It was a gloomy Friday morning. My spirit was dampened by the steady downpour of rain. Yet, a sunny-faced Teresa Herrera-Anthony greeted me at the door, expecting us as we push through with this shoot. Dressed in a black, strappy asymmetric dress worn over black leggings, she was glowing. Only when she turned sideways to welcome me did I really notice that she is, in fact, eight months pregnant.
The model/host spills her secret: “I just use my normal clothes. Half the time people didn’t even know I was pregnant with a baby boy until a month ago. It’s not because I’m hiding it or anything.” Normal clothes for the first-time mom are far-flung in comparison to the usual maternity clothes—pastel, daintily printed, and huge. As we sift through hangers and hangers of distressed denim vests, studded leather jackets, and black strappy tops, it became more apparent. She has somehow managed to maintain her street style aesthetic all throughout her three trimesters.
As a kid growing up in LA, Teresa has toyed with streetwear. “In LA, first of all, we don’t have weather changes like New York [where you have to change] your clothes seasonally to keep up with the style.” She describes how the city informed her personality by it being “surrounded by entertainment, film, fashion, and art. Everything in [it] is about creative, personal style. That’s how I grew up.” She never found the need to own the latest “It” bag but instead sought a mix of unusual finds in vintage stores, Barneys, and Melrose Avenue. “It’s all about how you put it together,” she says.
In her newfound role as an expectant mother though, she’s made quite a seamless transition. She stuck with her usual fashion choices and then adjusted a little. “I don’t really do maternity clothes, just because I didn’t find any that kind of suit me.” Her belly didn’t really pop until the fifth month. So until then, she was wearing her usual wardrobe. “If anything, I just bought bigger shirts.” This was when she started making a few fashion compromises. “On the sixth month I stopped wearing jeans because I didn’t like the material against my skin. It just felt too restricting.” She also doesn’t wear heels since balancing on them is already challenging. The same goes for makeup and nail polish, as they are toxins to the baby.
But just like any other expectant mom, Teresa swears by her tried-and-tested basics: “My friend Bianca Elizalde’s maternity line Eden has these beautiful dresses that kind of grow with you and your belly.” And her ultimate maternity finds are 200-peso Forever 21 fold-over leggings. “Then I just mix and match with tops and jackets. For me this has been the most comfortable way to transition.”
After her last month of pregnancy in August, she has another baby underway: The Global Mala Project, where she serves as executive producer and yogi. It is a project that will bring the global and local yoga community together this coming September. We’re expecting a little baby cradled in her arms by then.
Looking at Teresa slowly rubbing her tummy, being a mother seems so natural to her. “I’m learning myself, you know.” And apart from making sartorial choices, she tries to make wise maternal decisions. “I started to freak out when I was buying all the nursery stuff until I read all these books [on] breastfeeding and all that, and it hit me: The only thing the baby really needs is you.”
Click the slideshow above for more photos
Photos by Melson Bolongaita
Assisted by Christopher Giden Estella
Styled by Randz Manucom
Makeup by Gerry Penaso of M.A.C
Hair by Ramie Delfin of Bench Fix Salon