Farewell and heeeeelllooooo!

This is my last official post on Stylish Mommy Goes to Work! I am transitioning over to my new blog, www.jennyhamiltonstyle.com. Please follow me there!

Meanwhile, here is my latest venture onto polyvore.com.

Test by jennyhamiltonstyle featuring Vanessa Bruno jackets

Post Pregnancy Clothing Strike!

I don't go on a clothing strike often, but I think my current situation demands it. My new mommy chest and middle are still swollen, throwing off my sizing, so tops, dresses, and even the new "curvy" CJ Cookie Johnson jeans that one of my clients is raving about don't fit... What does a stylish girl do but focus on accessories. My feet haven't changed, and jewelry always works, so it's time to take advantage of the sales and snag some deals. Then, I can change up my current hybrid of maternity and larger pre-pregnancy clothes until I am back to normal. Whatever that is going to be.

Isabella Oliver End of Season Sale

I love Isabella Oliver nursing tops! And now you can enjoy up to 50% off the end of season sale starting on the 26th December. This includes both Isabella Oliver Maternity and Isabella Oliver 365. Go for it!

Labor in style?

I spent hours packing for the hospital and organizing gear, and my husband practically had to hire a sherpa to get all of our bags into the birthing room. Part of my packing problem is I couldn't make up my mind what to wear in the hospital. So, to save you the time (and space), here are some recommendations for laboring in style.

First, consider active or technical wear for early labor. Choose tops and bottoms that are stretchy lycra, moisture wicking and soft fabrics. Alternatively, you might consider dedicated "birthwear", designed for your comfort and accommodates medical equipment. BINSI offers a skirt and tops that I strongly considered, but alas, they were out of stock when L-day closed in.

And there is the hospital gown, although now they come in cute prints. Check out Gownies at www.busymommi.com. Especially if you are going to have someone document your labor, I highly recommend it.

Also, be prepared that you may not care towards the end what you are wearing. So plan ahead and communicate it to your significant other so they can help you deliver - in style!

Invasion of the Peanut

I ran across a quote yesterday from Coco Chanel that I think sums up my life over the last few weeks: "There is no time for cut-and-dried monotony. There is time for work. And time for love. That leaves no other time."

Lucy Louise decided to make her entrance on November 4th, 2009 at 10:24 p.m. She was 6 lbs 15 oz, 18.25" long. I call this "invasion of the peanut" -- something so small has taken up a big space in our lives.

Makeup tip: All You Need is Color!

Late nights and early mornings call for one thing from your makeup routine – color! A flush on your cheeks hides a multitude of busy mommy-to-be sins. The fastest way to achieve this is to start by applying your normal base layer – whether a tinted moisturizer or simply a dust of skin even-ing powder. Then swipe a sheer, nice quality bronzer (like Guerlain’s Terracota) in the backwards shape of a “3” from your temple down and just under your cheek bones and then down to your jawline. This creates the illusion of definition and adds a dash of polish. Then dust a splash of a peachy pink blush on the apples of your cheeks. A great color is Benefit Dandelion. Add some tinted gloss on your pucker, and you look like you just stepped off a cruise ship, not the late-pregnancy insomnia train.

Style tip: Focus your wardrobe palette!

Style tip: Focus your wardrobe palette!

Closet dysfunction 101 is a lack of focus, and having too many colors in your closet is one way to make it hard on yourself to get dressed in the morning. The turquoise blouse that looked to pretty on the rack doesn’t match anything else in your wardrobe. This leads us to go with the five or six standby looks that are already matched and complain we don’t have anything to wear. I assure you, that is not the case. I have never seen an empty closet.

The first thing you can do to is simply pick one face brightening color that draws you in (and hopefully looks great with your coloring!) Bonus points if it is a hot color that season, so you will be able to find it in abundance when you shop, like a deep plum.

Next pick two neutrals that complement your new “signature” color, like black and gray. Now, mix it up! For work, choose a gray cardigan, purple blouse, and white pencil skirt. For fun, black Capri pants and a purple wrap sweater with three quarter length sleeves.

How do keep this look fresh? Accessorize! And once you have a good “base,” mix in other colors, like magenta, that will work with both your signature color and your neutrals.

The irony is that by limiting your choices, you will have more freedom to experiment, not to mention time. Welcome to focused, sstress-free dressing!

20% Off Everything At Belly Dance

Belly Dance Maternity is having a Halloween sale - 20% of everything for two days! If you've been eyeing those designer jeans, go for it.

http://www.bellydancematernity.com/

Spanx Me

Maternity Spanx. Get them. On ebay. At Nordstrom.com. At your local maternity boutique.

As I get bigger, they actually help support the belly. I hesitated because of the price and just tried one pair. I want to wear them everyday, and now that it is cooling down, I think I will.

Many small humiliations… Travel and Pregnancy

I thought to myself today, as I was checking in for my flight, that I might as well have called my blog "Travel Mama".  I travel for work about thirty times a year, and like most people on the road, it truly is a love-hate relationship.  

Normally, I do enjoy it.  Even when, after several nights of late-pregnancy insomnia, I got up at 3:30 Eastern time this morning (2:30 my regular time) to make a 5:30 a.m. flight home, I was in a good mood.  It wasn't until the “Never Lost” GPS system in my rental car told me to U-turn three times in a row on my way to the airport that it started to slide a bit.  And after I was charged TWENTY dollars to check one bag at the airport and I discovered I lost my Blackberry (my life) did the early morning seem grim.  Then, two football fields away from the check-in counter, a security agent asked me to pick up my carry-on and fit it into the metal cage to see if she had to send me back to the counter to spend another $20 and check that bag as well.  Finally, when I had to wait to watch an entire 747 full of people board my plane while my sore feet (read swollen ankles) throbbed, but I patiently stood as close to the gate agent as possible with my fingers crossed because I was promised an upgrade me to first class as a reward for waiting forty minutes for a seat assignment, a gentlemen who had not lost his Blackberry strolled up as the very last passenger to board with a real first class ticket.   Boo-hoo, so my morning was tough. 

Let me interject that, on the bright side, when you are almost eight months pregnant and traveling through an airport, people fall over themselves to help you.  Complete strangers who aren't even looking your direction will race across the aisle to lift up your bag and place it in the overhead compartment.  Or pick up a water bottle you drop and ask what else they can do to help.  Or act tickled pink when they ring up your third Cinnabon and ask if it is a boy or girl!??  “Oh, CONGRATUATIONS!”  they exclaim (which always makes me to wonder if they would have acted disappointed if I had said that it was a boy instead).  Indeed, if everyone treated each other like they were in their third trimester in an airport, the world would be a wonderful place. 

When I arrived in Atlanta, it did all turn around, and the love of travel flooded my system like sweet sugar grits hitting your blood stream and making your little baby in your belly kick.  Yes, I had found Paschal’s, a Southern Tradition, at the food court and actually had time to sit down and eat a real breakfast with spicy sausage patties and the creamy scrambled eggs that only a Southern mama can make.  And the biscuit with honey put me over the top.  I LOVE my job!  I love travel!  (Notice not all caps on the second one.) 

So what does this rant have to do with pregnancy and style?  Everything.  Traveling has everything to do with pregnancy style. 

First, you may not feel that great, but it doesn’t give you a license to be rude to strangers – even to the nastiest security agent or to loudest seat companion.  In that way, despite what many people believe, style is much more than "fashion" (google the famous Coco Chanel quote).  As any true Southern lady knows (like my mama, Deborah Louise, or my grandma, Dorothy Louise), style is about doing things with a certain grace and propriety.  And treating people well, especially under trying circumstances, reveals true style. 

 Second, pregnancy may be a long journey, but you can’t pack your whole wardrobe for it.  It is only 40 weeks. You have to be choosy and practical, but you never know who you are going to run into, so you want to look your best.  Especially after eating sausage, eggs, and a bowl of sugar grits. 

Third, the real challenge is to prepare for the physical demands of travel (along with the humiliation of going through yet another security system that is slightly different than every other security line at every other airport).  This is, of course, on top of looking your best under the circumstances.  (Sorry, I still can't wear a track suit through an airport.  The Southern Belle upbringing I suppose).  

So what are the tips?  It is actually pretty simple.  What I do is study the airline attendants.  Ever notice that they almost always cruise through the airports with a cool attitude and a sharp look?  And how do they do it?  Here is what I have noticed:

• They wear clean, dark colored uniforms that don’t need pressing
• They style their hair to last all day (e.g. tie it in a bun or sport a bob)
• They pay attention to their shoes – and you never see them wear sneakers
• Most importantly, they have ninja packing skills

As a result, I have several travel "uniforms" that look great without pressing in a comfortable fabric.  I demand a haircut that looks clean and styled (even when I am faking). I sneak comfort into my stylish shoes, which I term my "airport shoes".  This could be a pair of leather Tory Burch flats or a pair of Easy Spirit sandals that look like trendy wedges.  

And I copy their packing and carrying methods.  Ever notice that flight crews almost always have one carry-on (in black) and a smaller piece of luggage that they tether to the big carry-on so that it hangs off of the front?  Try it.  It is infinitely lighter than carrying the second bag on your shoulder or dropping it on top of the carry-on and wheeling all of that weight around on your arm.    

And if you travel regularly, invest in the best luggage you can afford, like Tumi.  It is much easier to be kind and graceful (hence stylish) when you have a lightweight, sturdy piece of luggage, especially when you are stuffing it with all of your might into a small metal display to show the security agent that she doesn’t need to send all eight-months-pregnant-of-you half a mile back to the check-in counter to pay $40 on top of your $400 flight just to get your dirty knickers and running shoes home.  

Jenny

P.S.  I hope everyone enjoyed watching the maternity style segment (thanks, Paula!) on KWQC today.  If you missed it, check her website for a link to the video in the next couple of days.  But don’t wait – it will be taken down by middle of next week! 

Paula Sands Live Tomorrow!

Don't forget to set your Tivo to tape Paula Sands Live tomorrow. Dorothy Louise, Inc. will be on to discuss maternity fashion tips at 4:30 on KWQC. Enjoy!

P.S. I check out Nicole Ritchie's maternity line at A Pea In The Pod, and it was interesting but had some "fit" issues, not to mention a high price tag. Stay tuned for some lines I do think are worth the splurge...

Hip Designer Maternity Clothes at Belly Dance Maternity Clothing

Hip Designer Maternity Clothes at Belly Dance Maternity Clothing


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Size Up Rule

When I was early in my pregnancy, about three or four months along, I ventured out to a cute maternity boutique.  I was just starting to show and reveling in my license to buy some new clothes.  I tried on the perfect pair of stretch skinny jeans by Maternal America when the shop gal shocked me out of my dreamy, pregnancy-is-wonderful state when she took one look and advised me to go one size up.  

With a sarcastic tone, I asked, "What, is my rear going to get large?"  "Yes," she said.  "Oh," I said.  After a pregnant pause, I stammered, "I assumed most of my weight would go to my belly - i.e. the baby, you know the growing baby in my belly??"  But her unsolicited and unwelcome advice was sinking in.  I may not plan on acquiring extra junk in my trunk, but what if I did??  I mean, wouldn't the shop gal, who sees this every day, know more about that than me?

The fact is that you don't know how your body will respond to your first pregnancy - or even your second or third - because each seems to be a crap shoot.  So, how exactly do you get nine months of wear out of your maternity wardrobe, despite a major shift in body shape and a marginal ability to predict how your body will respond?  It helps if you keep two things in mind.

First, I think you can expect to gain weight in the areas you typically would gain, sans pregnancy.  If you gain in your belly and thighs, that is what you can expect to find when you move through the weeks leading up to delivery.  Second, it is relatively safe to buy at least one size up from your ordinary size, as long as the piece still flatters while giving you some visible wiggle room for the later months.  So, if you are normally a size small, then go with a medium as long as it isn't a significant jump.  

Keep in mind that I am a lawyer by day, so I can't resist adding some asterisks.  Here they are.  Many maternity brands tell you that you that their sizing accommodates growth and you should order your regular size.  Do not listen to them.  Period.  

The other thing to consider is that the one size up rule applies if it appears you are going to gain the recommended 25-35 pounds.  Obviously, if you are on track for more, then you should jump more than one dress size.  

And spare me the complaints about the shock of the size number itself.  As a stylist, I am a stickler for the perfect fit (notice I didn't say number).  A number is just a number, and that is a reality we face in the non-maternity world.  High fashion designers like Missoni at Neiman Marcus are going to run smaller than Mossimo at Target.  It is more important that you don't end up with size trash bags full of clothes.  

Jenny

And now for the most brutal thing about pregnancy...

Not being able to wear my high heels. I have been chugging water, cutting back on salty food, even wearing my husband’s compression socks and elevating feet at night to keep my them at the perfect size 7, extra wide, that they were before week 31 of my pregnancy.

One thing everyone asks (and I mean everyone) on almost a daily basis is “How are you feeling”? And my answer has been, “Great! I am so lucky, I haven’t had hardly any issues.”

Until last week. I was in Von Maur, on my way to the infant section, when I walked passed beautiful leopard print strappy stilettos, and turned right back around. I took a seat and salivated while waiting for the salesman to show up with the glorious box of my soon to be new shoes. When he arrived with several sizes to try (to accommodate my mid-afternoon feet puffing), I was full of glee. I wasn't worried about not fitting into the half size bigger. But I started feeling panicky when access was denied to the size 8 and* almost* near tears when the size and a half would, indeed, slip on, but the shoes were laughably ski-like.

I know it’s petty to feel this way. And, I surmise that this is nature’s way of preparing me that post-delivery, it’s not all about me and my shoe collection. (Although one of my primary fears about pregnancy has always been that my shoes would not fit afterwards.) But for all of you shoe lovers out there, I did have to take a moment of silence to acknowledge the loss so I can move on… and focus on the baby room. That is, after I found a super-cute comfy pair of size 9 Ugg booties to salve the small wound in my heart.

P.S. I did actually find a cute pair of shoes that will accommodate my foot swelling and save me from wearing flip flops to the office. Check out this pair of pointy-toe nude Jessica Simpson kitten heels and stay tuned for more on comfort and maternity style!

Don't Over (or Under) Buy - Part I

To avoid spending your next 18 paychecks on a temporary clothing crisis, keep your focus on building a capsule wardrobe. For the working mommy to be, here is all you need:

2-3 pants

1-2 jeans

1 black skirt

2-3 tops for work or going out

1 black jacket

2 cardigans - one casual and one that also acts as a jacket for work - then you might skip the black jacket above

1 weekend pant

1 pair of leggings

1-2 Ts that will expand with you

1 dress that you can wear under a jacket to work and by itself for a night out

1 coat - tan or black, weight depends on where you live and what season you will run into

1 bra with room to grow!

1-2 Bella Bands

You don't need a lot, but you need pieces that are (1) comfy, and (2) versatile. I estimate you can get away with buying 18-20 pieces at the most if you get the right ones in the right sizes, and you might get by with less depending on how big you get. Stay tuned - more on this to follow.