Mission accomplished!
First-time mom-to-be Beyonce tells the November issue of Harper's Bazaar (where she dons Ferragamo on the cover) that her expanding belly keeps on inspiring her — and the world-famous diva, 30, has no intention of covering up in mumus!
"All I see now are clothes that are flattering on a pregnant woman," the House of Dereon co-founder (along with mom Tina Knowles) tells the magazine. "It's been so exciting for me! I love figuring out designs that still make me feel edgy and sexy while pregnant."
Her lessons so far: "Flowy fabrics are always flattering..but I still rock my stilettos."
Long the subject of pregnancy speculation, the "Countdown" singer, due in February, explains that she intentionally waited to get pregnant. "It was important to me that I gave myself time to focus on becoming the woman I want to be, building my empire, my relationship, and my self-worth, before I became a mother," the star says. "Now God has blessed us with the ultimate."
Accordingly, the moment she decided to announce the pregnancy — on the red carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards in late August — was also painstakingly planned.
"I put a lot of thought into how I wanted to unveil it. It was important to me that I was able to do it myself," she says of rubbing her bump on the red carpet in an orange Lanvin gown. "I was extremely nervous. It was the toughest red carpet I ever did… I decided to say nothing and proudly show my baby bump. I felt it was more powerful to see the love and enthusiasm as opposed to saying anything."
The father, of course, is her husband of three years, Jay-Z.
"We have been together since I was 20 years old," explains the star, who has been famously tight-lipped about their romance. "We took our time and developed an unbreakable friendship before we got married."
And she and the hip-hop mogul (real name: Shawn Carter) were accordingly careful before conceiving their first child.
"We focused three years on our marriage and found that it brought us an even stronger bond and connection. But like anything great and successful in your life, marriage takes hard work and sacrifice. It has to be something both you and your husband deeply want," she explains.
"The best thing about marriage is the amount of growth you have because you can no longer hide from your fears and insecurities. There's someone right there calling you out on your flaws and building you up when you need the support. If you are with the right person, it brings out the best version of you."
