dinky heart

With your body changing by the day, and your favourite jeans a distant memory its time to embrace the baby bump. Here are my top tips on styling your bump for your photo session and every day life, whilst still feeling like you, included are my favourite maternity stores and brands. At 30 weeks in, I'm by no means an expert so if you have any maternity styling gems please share them in the comments below.

1. Dress like you!

During the first trimester this is pretty easy to do, your normal jeans with an extendable belly band, and baggy tops or tops in a larger size work just fine, but as you get about half way through your second trimester you'll find this gets harder, a lot harder. Maternity fashion can be some what dowdy and boring so I found the best solution was to buy a few key maternity essentials like jeans and leggings - H&M are by far my fave for maternity jeans by the way, but asos also stock a fairly good range and deliver for free if you order over a certain amount - and then just normal tops in larger sizes paired with a cardi or jacket. Long layered vest tops from the normal H&M range work really well. And the bonus of shopping in this way is that not only are you not forced to buy crappy unfashionable maternity wear but also you aren't left with lots of unusable clothes at the end of your pregnancy.

2. Get good, properly fitting underwear!

This is something I've never had to worry about before, but since I've been expecting I've gone up THREE bra sizes already! Getting good, well fitting underwear makes such a difference to how you feel in general and how your clothes look so its so important to get it right. I recently won a competition on instagram with Dubai Mother for 500AED to spend in Destination Maternity and I spent the whole lot on underwear. Their bras are beautiful and functional (can also be used for nursing once little one arrives) and have made such a difference to how I feel about myself so I'd highly recommend them :)

3. Embrace the bump!

Early on in pregnancy its all about hiding the bump, then you enter that awkward stage of looking somewhere between bloated and piling on the pounds, but as soon as you're past that - which for me unfortunately wasn't until about 26 weeks - you'll find that embracing your bump is far more flattering than trying to hide it. A nice maxi skirt, either maternity or a larger regular size, with a tight fitting vest top has been my saviour during this stage, its both comfy (which becomes more and more important as the weeks pass, trust me!) and flattering and leaves people in no doubt that you're expecting ;)

4. Accessorize

Make sure you wear accessories that scream out your personality. I have found that as my body changes and I start to think about how my life will change its more important than ever to keep a hold of my identity, lots of people comment that they don't even notice my bump, and I think thats because I've not changed my style too much.

4. Always leave plenty of time to get ready!

This is by far the most important point on my list, as I find what fitted me great last week looks ridiculous this week, I've discovered the importance of leaving myself plenty of time to get ready ;)

5. Get outfit ideas from pinterest!
Ok so I'm a bit of a pinterest addict BUT in my defence its a great resource for, well just about anything, maternity outfit ideas included. I have a board with outfit ideas pinned on it and when I'm going just about anywhere I have a quick look to get an idea of what I could wear. Take a look at my board here, and be sure to share yours with me please :)

5. Make sure you feel awesome.

This is especially important when dressing for your photo session. No matter what you wear on a day to day basis, make sure that your outfit for the session is something you love. You want to feel your absolute best in the photos and cherish the memory of carrying your baby in your tummy, so make sure you really think about what you're going to wear. Take a look at my top tips for dressing for your maternity session here and also my pinterest board for maternity photo session outfit inspiration.

If you have any great tips or hidden gems that I've missed leave a message in the comments please :) otherwise happy shopping ;) xox

Labels: Dinkyheart Photography, Maternity Photographer, Maternity Photographer Dubai, What to Wear

With so many stunning and stylish expectant mammas in front of my camera recently, I thought I'd share some swoon worthy maternity outfits to inspire your photo session and some tips on where and how to shop for your clothes for the session.

So there are a few things to bear in mind when you are shopping for clothes for your maternity session - number one - this isn't a time to be shy or modest, this session is meant to celebrate your changing shape, your beautiful curves and of course your bump so don't hide away, look for clothes that show off your bump. A maxi skirt with a tight vest that can be rolled up for example.

Number two - its not necessarily about finding clothes that will take you right through pregnancy and beyond - shopping for clothes in Dubai can be tough at times, and shopping for maternity wear is even worse - so don't stick to the lacking maternity stores but instead head to Mango, Zara or even H&M and buy an outfit in a slightly bigger size, that you can then either just wear for the session or have altered to fit your shape perfectly. All of my most recent maternity clients have done this and looked fabulous!

Number 3 - if you don't want to get your bump out for photos thats absolutely fine but remember we're still there to show it off in some way so wear a floaty top that will cling to the curves, or a caftan that will hang off of your bump and you can clinch in under the bump.

Number 4 - Accessorize! Whatever your thing is wear it - mine is always bangles and some kind of scarf, without them I just wouldn't be me, so whats very you? Hats, necklaces, flowy materials… whatever it is make a conscious effort to wear it and make the pictures your own!

Lastly remember to be yourself and dress to your own style and beat, and buy something that is the super extra fabulous version of you.

For my session (below) I got two skirts from splash for 50AED each in a much bigger size than I usually am (and no I'm not sharing what size haha) this meant I didn't have the muffin top that I have with my normal size maxi skirts :/ and I got two baggy short tops from forever21 for less than 100AED that I would never wear in every day life but looked fab for the shoot!