Renting Through My Pregnancy
For our Founder and CEO, Eshita, maternity style became a way to feel confident during a time of profound introspection and change. “Renting allowed me to feel less panicked and insecure when it came to getting dressed,” she shares.
We spoke with Eshita all about her maternity style, and her approach to renting — here, she shares the moments, mindset shifts, and lessons that shaped the journey.
Location: The Savoy London
Photographer: Cece di Paolo
Hair & Makeup: Ruuby App
Scroll to read more and rent the Bump Friendly collection.
How would you best describe your bump style?
For the most part, I’ve retained my feminine and elegant style – although with summer reaching new highs, I’ve been playful and bearing my midriff since not much fits over it now!
Did renting pieces make you more experimental with your maternity style than you expected?
Renting allowed me to feel less panicked and insecure when it came to dressing. Self-worth and identity come front of mind during this special whirlwind of a time, and the last thing I wanted to feel was unhappy and ungrateful about the changes in my physique. Renting actually made me really enjoy my bump, and gave me confidence that I am a stylish person with taste - even with an egg attached to my body...
How did your rental choices evolve as your bump grew from first to third trimester?
First trimester: A clandestine period, I spent a lot of this time being quite conscious and cautious of the way I dressed – especially as there were so many Black Tie and Christmas festivities.
In the earlier days I just about got by with this Solace London green gown for a charity fundraise and The Vampire’s Wife dress (with an Another Tomorrow corset top on top for styling) for our team Christmas lunch but otherwise I mostly wore loose eveningwear such as this Georgia Hardinge silver metallic pleated midi dress, and then covered myself in loose baggy jumpers over my usual slip dresses and clothing.
In hindsight, given how much I’ve now grown, I am pretty sure the bump looked more like a bloat and I was feeling overly paranoid and insecure about my changing body – coming to terms with it all was rather overwhelming!
Second trimester: Day-to-day, I wore a lot of baggy, loose jumpers again and kept the focus on my accessory choices – renting designer bags such as this Chanel and vintage Dior which I took with me to the Milan Olympics 2026. For work events where my pregnancy was still a secret, I rented peplum tops (Tove, Roland Mouret) and wore blazers and cardigans that come with a tie (Iris & Ink blazer, Stine Goya velvet blazer and Hayley Menzies cardigans) which actually are a very underrated way of hiding your little baby! It was a chic way to avoid the otherwise frumpiness I otherwise feared I was exuding.
Once the news was out, I rented a very special sold-out everywhere Tory Burch dress to the V&A Schiaparelli preview party which was a huge hit!
Third trimester: By this point, all my networks had been informed and I had shared the news publicly which was truly liberating. I went back to wearing a lot of my existing wardrobe openly – the slip dresses (Reformation red slip dress, Debute London green dress at No10 Downing Street, Realisation Par polka midi dress), jersey figure-hugging silhouettes (Posse black and white stripe dress as seen on Meghan Markle) and playful rentals for hot, summer trips like the ILA Studio co-ord for a mother mermaid moment, Danielle Guizio all white co-ord for the old-money Lake Como babymoon aesthetic.
For formalwear, I rented larger sizes and dresses without zips and inner linings/corsets/bodices from brands such as Georgia Hardinge and rewore my Saks Potts yellow Emrata dress to receive the Retail Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2026.
What piece in your existing wardrobe has surprised you the most in terms of versatility?
I’ve been surprised by how flattering a lot of my figure-hugging dresses have been during this time - especially the Realisation Par Gia Zebra animal print dress which turns out has a lot of give to it! It’s definitely worth renting in the different colours and prints throughout the pregnancy, and sizing up as your pregnancy progresses.
What was one rule you stuck to that made dressing the bump easier?
I challenged myself not to buy anything new (except a pair of drawstring trousers and 2 jumpers when I was still hiding my pregnancy). That meant I just really had to stick to my existing style - but switch up the formula, usually by means of layering.
What’s been your biggest styling challenge as your bump changed shape?
The bump means absolutely no zips – I have not worn any jeans since January….!
Tell us 4 things that you'll never leave the house without packing into your bag
Water. I actually own a Stanley cup now, shocker!
Banana or protein bar. Important not to ever feel like you’re about to pass out
Cellphone: Work from phone in full effect soon…
Lip balm: I haven’t been wearing much makeup during this time, the focus has really been on trying to keep as clear and happy skin as possible. Lip balm is my special moment!
What is your one piece of advice to women as they start their journey?
Your emotional, mental and physical well-being is incredibly important – prioritise yourself, and keep blinders on if you must.
Head to the By Rotation app to rent your maternity wardrobe next.