SWELL OUTFITS MATERNITY WEAR IS NOW MORE FASHIONABLE THAN EVER.Byline: Sandra Barrera Staff Writer On a recent morning in Culver City Culver City, city (1990 pop. 38,793), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles; inc. 1917. It is a center of the U.S. motion-picture industry, whose roots in the city date to c.1915. Its chief manufactures are rubber products and computers. , Rebecca Gottlieb - a 34-year-old woman six months into her third pregnancy - slipped into a body-skimming black number and headed down to Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. for some pre-Mother's Day pampering at Dr. Masterson's Ocean Oasis. She wasn't the only haute mama to show off her bulging silhouette. About a dozen pregnant women converged on the windswept wind·swept adj. Exposed to or swept by winds: windswept moors. windswept Adjective 1. grounds sporting perfectly-tailored T's and below-the-belly pants, stretchy stretch·y adj. stretch·i·er, stretch·i·est 1. Capable of being stretched: a stretchy fabric. 2. Tending to stretch excessively. Adj. 1. dresses and cute tanks - the kind of outfits they might wear no matter what their condition. ``It's nice to look good when you're pregnant,'' Gottlieb, a pixie-ish Anne Heche look-alike, says. ``You could get away with wearing big, giant baggy clothes but it just doesn't look as good.'' In fact, these days more and more pregnant women are leaving behind the amorphous-blob look in favor of fashion-forward styles worthy of Hollywood. And why not? Celebrity moms-to-be have helped drive the booming maternity market, estimated at $1.2 billion. Did it start in 1991 when a very pregnant, naked Demi Moore Demi Kutcher (born Demetria Gene Guynes on November 11, 1962) is an American actress. For most of her career, she has been known as Demi Moore, using the surname of her first husband, singer-songwriter Freddy Moore. appeared in profile on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine? Probably not, says Liz Lange, a New York-based maternity designer with three boutiques to her name and licensing deals with both Nike and Target. ``As great as that was for pregnancy, there wasn't much movement in terms of making maternity clothing better,'' says Lange, who established one of her boutiques in Beverly Hills. Even more inspirational to Lange and the competition in their first few years of business was that pregnant celebrities allowed themselves to be photographed on the red carpet. ``Let me get my list in front of me because it's really remarkable how many celebrities wear our clothing,'' says Rebecca Matthias, founder and president of Mothers Work, Inc., one of the largest maternity apparel retailers whose chains include Motherhood Maternity, Mimi Maternity and A Pea in the Pod stores. The names start dropping: Cate Blanchett, Lisa Kudrow, Melissa Rivers, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cindy Crawford. ``One of the early, really interesting ones was when Annette Bening was pregnant at the Academy Awards. She ended up wearing Armani,'' Matthias says. ``But I think she was probably one of the first ones that really highlighted the fact that celebrities are women in their 20s, 30s and 40s, and guess what? They all get pregnant at some point. ``So the fact that celebrities are now coming out and showing what they're wearing, and they're wearing dramatic and daring styles, has gotten everybody a little more comfortable with showing their stomach and wearing form-fitting and body-conscious fashion.'' In fact, America's fascination with these fashion plates is as curious as ever. All eyes were on whatever was draped drape v. draped, drap·ing, drapes v.tr. 1. To cover, dress, or hang with or as if with cloth in loose folds: draped the coffin with a flag; a robe that draped her figure. across the curvaceous cur·va·ceous adj. Having the curves of a full or voluptuous figure. cur·va  ceous·ly adv. likes of Catherine Zeta Jones, Debra Messing and Kate Hudson during their recent pregnancies. Now it's Courteney Cox Arquette and Gwyneth Paltrow who are helping to further new clothing designs for pregnant women. But just as Hollywood has inspired changes in maternity chic, expectant mothers have brought their own defined sense of style to play. Women have put more emphasis on a workable wardrobe that is both comfortable and fashionable. ``I think it's like when you're not pregnant,'' Lange says. ``You want to be comfortable but you don't necessarily want to look comfortable. Like, I think it would kind of be an insult if someone said 'Oh gee, you look really comfortable in that outfit.' '' According to Matthias, ``This season, bare looks are what's out there. So whether it's a halter halter the simplest form of restraint for the head of farm animals. Comprises a poll strap, a nose band and a halter shank that brings the ends of the nose band together under the mandible. Made of leather or cotton or manila rope. top or a bra tank or a smock top, bustier bus·tier n. A formfitting sleeveless and usually strapless woman's top, worn as lingerie and often as evening attire. [French, from buste, bust; see bust1. - those are all really important looks, and when you're pregnant you want to keep wearing them because you really haven't changed even though your figure might be changing.'' Mixing and matching, as well as pairing maternity clothing with accessories is also popular, especially for quick cover-ups. ``You don't want to show off your arms too much,'' says Tamika Quillard, 33, of Los Angeles, sporting an asymmetrical poncho over a slinky slink·y adj. slink·i·er, slink·i·est 1. Stealthy, furtive, and sneaking. 2. Informal Graceful, sinuous, and sleek: wore a slinky outfit to the party. aqua-colored tube dress she recently purchased at Liz Lange Maternity. Stretchy fabrics are one way around today's belly-baring, tight-fitting maternity clothing, which is all the rage General Public's All the Rage was released in 1984 by I.R.S. Records. Track listing
``I love it,'' says Adelaide Vaughn, who volunteered to model the spring collection for Liz Lange Maternity at Dr. Masterson's Ocean Oasis. Already a mother of two, Vaughn is now six months pregnant with twins. And she doesn't let her swollen belly stop her from wearing midriff-baring tops around her Los Angeles neighborhood. ``I'd just rather acknowledge that there's this life growing inside of me,'' she says. ``Just really put it out there.'' Sandra Barrera, (818) 713-3728 sandra.barrera(at)dailynews.com Maternity's NEW LOOK Today's chic maternity fashions are form-fitting and belly-baring. Think hoodies, empire waist-style dresses, tube tops, cute T's, cargos, even low-rise jeans. ``Extremely popular is this idea of wearing your pants under your expanding belly,'' says Liz Lange, the former Vogue editor-turned-top maternity designer who is among a handful of women revolutionizing clothing for expectant mothers. Yes - maternity has come a long way, baby. Gone is the seemingly circus tent-size shirt-look in favor of more flattering styles in stretchy fabrics that fall in line with trends to fit every budget. ``Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you have to lose your sense of style,'' says Laurie McCartney, who was pregnant with her first child in the late '90s when she founded Babystyle. With Southern California locations in Santa Monica and Manhattan Beach, the specialty retail store sells maternity - and children's - clothes similar to what you might expect to find at J. Crew or the Gap, which also has its own line of maternity wear. ``We like to use really fun, fresh colors ... and we also like to use fun, stylish patterns,'' McCartney says. ``Polka dots were really big for us this year.'' For Mothers Work, the Philadelphia-based parent company of Motherhood Maternity, Mimi Maternity and A Pea in the Pod stores, this season's highlights include the color pink, tops gathered at the seams, and shorter capris ca·pris pl.n. Capri pants. . ``We have designers who know how to cut for a pregnant silhouette and at the same time really enhance the body, because there's certain body parts a pregnant woman is more comfortable focusing on than others,'' says Mona Astra Liss, publicity director for Mother's Work. ``Suddenly they might have cleavage they never had before. So we pay a lot of attention to the upper body.'' Here are some of this season's new looks: -- A Pea in the Pod brings the balmy tropics tropics, also called tropical zone or torrid zone, all the land and water of the earth situated between the Tropic of Cancer at lat. 23 1-2°N and the Tropic of Capricorn at lat. 23 1-2°S. to its strapless strap·less adj. Having no strap or straps, as a dress or an undergarment. n. A garment having no strap or straps. strapless Adjective silk chiffon chiffon (shĭfŏn`), plain-weave, lightweight, sheer, transparent fabric made of cotton, silk, or synthetic fiber; it is made of fine, highly twisted, strong yarn. cami, sheer at the belly, in lavender with yellow orchid print. It retails for $160 and looks great with low-rise jeans. -- White cropped skinny pants are the perfect complement to a flirty wrapped bodice tank like the one with spaghetti straps and seersucker seer·suck·er n. A light thin fabric, generally cotton or rayon, with a crinkled surface and a usually striped pattern. [Hindi s detail that retails for $140 at A Pea in the Pod. -- Babystyle has created the must-have accessory of the season: an asymmetrically cut poncho with stylish stripes and threaded fringe; $78. -- Another adorable look from Babystyle is the polka-dot-splashed smocked tank in sherbet sher·bet n. 1. also sher·bert A frozen dessert made primarily of fruit juice, sugar, and water, and also containing milk, egg white, or gelatin. 2. Chiefly British A beverage made of sweetened diluted fruit juice. hues; $44. Looks great when worn with the shell-colored spring-weight cord pant pant v. To breathe rapidly and shallowly. ($74) and velour hoodie hoodie hood n (top) → sweat m à capuche; (youth) → jeune m à capuche in tangerine tangerine: see orange. tangerine Small, thin-skinned variety of the mandarin orange species (Citrus reticulata deliciosa) of the rue family (citrus family). (sold as a set with elastic-drawstring pants; $98). -- Liz Lange Maternity sells an assortment of fitted T's like the Ivy Tee ($45) in soft colors that can be mixed and matched with pants worn below the belly. - Sandra Barrera CAPTION(S): 10 photos, box Photo: (1 -- cover -- color) Kate Hudson when she was pregnant and proud of it. (2) Debra Messing Jeff Vespa/WireImage.com (3) Denise Richards (4) Gwyneth Paltrow Steve Granitz/WireImage.com (5) Cate Blanchett Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press (6) Rebecca Gottlieb of Culver City, left Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer (7 -- 8) no caption (fashion styles for pregnant women from Babystyle) Courtesy of Babystyle (9 -- 10) no caption (fashion styles for pregnant women from A Pea in a Pod) Courtesy of A Pea in a Pod Box: Maternity's NEW LOOK (see text) |
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