Maternity Style | Mint coat and butterfly bracelet

One of the best things about maternity clothes – from my point of view, at least – is that they tend to be pretty basic. So, for people like me, who love simple silhouettes and no-fuss dressing, pregnancy ends up being a pretty good excuse to just stick to things like jeans and sweaters for a few months, without having to think too much about you’re wearing.

One of the worst things about maternity clothes, meanwhile, is that… well, they tend to be pretty basic. Which can get a bit boring even for me, to be honest – and that’s saying something.

This, however, is when accessories really become indispensable. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a big accessories girl: I wear the same, very simple, jewellery almost every day (Wedding and engagement bands, watch, maybe a slim chain with a locket or something on it around my neck if I’m really pushing the boat out…), and I’m one of those people who has a drawer (OK, several drawers. Actually, they’re mostly in storage boxes, but whatever…) full of things like scarves and other accessories that I will totally forget to even open 9 times out 10. Whoops.

These days, though, the fact that my outfits have become so much simpler has forced me to try a little bit harder with my accessories. So, a few weeks ago, I pulled some of my favourite silk scarves out of the storage box they’d been hiding in, and then, last week I received this gorgeous butterfly tie from KUMA, which adds another little touch of interest to even the most basic “jeans-and-a-sweater” look – even more so considering that it can be worn two ways: either around your wrist, courtesy of the little leather strap that comes with it, or pinned to your clothes, as a regular brooch.

I wore this last week, on a quick trip to Edinburgh, when Terry and I stopped into Mimi’s Bakehouse in Leith for some afternoon tea. Now that my bump is getting bigger, and the weather’s getting colder (Although, having said that, it was actually freakishly warm on the day these were taken, so I could probably have done without the coat – and I’m just going to go ahead and add that to the, ‘Things I Never Thought I’d Say in October’ file), I’m finding maternity dressing a bit more challenging than it was during the summer, when I could just throw on a dress and be good to go. I still keep having that moment of total disconnect where I think I know what I look like… right up until the moment I start looking back at the photos we’ve taken that day, and I’m just like, “Er, is that REALLY me?”

But, of course, it really is – for now, anyway – so little details like a fun brooch, or a new lipstick, or whatever, are even more important as a way to cheer myself up, and keep having just a little bit of fun with fashion, even when I’m stuck with the absolute basics.

(Cakes help too, obviously…)

[This post is sponsored by KUMA]

WEARING:

Boden ‘Joanna’ coat and cashmere sweater (both from last winter)*

ASOS ‘Ridley’ petite maternity jeans

Cambridge Satchel Company Cloud bag*

Butterfly bracelet c/o KUMA