The Real Reason Kerry Washington Wore That Maternity Crop Top Will Make You Tear Up

Updated on 7/19/2015 at 12:00 PM

Kim Kardashian loves a daring maternity look (latex, anyone?), but when the star recently stepped out in a fringe crop top, images of Kerry Washington flashed before our eyes. It was Kerry who first rocked the short-shirt style while pregnant, wearing a pink Prada option at the 2014 SAG Awards. And when we had the chance to chat with her about her new Neutrogena campaign, we couldn't help but ask what was behind this edgy fashion choice.

Kerry's answer? One that's both sweet and actually makes a lot of sense. Read on to find out what she said, along with the style tip she stole from her Scandal character, Olivia Pope.

The Real Reason She Wore That Maternity Crop Top

"Like a lot of women, I wanted to not tell people very early in my pregnancy. I wanted to wait until the point where it felt like it was information that I could share. You know a lot of women make that choice, but when you’re in the public eye, it becomes a very difficult choice to make because people want to expose information about you before you might be ready to expose that information."

"And so I had chosen to keep my pregnancy to myself and my family — my loved ones — for quite some time. So when I was finally able to talk about it and not hide it anymore, I think I really just took advantage of the moment and made choices out of a spirit of freedom. There was nothing to hide anymore. I just felt like that look was going to be so fun and so celebratory of that moment in my life."

The Style Tip She Stole From Olivia Pope

"Tailoring! It’s silly for any of us to walk into a store, pull something off a shelf, and think that everything is going to fit our body. There are a million different kinds of body types, and each one of us has our own version of our perfect body — meaning the body we woke up in today, not something we’re striving toward."

"Even if it’s your local neighborhood dry cleaners that’s got a tailor in the back, just knowing that you can go somewhere. Those pants that you love that should just be an inch shorter? Just go and do it for yourself so that you feel like your clothes look good on you."