This is my first Hide Your Stomach fashion review. I’m reviewing clothes on StillLookPregnant.com, not because I’m a fashion guru, but because I want to discover the best of the best clothes that fit my hard to fit body type.
And which body type is that? It’s the Still Looks Pregnant body type (I welcome suggestions for a new name for this body type).
I’ve been watching Stacy London and Clinton Kelly on What Not to Wear recently and they suggest the following guidelines for hiding your tummy…
How to Hide Your Stomach
Words of Advice From Stacy London and Clinton Kelly…
- Wear a dress with a banded waistline and a v-neck.
- The band should sit higher than your natural waistline to highlight the smallest part of you and to take away emphasis from the tummy.
- Wear a great bra to increase the separation between your bust and your stomach.
- The v-neck should be deep to draw attention to your face. It will also give you a longer neck line and you will look longer and leaner.
- The bottom half of the dress should have an A-line shape that is narrower at the top and flares gently wider toward the bottom.
Hiding My Stomach
Buying my First Dress in Six Years…
Yes, my oldest child is six and it has been six years since I’ve bought a dress.
New observations of my everyday clothes – Yoga pants and a t-shirt get a ten in comfort, but receive a zero in hiding my pregnant looking belly. My belly is totally sticking out and waiting for someone to rub it. On the plus side, however, I noticed that with gravity pulling the weight of my empty baby house out and down in the front, it draws attention to a nice curve in my back (in other words, my back does not look fat).
The Dress
This cap sleeve belted jersey dress from Donna Ricco is extremely comfortable (if you haven’t figured out, I’m all about comfort) and I think it meets two out of the three basic rules for hiding my stomach.
YES! It has a belted waistline higher than my natural waistline.
YES! It has a deep v-neck.
NO! The bottom half of the dress is NOT an A-line shape (it is not narrower at the top and it does not flare gently wider towards the bottom).
Overall, the style of the waistline and the v-neck do take away emphasis from the tummy. I’d even go one step further and say I don’t look pregnant in this dress. From the front, I love how I look in dress (fun and curvy). From the side, I don’t think this is the perfect dress for me, but again, I don’t think I look pregnant. Round, maybe, but not pregnant.
Dress – Cap Sleeve Surplice Belted Short Dress
Designer – Donna Ricco
Style – #8831116M
Color – Azalea/Black
Store – Loehmann’s
Price – $39.99 (Originally $128.00)
Shoes – Brettany
Designer – Vaneli
Color – Black
Store – Zappos
Price – $86.27 (Originally $95.95)
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Stacey,
I love that dress, looks great on you. You dont look pregnant!
I would love to buy a dress as I havn’t gone through this adventure for 4 years. Now I know what to look for.
Best:
Judit
P.S. website is still a work in progress
Today I was asked by not one, but TWO clients if I’m pregnant. And here I thought the dress I’m wearing made my tummy look a little flatter (at least as much as anything does). The worst was once when a woman refused to accept no as an answer, and I almost yelled at her “look, I know I’m not pregnant because I’m on the rag.” Unfortunately that’s probably not the most professional thing to scream in the hallway of one’s office.
What do you do if you ARE pregnant, just not far enough along to show? I’m a terrible liar, but I’m not going to want to be sharing that with just anybody right away. I just know that when the time comes I’ll bloat up instantly and get those questions for the full 9 months.
Thank you for posting your dress review. I’m looking for a dress to wear to my 20th high school reunion and really want to minimize my stomach. I’m 5′ 4″ and 123 pounds, but have the pregnant belly pooch. I hate getting all the questions and don’t want to have to endure it at my reunion! But seriously, thank you. It makes choosing a dress so much easier since the standard advice of “wear an empire waist dress” is a disaster.
Wish you had a side view of the dress for us to see. Keep the reviews coming – this is a huge huge issue for us women with the pregnant belly that is not actually pregnant. I am ashamed to wear maternity clothes still.
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