From the very moment a woman learns that she's expecting up until the very last time a maternity garment is worn (no matter if that is the last day of her pregnancy or up until the kid graduates 1st grade), that woman has earned the right to dress the way she wants.
Pregnancy is not easy. It’s not to be taken lightly. It’s not a time to mess around with anything but tender loving care for both mother and child. This post is prefaced with these words because although fashion is wonderfully entertaining, it's not the most important thing.
Now, when things are going smoothly in a pregnancy, some comical relief is undoubtedly in taste. If this comical relief comes in the form of fashion, then please take a picture, because we all need a good spell of laughter!
Here are 14 women from celebs to everyday women who ended up on our short list of fashion fails. No matter what their individual situation, dressing their baby bumps has proven to be somewhat of a challenge.
Perhaps what we can each take away from these photos are the following:
1.) Pregnancy is challenging.
2.) Investing in a large mirror is a good idea. (Oh, and look in it, too).
Cheers to all the moms who got fashion right. More importantly, cheers to the moms who fell off the fashion bandwagon. We applaud not only the fashion fearlessness, but because sometimes a fashion faux pas is just what the doctor ordered.
14 Snooki's Attempt At Being A Hippy...Kind Of
Snooki from Jersey Shore was the first alumni to have a baby. She was always known for her fashion and mischief. She always tried to look her best and strut her stuff, and many viewers tuned in to see what she'd get up to week after week.
When she was with child, there were so many memes and jokes about what type of parent she'd be, but no one thought that her fashion sense would wind up being a joke too.
In this outfit it looks like she's going for Soho chic, but she missed the margin and wound up looking hippy dippy. The only part of this outfit that actually works for her is the top, but everything else is a disaster. Those shoes are just outrageous, and the pants clash with her bag and head band.
She should stick to ONE animal print and run with it, but instead she's wearing jaguar and cheetah against a mishmash of different lace patterns. It's a little too much!
13 Mila Kuniz Gave Up For A While
Mila Kuniz is one celeb that pretty much everyone wants to be friends with. She's got a great sense of humor, she seems totally down to earth, and she is one pretty lady! For the majority of her pregnancies, Kuniz dressed like any other mom with her maternity skinny jeans and comfortable tops, but like any woman near her due date, she decided to say funk that noise, I'm done.
This fashion failure wreaks of third trimester, tired of trying. And if anyone is familiar with these set of photos, they know that she pretty much let the paparazzi know she didn't give a what anymore too. And what woman who's been there and done that could blame her.
And there's no written rule that celebs ALWAYS have to dress their best. Who knows, maybe her Gucci couture dress was at the cleaners?
12 JLo And Her Fashion Week Faux Pas
Sure Fashion Week is the time to break out some radical fashion designs and take some daring chances, but we have to ask...JLo, what the heck were you thinking? JLo is a beauty that is well known for her fashion sense and her flawless body, so when we look at this frock we can't help but wonder why her friends let her leave the house looking like this.
Sure every fashion style comes back around every 20 years, but we're pretty sure bell bottoms aren't due back for another 5 years or so. Also the pattern makes us wonder if this outfit really is from the 60s, because the print is pretty psychedelic.
And if anyone remembers this Fashion Week number, there was also a slight wardrobe malfunction with the top when it blew up over her belly revealing her pregnancy before she was ready to share the news with the world.
11 Scarlett Jo Loves Vintage, But It's Not Loving Her Back
Scarlett Jo usually has fantastic fashion sense, she's been well known for her gorgeous figure and how she dresses it. Through the majority of her her pregnancy she wore a number of beautiful garments and continued to astound us with her beauty and grace.
Although, when she attended this wedding in England, her fashion sense may have taken a day off. She attempted to wear this purple vintage inspired number that looks like a throw back to the 1930s.
However this dress looks more like a sad set of drapes rather than elegant attire. Poor Scarlett must not have been feeling well that day. The purple drains all color from her complexion and is truly unflattering. Scarlett was looking forward to not being a sex symbol anymore, and this dress says anything but that!
10 The Princess And The Panties
I think we can all agree that Kate is the epitome of a classy woman, but even royalty have their mishaps. How difficult it must be not only to remain picture perfect with flawless etiquette, but doing it all while expecting...and in heels! Now that's a whole new level of fierce.
The outfit is truly adorable. The polka dots portray whimsical feminism while the black clutch and hat are pure ole fashion classiness. The black cardigan gives it that neatly finished mature look we've grown to expect from this young lady. If it weren't for the unfortunate breeze, this would have been perfectly lovely.
Indeed the wind is the culprit in this circumstance. The weather may have been channeling Marilyn Monroe's famous subway grate photo. Perhaps it was just being plain ornery. Either way, we're singing, "I see London, I see France..."
9 Too Tight To Be Right
The curves are new and often welcomed, but do we absolutely need to see every last one? We really don’t. Although the idea of showing off a gorgeous baby bump is undoubtedly your right as a mother, perhaps there is a more endearing way to do this.
Everything else about this beautiful celeb is perfect. The hair, the fingernail polish, the clutch, the makeup, the accessories, EVERYTHING. She went to a lot of effort to look beautiful and it shows.
It’s difficult sometimes to sway from our usual wardrobe to accommodate our changing physique, and she just hasn’t grasped this concept yet. In her defense, she dressed like a goddess later in her pregnancy - which was no “small” feat as her belly was not exactly petite.
This outfit just screams (through gasping breaths), "I-Can-Still-Button-My-Jeans."
8 Something Old And Definitely Something New
Nothing screams shotgun wedding quite like an expecting bride. We're not sure if this woman simply cut a hole in her wedding gown or if her seamstress just really stinks. Either way, this style is extreme. It's undeniably an accurate picture of the pregnant bride.
Maternity wedding dresses kind of give you the feeling of, “What came first - the chicken or the egg?” It’s all right and all wrong at the same time. You want to picture a loving, pure, innocent bride, but the big belly makes it nearly impossible (especially if the belly is exposed - gasp)!
If getting hitched while expecting can be avoided, it probably should be simply for the bride’s sake. Pregnancy is hard enough without the added stress of wedding planning. This is proof of the decisions that can be made under the influence of pregnancy/bride brain if you will.
Not that this is a fashion faux pas, but well, yeah this is a fashion faux pas...
7 It Ain't Right Reese
Our mothers and grandmothers didn’t have it easy when it came to dressing their own expectant bellies. Back then it was common practice to simply dress your belly in anything big enough to cover it and so that you don’t show any curves. Oh, how the tunic was probably despised!
Nowadays we typically see women struggling with the opposite effect of wearing things that are too tight. Some go the other direction and channel the dictated days of yore. Admittedly, this outfit looks incredibly comfortable.
Much like a worn out old KISS t-shirt stolen from a loved one’s drawer, this style just sort of comfortable hangs.
Still, why wear something so baggy and lacking any form whatsoever? It’s just much easier to be comfortable, but then the whole world judges you - the struggle is real. We feel you Reese.
6 Creating A BUZZ
This is not a honey bee costume. No really, it's not. It's a real outfit, but it's earned a spot on our list. It’s always adventurous to try new things and this theory is a good one. Too much of a good thing (or a yellow thing) is a bad thing, though.
Many women feel like pregnancy is the perfect time to try a new style, and they’re right. It's a good theory, but it has its limits.
Here's the thing, pregnancy causes a woman’s body to undergo drastic changes. Often, this leaves her feeling lost and without a personal image. This phenomenon makes pregnancy the perfect time to try new styles.
Be careful not to go too wild with this newly found freedom. If you do, you may attract an unwanted hive.
5 Everyone Say WHAAAT
Explaining this outfit (and others) to her child may be somewhat of a conundrum. Admittedly, explaining it to you is difficult enough. What is happening here is just unapologetic self expression, polka dot style. That's the best I can do.
Not a fan of this? Me neither.
It's not the polka dots or the sheer exactly that pegs it an epic maternity wear fail. It's simply that it's just too much. The margin of error is just too much, at least. The coverage is clearly not enough in itself, so perhaps her talent makes up for it.
This is the age of personal expression, though. In that case, we hear you loud and clear M.I.A!
4 Busting Out Of The Seams
Again, what’s with the festival of curves? This woman is drop-dead gorgeous, but the material is probably having a heyday on that dress - being stretched to the absolute limit while masterfully remaining intact.
Curves are amazing. They are to be celebrated. They are a sign of fertility in many places in the world, but just because you have mountains of them doesn’t mean you need to bust them out.
This dress looks like this may be it’s last great journey in life because after this it will have been stretched to the max. It looks too small for her, not sexy and form-fitting, just plain too small. That slit in the front is holding on for dear life.
Rather than a beautiful growing belly and breasts, all that is seen is a body attempting to break free from a dress acting as a type of restricted mold. Such a beautiful woman should be accompanied by equally beautiful attire.
3 Juxtaposition Jessica
Admittedly, some women have it incredibly hard during pregnancy. Their bodies don’t do them any favors when it comes to the challenge of growing a new person. The idea of a precious, petite baby bump is far from reality for these women.
Enter Jessica...
Every woman is different and every pregnancy is different. This makes the challenge of dressing your best according to each expectant mother that much harder.
It’s probably a good idea to put animal prints to rest during pregnancy months. Animal print is indeed chic, but has the potential to throw off a maternity outfit just a tad. It’s just one of those juxtapositions that make people tilt their heads.
Besides, when it comes to covering a growing belly in a classy manner large patterns are not recommended. Animal prints are most likely going to be enlarged somewhat in order to create the article of clothing. So, safe these prints for a hot date with the hubs after baby is born.
2 The Girls Are Loose
Breasts inevitably enlarge during pregnancy. What this can mean for the full chested woman is the challenge of managing a heaving bosom. Navigating around such wonders can indeed be a challenge. For some, this becomes too much of a challenge and the girls are turned loose to roam as they please.
No one fits the bill quite like a Kardashian when it comes to curves.
They jiggle left, they jiggle right (breasts not Kardashians). In reaching for an item on the supermarket shelf, one gets accidentally bumped and the jiggling starts all over. It’s a mess of jiggling to and fro. Some women's "girls" simply cannot be contained, it’s true.
The struggle is real, but we should remember that big breasts can simply be a natural part of pregnancy. They often have an agenda all on their own. Sports bra anyone?
1 Little To The Imagination
Like mentioned before, women who are expecting have undoubtedly earned the right to dress in whatever way they please. Unfortunately, this creed gets pushed to the limit one too many times (most often by celebrities).
In many people’s opinion, women who dress in see-through, sheer, or clothing that only cover absolutely vital parts exceed the margin of error when it comes to proper maternity clothing coverage. There is just not very much left to the imagination.
Pregnancy is such a mysterious time in a woman’s life. There are hundreds of thousands of tiny little developments taking place inside her womb of which an outsider knows not. It just seems fitting to honor these natural wonders with a little more than a few threads.
Coverage isn’t required during pregnancy, but sometimes it seems like the classy thing to do. To each her own style and to each her own set of fashion rules.