How Maternity Jeans Saved Amanda Seyfried’s Life — and Style

Amanda Seyfried turned heads earlier this week when she stepped out in a custom Chloé dress to celebrate the premiere of her latest film, The Last Word (in theaters now). The actress arrived hand in hand with her fiancé and co-star Thomas Sadoski and her baby bump proudly on display. It was a nice change of pace for the 31-year-old, who jokes that her typical pregnancy style has involved elastic-waisted pants and oversized T-shirts.

“When I saw the pictures afterwards, I was like, ‘Oh I look really nice!’ You can actually feel really beautiful when you have 35 extra pounds on you!” Seyfried tells Yahoo Style, who’s styled by Elizabeth Stewart.

Seyfriend puts comfort first these days. When she’s not rocking her trusty pair of J Brand maternity jeans, she jokes that she’s usually lounging around at home in a pair of cozy sweatpants: “I don’t dress up much anyway, so I’ve managed to keep it pretty low-key.”

In The Last Word, Seyfried plays Anne Sherman, a writer whose life is turned upside down when Harriet (Shirley MacLaine) enlists her help in penning her own obituary. And one year after shooting the film, she is still pinching herself about working with one of her idols. “I can’t believe I got to work with her still!” she exclaims, noting that MacLaine has left a lasting impression on her both on and off screen. “She is who she is. And despite how people may feel about her or what she feels or what she makes, she’s still going to speak her mind. I think she is rubbing off on me … slowly, but Shirley,” she says, with a laugh.

Yahoo Style caught up with Seyfried to discuss her favorite moments on set with MacLaine, how her beloved pup, Finn, is going to handle sharing his world with a sibling, and her welcome realization that becoming a mother is going to change Hollywood’s opinion of her. Bring it on, says Seyfried.

What did you love most about this role?
“Anne Sherman is just kind of stuck. She has some issues. Her mom left her. She has no siblings, and she has a hard time trusting people. She’s fearful of making the wrong step, and I love that. She was able to realize that was not the way to get anything done in life. I love that kind of arc. There are always parts of me that relate to these characters. Although I’m not exactly like her, I definitely fear failing, to a point where I have actually lost opportunities because of it.”

Professionally or personally?
“Personally, really. Growing up, throughout my life, not traveling to certain places, not doing certain things. Saying no to an adventure for the pure reason that I thought I would end up suffering for some reason. And you can’t predict anything. There’s no point in trying.”

Your character in this film is an obituary writer and an aspiring essayist. Do you have any writing aspirations yourself?
“No! No! [Laughs.] No way! I love writing really sweet emails. I love every once in a while writing poetry for fun or songs that can go along with melodies that I’ve created on the piano or the guitar. I have no interest in writing essays. I hated it in school. I still hate it. The idea of writing a speech makes me want to die.”

You looked so lovely at the film’s premiere the other night in your Chloé dress. Have you been having fun dressing the baby bump?
“No! [Laughs.] That was the first time that I left the house without looking in the mirror, because I was in a hurry. Hair and makeup and wardrobe were like, ‘You look great,’ and so I just left. When I saw the pictures afterwards, I was like, ‘Oh I look really nice!’ You can actually feel really beautiful when you have 35 extra pounds on you! I’m so uncomfortable right now physically. It’s hard to feel beautiful — and I really did, and it’s nice to have that little reprieve right before getting ready to feel maybe a little worse before I feel better.”

What has your pregnancy style been all about? Have you given in and purchased maternity clothes?
“Yeah. I have to say those J Brand maternity jeans saved my life. And a lot of sweatpants at night! I don’t really go out, so I haven’t really had to wear anything very formal up until this point. And a lot of big T-shirts. I finally for the first time, went and bought some maternity T-shirts, because my oversized T-shirts were still not completely covering my bump.”

They have so many fun clothing options for expectant mothers these days. Is there one thing that’s been a staple for you?
“Yeah! Those black skinny jeans with the bands. I am about to put them on after this. I have my dress on from press today, but I’m about to put them on because they make me feel normal. And they are comfortable. And maternity style is cute and all. I don’t dress up much anyway. Jeans and T-shirts are just the way to go. So I’ve managed to keep it pretty low-key. But I just can’t fit into any shoes. I can’t wear my rings.”

What’s your No. 1 piece of advice for pregnant ladies?
“Don’t take anyone’s advice too seriously. Everyone’s experience is different. And pregnancy does not have to be a drag. Everyone’s experience is very, very different. You cannot compare. And try not to get too obsessive about apps. There are a lot of pregnancy apps, which are great because they teach you about what is happening with your body — day by day, week by week, month by month — but try not to get too obsessive about them. I used to check mine like six times a day.”

What’s the one app that you swear by?
“Pregnancy + from Health and Parenting. It’s just really great. I’m looking at it now. It shows you images of what they look like, and the sizes. It’s just been great. And What to Expect is really great, too. It’s fun. Just try to keep everything relaxed. Also, your cravings or lack of cravings, or the phases that you go through can change every two weeks, even. It can change really quickly, so don’t be alarmed about that.”

What’s the strangest thing that you’ve craved?
“I went through a major cottage cheese phase, and now I’m doing a major frozen mango phase.”

Is your dog going to be jealous of the new little one?
“I hope not. I’m trying to tell him. I’m trying to explain it to him, but I don’t think he gets it. He doesn’t understand. I know that he doesn’t like the sound of babies crying because of my friends having babies, but too bad. We’re going to have to see how it goes. Day by day. I’m never getting rid of him. I’m not getting rid of my baby. So they are going to have to get along!”

What was working with Shirley MacLaine like?
“In general, she’s unpredictable. You never know what she is going to say or how she is going to feel about something. And I was always really excited to know how she felt about a specific thing that was going on — socially, culturally. She has an amazingly fascinating perspective. She’s seen so much and she feels so much. She is completely self-possessed. And we got to ad-lib a lot. There is lot of improv going on.”

She’s such a strong woman and is not afraid to speak her mind, very much like her character. Is she a woman that you aspire to be like?
“Oh hell, yeah! Hell, yeah! I aspire to be exactly that. She is not abrasive in her honesty. She is who she is, like her character says in the movie. It’s much simpler than it needs to be. For me, I’m just always like, ‘I just want to be liked and I want people to like me, but I want to be as honest as possible.’ And I’m always struggling to be honest and have integrity and yet be well liked. You are not going to win everything. You can’t. You just have to know what’s important to you, and Shirley does. And despite how people may feel about her or what she feels or what she makes, she’s still going to say it. She’s still going to speak her mind. God if I could only be half of that, I would probably be happier.”

How do you envision being a mother changing your life? Do you think it will play into the roles that you accept from here on out?
“I do. Yeah. I am hoping that this will totally change the perspective of my peers or the industry, audiences as well. I think you lose something when you become a mother. You are no longer able to play the ingénue in the eyes of the industry. There is typecasting. There is labeling. Women are being labeled and men aren’t, and that’s just not fair. It’s always really imbalanced and unfair. I’m hoping that will change. But I know that I am embarking on something that is going to change the perspective of my peers, and I’m ready for that. I’m so excited to play a mother. More importantly, I’m really excited to be a mother! I really wanted this, and it couldn’t come at a better time. And I’m really excited to have that, to see how that affects my work. I’m definitely going to be more specific about what roles I take, even more choosy.”

Read more:

• Chrissy Teigen Gets Real About Her Body: ‘My Weight Fluctuates a Lot’

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