Maternity at MM: Comfortable, Professional Clothes for Each Trimester

December 24, 2016 | Filed in: Your Closet

Caroline Brown, MM’s senior manager of visual merchandising, is due with her first child in just a week (!). And as a woman with a great eye, she’s made her pregnancy look exceptionally polished, even at moments when she felt anything but. Here, she describes her go-to maternity at MM pieces through each trimester.

1st Trimester

I wasn’t showing at all until the end of my third month, so I didn’t have anything to hide besides the color of my skin, which was green. I was so nauseous that I didn’t want anything touching me. I only wore loose, machine-washable pieces; tight clothes made me feel worse, and I was getting sick quite often. The Sarah dress was great, because it’s roomy, and the Tory dress worked well too—it’s so comfortable and versatile. When I needed to dress up, I wore the Masha , because it has a tailored shape but isn’t too fitted.

Caroline, on her way to a personal styling session in the Masha dress during her first trimester.

I also experienced a lot of temperature fluctuations, especially because it was springtime, so the O’Keeffe sweater was the perfect layer to carry around. I would put it on over my pajamas and go to bed at like 7:30 p.m. I only wanted to wear the softest things possible.

2nd Trimester

By month four, I started to feel great, and I was also beginning to show. People knew I was pregnant at that point, so there was no need to hide, and I embraced it. I loved to wear stretchy, fitted pieces that showed off my bump, like the Aditi dress, the Annabel dress, or the Soho skirt with the Winfrey top. As a first-time mom, it was fun to catch my reflection and be like, “Oh, right.”

Six months pregnant, Caroline wears the Annabel dress with the Bell sweater.

I also loved my Foster pants, even though I couldn’t zip them up after the fourth month. I used a Belly Band with them, and then covered it up with a long top like the Morrison. 

Caroline wears the Aditi dress in deep forest.

3rd Trimester

Some people look great in tighter clothing during the third trimester, and more power to them, but I’ve been feeling like I look off-balance. I was hoping to avoid buying maternity clothes, especially since a lot of my MM pieces were working so well, but I finally broke down and bought a pair of maternity pants. I’ve worn them with Didion tops in alternating colors and the Morandi sweater non-stop. I’m definitely bringing the Morandi to the hospital with me, and the Ono cardigan too. Layers are essential at this point in my pregnancy. I have a lot more blood in my body, so when I’m hot, I’m really hot; still, it’s chilly in New York, so I’m constantly taking things off and then putting them back on again.

Caroline wears the Bryant duster with the Greenpoint skirt.

I don’t want to buy a whole new winter coat, so I’m planning to use the Bryant duster until I’m due—it’s very warm, but still nice and light. I’m especially drawn to soft things because that’s all I want to wear when the baby is born. I’m hoping to get the Angelou shawl for Christmas, because it’s a blanket for me, and a blanket for the baby.