fashion, style and more; bump & beyond blog — beauty

Jeans matter, therefore, maternity jeans matter, dare we say, twice as much?

We are obsessed with fashion and making women feel fabulous, and one cannot possibly do that today without being obsessed with denim. Emily, our buyer, is obsessed with making sure that we have a tons of comfortable bottoms to choose from.

Finding a few good, solid pairs of jeans makes a huge difference to the way you walk into a room.  Just our opinion, but since countless women have walked out of the shop in their new jeans, 3" taller than when they walked in, that opinion is based on experience. Okay.  Maybe not 3" taller, but definitely taller. And happier.

Where to begin?  Start with a good basic. This is our single most popular primary pair, which doesn't mean that it's everyone's first, it's just insanely soft, skinny and comfy, and a good, basic everyday wash. 

Okay, we lied, there are two popular pairs. Most moms do the black shadow as well, because, well, when they put one pair on, and make some comment along the lines of "OMG! These are amazing." they realize that one pair is not enough, and grabbing the same amazement in black is just their next move. 

So, if you are one of those people who will only rock a basic skinny, then grab a couple of them.  You will not regret it. You will wear them as many times in the course of just one pregnancy as you wear one pair for years not pregnant.

And then there's the trip back down, which these are all perfect for.  Grab a belt and you're good to go for the year after delivery- which is what a mom of 3 advised a friend to plan on.  The friend was much relieved.  She actually came in to buy a new pair of our jeans with her 3 month old, and she is hardy the first one to do that. 

An IMPORTANT note on FIT: Get jeans that fit the way you like your jeans to fit before you were pregnant.  REMEMBER-denim relaxes out, you want jeans that make your butt look good, not saggy!  This does not mean that you should buy jeans that feel painted on, or that don't feel comfortable.  It just means that you should not buy the next size up because you're pregnant-that's what those stretchy side panels are for!

Talk to the person fitting you, ask them for their advise, different jeans do relax out differently, and the person helping you should have that information.  Then, listen to your mom gut, and get the ones that feel best to you.  This is a good lesson that will serve you well in parenting-collect all the info, know what the experts say and then listen to your gut.  There is not a right or wrong, just doing the best that you can with a changing situation-in this case, your body. If your jeans get too tight, save them for the trip back down.  Don't beat yourself up or stress out. 

Feeling too tall?  Tuck them into a pair of boots or booties, or, really, ankle length is never bad, and particularly when pregnant, if you still have your ankles?  Celebrate them! Show them off!  Got cankles? Hello booties.

Feeling short?  Please do not buy clothes, denim or otherwise, based on length.  But clothes that fit, and then meet your local dry cleaner-they can hem with ease if you want a hem. 

Or, no matter what your height, emulate Gwen Stefani- cuff 'em!

Jeans matter.  Take care of mama and spend the time and money that you can manage getting jeans that rock the bum and the bump.  You're worth it.  

Yesterday, again, we had loads of new moms in.  They all looked amazing. A few were more than a little shocked and distressed by what their post-partum bod looked like.  This post is dedicated to them.   With an aside gratitude to Kendra Wilkinson, who last year proved herself to be a caring, honest mom, and we are forever grateful. (See below for more on that.) 

Housing a baby can be rough on some bodies, and not at all on others.  The aftermath of growing an extra square foot of skin in 40 weeks can have a lasting effect on a body. Every body is different. no matter how tall or short, or full hipped or narrow hipped or..whatever your body type, your body, seemingly from forehead to toes, will change during pregnancy.  How or where? No guarantees besides this- your belly will get bigger.  Your upper arms, knees, hips, boobs?  Probably at least a couple of those too.

Your post-pregnancy will be no more familiar to you than your pregnant body was! It has done an amazing thing though-be nice to it. 

After delivery choose clothes that make you feel good! Listen to this mother of 3, Taryn Brumfitt.  She knows her stuff. Love this mama!

And-dress so you can feel like you-smart and sexy, just maybe not in a bikini?

The recipe for happiness for a few of yesterday's new moms in the shop? Belly Bandit's This has been a go to winning piece for years.  It sucks it all in, reminds you to engage your core  and yes, all wore their new BFF out of the shop, standing up a little taller and feeling a little brighter. No one ever said that parenting was going to be a breeze, did they?

The truth is that when one quickly adds 50 pounds, depending upon genes and luck, our bodies bounce back differently.  Lots of things help.  Letting go helps most.  Valuing yourself and teaching your children by modeling your values.  Spoiled Mama Tummy Butter can't be a bad thing, use it twice daily.  The BFF helps.  Exercise helps. None of it is a guarantee. 

Babies grow quickly at the end.  Bigger babies are healthy.  They can wreak havoc on our bodies. But look how they change our hearts.

All of which brings us to this:  Clothes matter.  We can choose what clothes to wear.  Our bodies?  Not so much.  Style yourself to feel your best.  Some new mamas skip the BFF and the Mother Tucker and still feel great once they get their new Body by Babe into styles that make them feel good.  No right or wrong.

next day:  OMG, I wrote this a couple of days ago, and didn't post, and then Kendra Wilkinson posted this with "Look what my 2 babies did... They made me happy. #happymothersday" Love her too!!!

Best Mother Award for sure! Perfection doesn't exist. Or, it does, when we realize that Imperfect is Perfect. Take care of you, be honest and unafraid, and it's all good Mama.

Be a star! Go Commando!

The Celeb Must-Have, on and off the red carpet, bump & beyond.

I still do it sometimes- when someone is trying on a dress and says something about their vpl, I say "Go Commando." and they look at me like I have lost   my   mind.  "Pregnant?  Commando?" they clearly think!

And I laugh and grab one of our favorite pink boxes of Commando's amazing, invisible panties.  "No! This kind of Commando!" I say.

All the celebs swear by them and stock up-they're underwear after all, and celebs,just like us, are not going to go commando while pregnant! We're all about making a mom's life easier and more stylish, and being able to just get dressed without worrying about visible panty lines. Commando makes life so much better! 

"If You're Thinking about Your Underwear, You're Wearing the Wrong Underwear!"  said the NYT recently. Uh huh. Every day.  Do it.  Go Commando!

If we had our druthers here-and endless amounts of time-we would open a shoe store next door.  Today we were discussing our current obsessions du jour, and our picks for bump, before and beyond.

We are sort of thinking that the unthinkable is no longer such, and that there may be a pair of Birkenstocks in some of our futures.  They do come in gold now, so....yeah, there's that, plus insane comfort.

Feeling less formal? Add socks, yes,socks!  Thanks to The MomEdit for showing us that this look actually works! Love the cute socks!

WhoWhatWear announced last week that Kitten Heels are NOT ugly! 

And that is a)true, and b)great news for pregnant women.

In that way that we love style, and variety, we love both of these looks.  And, just like bras, shoes matter. Both of these are great options, bump and beyond, for the babe in you.

I first started thinking about the safety of make-up after hearing Stuff You Should Know.  I never thought about make-up, aside from the fact that I rarely leave the house without some of it!

Um.  Yeah...

I pay attention to most things that get into my bloodstream. I think most, if not all, of our clients do too.

I paid double that attention when I was pregnant; drinking my double the milk milkshakes, staying away from... oh, you know the list, and only using approved creams and lotions.  Never gave a second thought to make-up.

Turns out, I'm not the only one not paying attention.  After the podcast I read an article in the New York Times titled Is your Lipstick Bad for You?

This all got me thinking-I love my lipstick, and my eyeliner and, all of it!  But I don't want it to hurt me! And, I'm a mom-I'm busy, make this easy for me to fix please!

So, in that "We love our customers" way, we don't mean to go all NorCal earthy crunchy on you, but, this felt serious.  So, when we heard about BeautyCounter we were intrigued.

Because, we like make-up!  Some wear a little, some more. Just like cute clothes, it makes us feel good.

We look forward to finding out more. Join us!

Saturday, September 24th 12-4 in our Palo Alto store

Saturday, October 8, 12-4 in San Francisco store

p.s. They're not giving us anything, we're not giving them anything, this really is just "for the babe in you" because we care.