While it’s exciting to have a bun in the oven, you might not be ready to share it with the world just yet. You can’t keep it hidden for the entirety of your pregnancy, but picking out the right clothes can buy you a few months to figure out how you’ll be announcing the awesome news!
So, what’s the best clothing to hide pregnancy? Darker color palettes make it much easier to hide your bump from most angles. You could also make use of loud patterns or prints to draw people’s attention away from your bump. Layered clothing is your friend here – these break up your body’s silhouette while also letting you maintain an abundance of potential distractions to keep prying eyes occupied.
We’d recommend getting your new clothes a couple of sizes up – that way, you’ll have something comfy to wear after your pregnancy!
The right clothes can do a lot to hide your pregnancy, but there’s nothing in the rules that says that you can’t look amazing while you do that! Here’s how you can conceal your bump in style!
Best Clothing to Hide Pregnancy
Stick to Darker Color Palettes
Darker colors are naturally slimming, providing that crucial “visual shrink” effect that can flip some switches in people’s brains – turning that suspicious bump into a trick of the light!
This method is tried, true, and tested, so you’re not risking a thing here.
Lighter colors on the other hand would highlight shadows, so if you’ve got a bit of overhang or bulk to your tummy it’ll only end up even more obvious to the people around you.
That said, do make sure your clothes are fitted properly. Optical illusions can only go so far if your top is clearly straining against your body!
Layer It Up!
Winter
The nice thing about winter is that everyone is expected to bundle up for it – no one will raise an eyebrow at your puffy winter coat! For modestly cold months, a jacket or blazer might be more your speed, but the general principle still stands.
These overcoats can camouflage your tummy profile by accentuating your other features (i.e. think football padding adding shoulder bulk) or being so baggy your body’s shape can’t be made out!
Feel free to keep those overcoats open for comfort – in some cases, zipping it up might actually make you more obvious. Do remember to wear a darker undershirt here, though.
Summer
You can’t exactly go nuts bundling up in the summer months. You might have a bit of leeway through cardigans, turtlenecks, or other thin sweaters, but the bulk of your “layers” here will come from the accessories you choose.
Watches, earrings, belts, and necklaces make for common ensemble mainstays. You want things nice, light, and eye-catching – exactly what you need to draw attention away from your tummy!
We’d personally recommend using a scarf too, as you can get it long enough to trail down and discretely cover your bump. A handbag would also be awesome here, as it would not only complement your outfit but also let you carry everything you need for the pregnancy!
A nice watch and a couple of bracelets work well no matter the weather. So long as you don’t overdo it, a few trinkets can help ensure that people only look at the spots you want them to see.
Something to Remember
During pregnancy, it isn’t just a woman’s belly that ends up swelling. Their bust size can also go up a couple of sizes too.
We’d recommend avoiding fits that can accentuate either your tummy or your chest. A pretty necklace or scarf would do wonders at drawing attention away from your bust. While it won’t be the dead giveaway your swollen tummy would be, if you’re trying to hide your own pregnancy you may as well pull out all the stops and do it properly!
Buy New Clothes a Size Up
Maternity clothes are amazingly comfy, but they’re designed to highlight your bump – not hide it! You’ll outgrow most of your old wardrobe in a few months, so where does that leave you now?
You could pick up some more “suitable” clothing for pregnant women, like maxi dresses or overalls. Some mothers might be able to pull this off discretely, but chances are you’d be overhauling your wardrobe in one fell swoop – some people are bound to notice!
Most of your old ensemble will still work for you, so why ruin a good thing? Stick with your old fashion choices, but remember to get them a size or two bigger than you used to!
Pregnancy won’t leave your body the way it started, and you’ll be glad to have something that’s both familiar and comfy to wear once your little one is finally bundled up in your arms.
Loud, Colorful Patterns are your Friend
Camouflage isn’t there to make things invisible – it’s to make certain things way tougher to notice. If someone walked up to you in a cape and clown shoes, you’d probably be hard-pressed to remember if their tummy seemed a bit rounder than it should!
If you want good social camouflage while still looking amazing, some louder clothing patterns might be right up your alley – patterns like floral, Aztec, pinstriped, etc.
These designs are wonderful at hiding baby bumps and leave you looking fashionable to boot!
It’s hard to fully define these types of designs, but you basically want something that makes your outfit stand out in a unique way. It shouldn’t be so loud that YOU end up standing out too. Aim to get people talking about your outfit – not staring at it in abject disbelief! It’s supposed to be camouflage for a reason here!
Balance is Best!
Baggy clothing might help hide your pregnancy, but you can’t leave your entire outfit this way. Just because you’re hiding your baby bump doesn’t give you free rein to look lousy here.
Make sure that your tops and bottoms complement one another. If you’ve got a relatively body-hugging top, match it with some loose jeans or skirts. The opposite applies too – if you’ve got a maternity top on, pair it with something nice and slimming.
If you wear something baggy for both, you’d end up looking a lot bulkier than you intended. You might be able to hide your tummy, but you’ll probably look like someone obviously trying to hide their pregnancy!
If you’re wearing something too form-fitting, you’ll still manage to give yourself away – a lot earlier than you intended to! You’ll need to figure out the right balance here.
No matter how you plan on matching things, always make sure that your stomach is covered properly – either with long, comfy tops or high-waist bottoms. Don’t let it stand out!
Outfits to Hide Pregnancy
Square/Peplum Tops
Boxy fit tops are nice and comfy options to keep your pregnancy discrete. The broad shape makes your own figure hard to make out, and the vertical creases are set at just the right spot to perfectly “smooth over” your baby bump’s profile for the first few months of pregnancy.
As a bonus, you can even get away with some lighter-colored peplum tops without making your surprise too obvious!
Overalls
As far as natural camouflage goes, overalls can’t be beaten! It covers just the right spot on your body with dark denim, making your tummy bump extremely hard to spot at a glance.
If ever someone does notice, it’ll be because of your side profile – and by that point, your pregnancy should have been fairly obvious for a good long while.
Do be mindful though: if you’ve never worn overalls before, the sudden change could raise a lot of eyebrows from the people around you!
Maxi Dresses
Mothers tend to outgrow most of their outfits over the course of their pregnancy. Some outfits get too tight with time, leading them to early retirement in your closet. Others end up too short as the mother’s belly gets bigger, which can render some dresses ill-fitting or even indecent.
Maxi dresses, when properly fitted, don’t experience either. They’ve got comfy, loose fits and enough length to accommodate most of what pregnancy can put a woman through. It’s pretty rare to outgrow a Maxi dress in nine months’ time, so feel free to splurge on a couple for yourself!
Sweatpants
Sweatpants are a tried-and-true pregnancy classic, providing unparalleled comfort and simplicity. This choice is a safe bet, but not something you ought to overuse.
You might end up liking them a little too much, and others might start wondering about your newfound fashion complacency.
Think of it this way: if you notice someone decked out in sweatpants more than half the time you see them, well, there aren’t many guesses they can hazard before landing on “probably pregnant”.
In fact, it might even be their first thought – which is exactly what we’re trying to avoid here!
Final Thoughts
Hiding your pregnancy – at least for a time – just takes the right clothes and some know-how to pull off! You want to minimize the chance of people noticing your baby bump, which can be done by making it harder to spot, drawing their attention to other things, or a combination of both.
You could hide your pregnancy with a ton of baggy clothing bought in bulk, but if you want to do it while staying drop-dead gorgeous stick with our styling tips and tricks!
