Blake Lively in Gucci

I mean, that is one hell of an entrance. It's a Frenchtrance. She's serving up some real fancy mystery -- it's all the kind of stuff, right down to the scuffed "Oh these old things? I wear these all the time" red soles of her Louboutin flats, that's meant to LOOK like it's casual but it's actually expensive and dressed-up and composed.

2014 in Gucci Premiere

Surely at this point she KNEW she was pregnant -- this is May, and James came along in December -- but it was before she started showing (and definitely before the world was any the wiser; they didn't announce until October, and they did it via a photo on her now-defunct weirdo lifestyle site Preserve). If she was feeling at all off, you certainly can't tell.

2014 in Chanel

And then I guess she had to take a detour through some Chanel. The wrap seems so superfluous, and potentially irritating to wrangle. I am not in love with this dress, but in retrospect, we've had SO MUCH WORSE Chanel since that I'm charitably disposed to it.

2014 in Giambattista Valli

"If I hadn't stapled on the matching placemat, people would be giving me an impromptu proctology exam right now. Way to save it, Blake. If only there'd been a napkin or two as well."

2014 in Gucci Premiere

All of that, though, was a lead-up to this moment, which was clearly The Big One. Weirdly, I pored through Getty and Shutterstock and didn't LOVE any of the photos -- it felt like everything was a weird angle, or didn't QUITE capture the shape of it, or she was turned sideways, or the lighting was weird... but this one captures how regal it looked, between the swirl of the skirt and the lipstick and the diamonds.

2014

The magic of this dress is in the various optical illusions the narrowing black strip creates, too. Sometimes my eye wants it to be a full black column with cream wings wrapped around it, and I have to remind myself it isn't -- and that I'm glad it isn't.

Imagine getting to show your kids this photo. "Yeah, that's me. DAMN, I knew how to work it." Can you imagine, also, having to pull out and pull off ALL these dresses while your body was figuring out how to gestate?

2016, in Juan Carlos Obando

And here, in 2016, we have Inez in the picture, and a jumpsuit that I'm sure she picked for its non-restrictive comfort. That neck cape is pointless. Well, I guess "neck cape" is technically another word for "scarf," but it's just a strip of fabric that's doing very little other than create a line across her neck.

2016 in Vivienne Westwood

You'd never have known she was pregnant, in this. That's extremely romantic and floaty and great, and the peek of shoe I can see is also sweet.

2016

Blake has very good taste in coats. With one glaring exception, and yes, it's coming up next.

2016 in Chanel

Fantastic shoes, cute idea with the stripey dress... and then a coat that feels, albeit four years ahead of its time, designed for a pleasure cruise aboard the SS Midsommar.

2016

Once again, her shoe game comes in strong. That's a little twee, overall, but I don't hate the concept; it's just high-waisted AND very mini, which can end up feeling slightly... childish?

2016 in Versace

"Don't worry, guys. You don't have to love this. No one is even going to remember this dress, because the big one is coming up next."

2016 in Versace

This is very well built. It is not easy to anticipate the ways a pregnant body will change from day to day, but Versace did not let that stop them from making sure this was unerringly tailored. It's still so confident and competent and... kind of calming? I feel soothed. Like if I leaned up to this photo I could hear the ocean.

And of course, it has a gigantic train, because they know what the people want.

She has one of the best ponytails in the world, but does this look a little TOO much like she tossed it up into one of those Goody elastics you can get at the supermarket? Did it need a LITTLE more? Or am I asking too much?

Blake Lively Has Only Ever Been To Cannes While Pregnant

The first time, you can't tell, because it was so early. STILL.