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About "Bump It Up"
 About "Bump It Up" | About Amy Tara Koch
As
a career fashion gal (I am the trend reporter for NBC, contribute to
Town & Country, American Way, The
New York Times, The Huffington Post, The
New York Observer
and
Daily Candy and have been a style expert for iVillage, Inc.; Vogue
and
Twitter Moms), I can tell you that pregnancy doth not bring out one’s
inner glamour girl. Hormones flow, stomachs protrude and once clear
complexions zig-zag with “non specific dermatitis”. Like you, I reached
right for my fat pants—those baggy sweats in your bottom drawer
reserved for sitting about the house on Sundays—as soon as twelve
pounds of first trimester blubber wrapped itself around my midsection.
One morning, I glanced at my dumpy reflection in the mirror as I left
for work and saw an uncanny resemblance to my potato picking Russian
ancestors. How could I let my professional credibility be eradicated by
leisure wear? The "Baggy Belarus" look had to go.
Then my
editorial instincts kicked in. The bump savvy celebs peering out at me
from People were not miracles of nature. They had
simply mastered the
high art of mix and match fertility fashion; a combination of must have
maternity with easy civilian silhouettes that embraced and enhanced
their bump. I may lack Halle Berry’s gene code, but a decade of
covering fashion shows gave me confidence that I, a scrappy 5’4”
editrix, could eschew pregnancy’s frump factor and step up to the
fashion plate. I knocked back some Tums and got to work.
Skinny jeans,
skimpy tops and anything that made me look and feel like five pounds of
bologna in a one pound bag were packed away; empire waist dresses,
tunics and other bump friendly silhouettes were positioned front and
center. Big baubles were my new best friends. And, eye catching
accents—vintage jackets, exotic reptilian bags, capes and
shawls, and hardware-laden oversized totes were my joie de vivre. I
raided
Grandma’s closet for Jackie-O scarves and quirky accents. Later, when
my bump materialized, I purchased only core maternity items that could
be “bumped up” for every occasion. I took the fashion phrase “God is
in the Details” to task and had a blast “super accessorizing."
BUMP IT UP
was born of my experience reworking a handful
of basics into
dozens of jaw dropping maternity ensembles. I had some high-powered
fashion friends—Nicole Miller, Donna Karan, Milly, Diane Von
Furstenberg and Isaac Mizrahi—craft original line drawings of
pregnancy silhouettes that are at once fashionable and functional. In
"ADVICE FROM THE A LIST," I stepped behind the scenes of the glossies
and
canvassed the real style mavens—designers, editors and socialites—on
how they sailed through pregnancy with panache. And, for those who were
served up hormonally induced lumps and bumps instead of the coveted
pregnancy glow, celeb skin gurus weigh in on how you too can tap into
that (faux) glow.
The key to preggo chic? Creativity. Effort.
And the commitment to pushing the sartorial envelope even as you feel
your breakfast rising in your throat. 
For Amy's full bio, please click here!
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