MATERNITY WEAR New styles celebrate that bulging belly

Today's look doesn't try to hide the obvious.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
ST. LOUIS -- When you're headed for labor -- as in pregnant and looking to deliver sooner than later -- finding something (reasonably) fashionable to wear can be hard work.
When ankles swell, bellies bulge and internal temperatures soar, local moms-to-be say only one thing really matters: "Being able to find comfort," notes Dana Wells, 29 of Eureka, Mo. Wells, a software analyst, is four months pregnant with her first child. But in that time, she's learned a thing or two about shopping pregnant.
"You don't want to just shove yourself into something that's too tight and makes you feel miserable," she says.
Comfort isn't the only divine "C" word for moms in waiting. Cuteness ranks a close second.
New avenues
Lori Rockwell, 31, of St. Louis, sees her maternity time as an opportunity to explore new avenues. "I'm a little more liberal with my choices now that I'm pregnant, like wearing low-rise jeans," she says. "When you're pregnant, you feel self-conscious and try to make yourself look the best as possible. The big belly just comes along with it, so you have to enjoy it."
Just a decade or two ago, pregnant women had few choices.
"Things used to be larger -- not fitted. But the style now is to have a fitted shirt on and to actually show the belly. To celebrate it. Before everybody covered it up and wore bigger shirts," says Julie Yarbrough, owner of 9 Months in Style in Kirkwood, Mo.
But designers like Liz Lange, who must outfit pregnant stars to look glamorous for the paparazzi, changed all that.
Lange's wearable ensembles celebrate the pregnant body.
"We all want to be comfortable but we certainly don't want to look it, we want to look fabulous," Lange says. "When I first started making stretchy, fitted maternity clothing in 1997, women liked it but were also hesitant about it. Today, it is absolutely a must. No pregnant woman today wants to wear anything oversized. They know that oversized will make them look bigger and sloppy. I advocate fitted in a classic tasteful way, nothing skin tight or too exposing.
A coastal phenomenon for sure, the idea of the exposed belly isn't quite a go for most women in the Midwest.
"We're conservative -- the belly covered but fitted," says Yarbrough of the maternal style of the day. "For the most part, the Midwesterner isn't ready for the whole European look."
Pregnant with her third child, Eryca Neville, 34, of Columbia, Mo., doesn't mind showing her belly in fitted pieces.
"I had on a dress that my mother would have said was shameful," Neville says. "In the olden days, you weren't supposed to show your stomach. But I don't mind."
In fact, Neville steers clear of baggy, tent-like pieces. "They fit too loose," she says. "I'm already big enough."
Lynda Guthrie, a fifth-grade teacher in Florissant, Mo., is pregnant with her second child. Guthrie looks for pieces with staying power.
"I went more for casual wear this time around because I was pregnant over the summer," the 30-year-old says. "I didn't have a need for anything too dressed up."
Rockwell, the mother of two boys with another on the way, is a maternity veteran now.
Her biggest concern? "Spending money on clothes that you only wear for such a short time," she says.
Good fit
Fit is also an issue, especially during those early months when a small pooch doesn't fit into regular or maternity gear. "When you're not pregnant, you have 20 stores to choose from for a pair of jeans," Rockwell says. "But when you are pregnant, that number is reduced to two stores that might have jeans that you hope will fit right."
Maternity wear isn't simply characterized by broad, stretchable waist panels and empire waistlines. Today's pieces incorporate elastic bands with button holes at the waist to tighten or loosen. Many tops such as those from Belly Basics (www.bellybasics.com) use side-ruching that stretch with the body but also look trendy. And the whole high-waisted trend gets a true re-do, too.
"Empire used to be about an elastic band under the bustline. It's still there. But now the shirts are shorter and everything under the empire is fitted," Yarbrough says.
Lange's maternity collections reflect current trends. "This year, the pencil skirt is huge, and it's a wonderful and flattering style for pregnant women as it's nice and tapered and shows off some leg," she says. "Having said that, pants are always the backbone of any woman's wardrobe, whether they are slim and straight or long and belled at the bottom. No woman should be without a great fitting pair of pants, pregnant or not!"
Of course, Lange's runway collection comes with a celebrity price tag. But she offers a more budgeted collection at Target.
Women in search of maternity pieces are most likely to find deals at specialty boutiques and discount retailers and by shopping online. Most local department stores no longer carry maternity merchandise.
And while some women opt to simply buy bigger clothes, the trend is toward buying maternity-specific fashions. Rockwell says that's because "they fit better everywhere else, too."
In fact, Rockwell says she doesn't know what she'd do without her maternity separates that make use of Lycra and spandex. "I definitely recommend that," she says. "It's so much more comfortable. You're already uncomfortable enough being pregnant."
Rachel Douchant, 27, of Maplewood, Mo., takes an even more budget-conscious route to building her maternity wardrobe.
"I was given most of the clothes that I've worn," says Douchant, who is six months pregnant. "I have stuff borrowed from four different women."