-friendly, office-friendly dress for me to try out. Who better than the women working at IO to recommend a dress for the Postpartum Fashionista? She recommended the jersey Roma dress, which is available in deep purple and black. I chose the black, figuring the grape color was a little much for a legal office and what could be more postpartum-friendly than black? And I really do like this dress. The best part about it is the draping across the front. Looking at the photo (ignore the perfectly shaped model), you can’t tell that the dress is actually two layers. The bottom layer is just a plain, black jersey slip. The top layer is the draped piece, so when you are wearing this dress, the draped fabric actually is not touching your body. I find that this allows for more ease in “camouflaging” those parts of my body that have been virtually destroyed by the births of my beloved children. It is quite easy to wear your Spanx underneath this dress without distorting the draping across the front. And the draping falls exactly in the right place for the postpartum woman–across the breasts and the stomach. This may not be an office-appropriate dress for everyone, but it is also a great dress for going from office to cocktail party. I don’t happen to have a cocktail party to go to after my business meeting, but I will be dressed as if I do.
The black Roma Dress is currently discounted 40% from USD $285 to USD $171 
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.
