Winter Beckons, by Marina Fogle

The autumn has been good to us and I do feel for once I've made good use of my summer wardrobe. But this week its got distinctly colder, and as I reached into my wardrobe to get a cost out, the extent of my tummy growth became glaringly evident. Nothing would button up. I need to go shopping. Damn....

I've actually found quite a few non-maternity styles that work really well with even the quite pronounced bump that I’m now sporting. A coat is really quite an investment – almost too much of one to be fobbed off as simply maternity. We Londoners may use our coats for a good 9 months of the year, but if I’m going to make an investment, I want something that would be suitable for after my baby had made its entrance into this world.

This cashmere coat from Joseph really caught my eye – the belt can easily fit over a bump and then back on to the waist when the bump is no longer. I found having some kind of definition is great as the danger is that if there’s tonnes of coat covering your belly you just look obese. Plus its cashmere and we pregnant girls deserve nothing less….

For something a little more low key, this Day Birger et Mikkleson coat cannot fail to keep you and your baby toasty. Again the belt gives your bump shape so that people are nice to you when you’re queuing at the post office…..

And finally if you’re feeling like you really deserve a reward, this Moschino coat is to die for. Any husbands reading this? Just look at your poor wife carrying your child around, getting heaver and heavier. She deserves to be spoilt and this will earn you serious brownie points. (Girls, I think it’s highly unlikely that any of your husbands are reading my maternity blog but it’s always worth a try…).