Ingrid & Isabel began during a pregnancy. I experienced a universal moment that inspired the creation of the Bellaband.

It was 2001. I was pregnant with my daughter Isabel and getting dressed for work one morning when, overnight, my belly had popped, and my pants refused to button.

My fashion crisis sparked an idea. Trial and error resulted in a make-shift band that flattened my unfastened waistband, disguised my too-tight pre-pregnancy pants and held them up. As weeks passed, I found myself wearing my little accessory almost every day over unbuttoned jeans, loose maternity wear and, eventually, to hold up anything that wouldn't stay up around my hips. I was making far more use of my old and new clothing than I would have without it.

Realizing other pregnant women could benefit from my idea, I drew upon my thirteen years in business marketing and spent a year engineering the Bellaband. Many fit sessions and wear-tests later, I started Ingrid & Isabel and shipped an order to our first customer in 2003.

So, by way of a functional band that has changed the way pregnant women define their maternity fashion forever, we are Ingrid & Isabel, a company that encourages every woman to embrace who she is, pregnant.

-Ingrid