Styling the Bump with Grace Hanson, Founder of Events by Grace
37-weeks pregnant with her first baby (a boy!), Chicago-based wedding planner Grace Hanson, Founder of Events by Grace, has navigated the fine art of surviving on your feet with a serious bump. (Hint: it's all in the cute flats, swim breaks, and warm baths.) She's got one final wedding this month before the arrival of her May baby, but made time to share a few of her best tips for dressing a bump on the go first.
It's wedding day for one of my amazing brides! This cooperative oversized furry plaid coat has been so good to me—super wide sleeves are essential and feel so awesome when you hit that third trimester. It's the one coat I don't feel stuffed into when I've got on a chunky sweater or anything that's not super fitted.
Photo by Katie Kett
Most wedding planners own 100 black dresses, and oddly enough this cheapie stretch midi dress from Asos is the one I keep going back to. I swap back and forth between heels and flats on wedding days (lately, the flats have been getting a lot of air time thanks to a pregnancy-related pinched nerve) and these Cole Haan shoes have been my favorite for years—they feel like gym shoes and have enough polish to wear with a dress.
Non-maternity elastic shirt dresses have been good to me. I got this Rachel Roy shirt dress for a quick trip down south. Not pictured are my gold snakeskin Birkenstocks for those slightly swollen tootsies on the plane.
A sweet friend leant me some bump-friendly dresses since I tend to run through them fast for work—believe it or not this old number from Zara isn't even maternity! If it's stretchy, size up and see if you can make it work. (I've found a jacket can be key for hiding any fit awkwardness.)
Wedding-free weekends are sacred to me, so when I can lounge in the morning, I do it! (Lately, if I've got the energy, I hit the pool, or at least the bath, to relieve that pinched nerve after I've soaked up my couch time.) When I'm not in my husbands tees for bed I'm in some matching PJ sets from my mom. I'm running to the end of my time with this Banana Republic XO set (those buttons are working hard!) but sizing up in pajamas has worked for me.
