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What's Hip in Maternity Fashion
Industry Reps Share Their Thoughts...

More than ever, today's American woman does not have to change her style when pregnant. Whether suiting, evening or active wear, it's available to the mom-to-be. With the onslaught of pregnant celebrities, maternity apparel is in the limelight. The trends for fall are bold, bright and sassy. Prints, prints, and more prints! Geometrics and plaids are everywhere. Although the trend is away from animal prints, crocodile is strong. The sparse look is out and the feminine look is in. Ruffles, flowers, a touch of lace are important. Clothes are short and fitted. Wrap tops and dresses are continuing to be popular. Lots of stretch in tops, pants, and dresses. Iridescent stretch is new this season and fun. Leather and pleather continue on the fashion scene, showing up in black, red and gold. Like furs and faux furs, they are appearing as independent pieces and also as accents and trims on garments. This coming fall, trends are leaning toward warm colors. Gold, pumpkin, olive and brown are available along with touches of lime and pink to brighten things up. Studs, rhinestones, and sequins abound, especially on the tee shirt. Jewelry and accessories are chunky. Earrings are longer and dangle. Necklaces, like the lariat, are longer too. The flower pin is showing up on everything and in all kinds of fabrics from plastic to silk. Just like everyone else, the pregnant woman likes to expose a little skin. Under the belly pants and skirts allow her to do this. Off the shoulder and strapless styles in tops and evening wear also give her the opportunity. The basics-Denims, twills, stretch poplin shirts, cotton lycra skinny tees and turtlenecks-are all necessities in the wardrobe of the mother to be. They are classic pieces that can be mixed with any trendy garment. The pregnant woman is celebrating her shape and her personal style. She is proud of her womanhood and it should show in her clothing choices.

— Hope Green, Green Associates, Multi-line manufacturers representative Atlanta, Ga.

Gone are the days of frumpy, sloppy and cutesy—Thank goodness! Now is a time of parallel high fashion concepts with women's ready wear. Funky, sophisticated, feminine, and sexy….the goddess has returned. Not that she was ever gone, just hiding behind over-sized clothes. Women these days have a stronger desire than ever to look beautiful. With the economy being the way that it is, more goddesses will be having babies.

Being a manufacturer's representative truly is an interesting place to be. My clients' tastes in buying are as diversified as their stores. The concept of "What's Hip" seems to be a relative factor, depending on the site, location and type of goddess they service. The most important knowledge I seem to share with my clients is once that goddess walks thru their door, it's their place to be of service to them. Properly honoring the goddess, being sensitive to her body image, bringing items to the dressing room, being encouraging and honest are all buying pluses. They all need to be cared for and validated during this magical time.

The fall/winter season brings new fashion concepts forward. For the hi-energy goddess there's sleeveless tanks with assorted necklines (for example cowl necks, v-necks, jewel neck, etc.). Accenting those pieces with cardigans and button-down shirts help them deal with temperature changes. The Euro-Style body fit seems to be in high demand (body snugging, more tailored fashions to show-off the goddess and her miracle within). Suits having longer tailored jackets looking funky with cuffed or un-cuffed bootlegs. Also, the no panel zipper front look in the slacks seems to be the rage. Not forgetting the goddess that is always at home with her comfortable twills and of course denim. Demin in as many ranges of color and style are our most important basic.

Colors seem to vary thru the obvious, seasonal rich burnts, corals, colds, rusts, tans, browns, olives, and burgundy's. The stand bys that we cannot do without are our basic blacks, soft grays and charcoals. Those colors that blend with everything. These colors truly vary in texture and print. Prints have been varying from plaids, small florals to wonderfully retro-geometric collages. Fabrics and textures for example vary between chenilles, mohair, lurex, velvets, matte, jersey, micro-fiber stretch, pleathers, ultra suedes, slinkys, and faux furs are just to mention a few.

Also popular at this time are athletic clothes with moisture proof fabrications for those goddesses who know that good health and positive body imaging assist for a healthier pregnancy.

In a way that's what the retailer does, they help the goddess that walks thru their door to feel good about herself. Allowing her to leave with the exact wardrobe that suits her and her needs, not to mention a content little miracle within.

— Suzi Jacobson of Budland Suzi Manufacturers Representative and Show room Manager of many Maternity Lines in Chicago.

Just as you're in the midst of Fall selling and thinking about your own cozy sweaters and leather jackets in anticipation of crisp cool days, it's time to come to market and buy for the spring season. As hard as it may seem to make the mental seasonal transition, the upcoming trends for Cruise and Spring are so exciting that you will forget all about Fall!

One important trend is "urban chic." Look for contemporary city casual with a little funk. The concept includes belly baring tight bright colored tees with low-slung drawstring and hip hugger pants and mini skirts. Clean florals in black and white and colors complement the sleek styles for city living.

Another important trend for Spring is soft feminine fashion. Babydoll dresses are back, but with a new sophistication for the season. Stretch poplin ruffle dresses, skirts and tops with contrasting elastic trim for ease and fit are very strong. In addition, shirring and pintucking detailing are clear winners for Spring.

Denim is still as strong as ever. Dark indigo continues to be very popular, but you will also see a lot of colored denim. Red, white, and black are the forerunners, however many garment-dye manufacturers will be offering beautiful and unusual colors in denim for you to buy to add interest and individuality to your boutique.

Colors for Spring are clean, delicious brights including pink, melon, yellow, mango, and lilac. Or, you can opt for the classics: red, navy, white, khaki and black. Rich dusty pigment dyed colors in roses, blues, and greens will be available offering a soft, restful alternate choice to all the brights. Coordinating prints run the gamut from in-your-face bright Hawaiian florals, fresh black and white florals and geometrics, to crisp toiles. For the very fashion forward, look for tie-dye, batik, and camouflage.

Pants are available in every length from retro hot pants to capris to long and lean. Skirts, too, are available in all lengths ranging from mini to maxi. Mid-calf length is still the most popular length for skirts and dresses. All these choices are great for your customer: she can choose whatever length flatters her without sacrificing an updated look.

Although there are a wide range of trends available for the Spring season, one very important thing to remember is that the common denominator of all the looks is clean sophistication and updated simplicity.

— Trine Etoll, Two Generations Dallas, TX.

Once upon a time, women were in vogue when they wore maternity blouses accessorized with bows on peter pan collars. Not only were their bellies camouflaged, a blouse concealed three quarters of their torso! Maternity clothes were specifically designed to distract your eye from the real center of attraction. Well fashion has certainly changed, but the trendsetters are still around. Move over Lucille Ball, and make room for Demi Moore, Annette Benning, and Kelly Rippa!

In my mind, fashion has never been what you wear in as much as how you wear it. Of course, Demi Moore wore nothing at all on the cover of Vanity Fair, 1991! She set the trend of exposure the pregnant body, rejoicing in its beauty, and to never compromise style. Thank goodness her impact was not literal, or I would be out of a job! I sell maternity clothes for a living.

Today's woman is not willing to forfeit style because her physique has changed, whether she is pregnant, large, tall. Fashion is not about size. So with that understanding, what's hip in Hollywood is what's hip in maternity clothes.

Everything in clothes is about stretch. How perfect for a body in constant transition! With stretch denim you can now wear that perfect fitting jean, and the crisp white shirt now has "give" and can accommodate a growing belly and the natural back expansion of a pregnant woman.

If the truth be known, casual sportswear has always been the largest and best selling category in maternity stores. What women really want, even if they are working, are fashion basics in nice fabrics that fit well. So along with stretch denim and stretch poplin (available in every color your heart desires), there's also stretch twill. Most twill blends are 90% cotton and are extremely comfortable. Rayon/spandex is a great fabric for dressy feminine styles, which need fabrics that drape the body. Microfiber yarns are also very popular. They can have many textures but are usually soft to the touch and wonderfully stretchy when spandex is added. When printed, colors on microfiber are vivid.

Prints are very happening right now. But how do you pick a print? Well, you need a crystal ball to answer that question. While you may see as many as four to six prints on a line, designers have seen hundreds—literally! The good news is that they have already done 98% of the work for you. Here are some helpful hints when it's your turn to choose what's right for your store: a) 80% of your print selection should match basic colored bottoms like black, grey, brown, navy, and denim for fall. b) Vary the type of prints you choose. There are all-over prints where no background can be seen and there are spaced prints where you can see a great deal of the background. c) If your going to buy prints, follow the fashion trends; they truly dictate the hot patterns.

Right now the 70's influence is strong. Camouflage, flower-power and hombre stripes are selling at retail. For the more sophisticated customer, Burberry-like plaids, Pucci-like geometrics and tweeds are super. Chevron and flame-stitch patterns are great for career looks. Here's a merchandising tip—balance and separate prints by ordering solid items in the same colors included in the prints.

Solid fabrics are more interesting when they are textured. This season's poor-boy ribs go great with denim, plaid, and camouflage. Eyelash sweaters are funky and quilted outerwear is very chic. In seasons past, sparkle and glitter treatments were for the holiday season only. This season you'll find every fabric has a sparkled version, patterned or not.

If you can afford it, the maternity market is offering more high-end fabrics than ever before. Leather and suede pants matched with cashmere, wool and silk tops are high-ticket sales with high profit margins. If this sounds too rich for your budget, technology has given us pleather, faux suede, and cotton cashmere—and all are washable!

But unlike all other markets, maternity manufacturers are constantly reinventing the waistband. Customers have demanded shorter snug tops and "no-panel" bottoms to complement them. The no-panel quest by customers has recently developed a surge in what I call the "no-waistband" bottom. This call has bewen answered with the newest bottom, the hip-hugger! Waistbands that sit below the belly and non-binding, non-elastic waistbands are very popular.

Certain trends in tops have been wonderfully successful such as bell sleeves, which complement the feminine look in clothes today. Wrap dresses and blouses are a must for this season as well as surplice necklines and gathered sides, which gently accentuate the belly. Two forward items you should look for are the tuxedo shirt and the spandex bodysuit.

As you can see, maternity clothes are not oversized women's fashions. They are specifically designed to complement a different body type. All the new fashion silhouettes have been adapted for a pregnant shape. If you were to put these clothes on a non-pregnant women they wouldn't fit her properly.

If you are thinking about opening a maternity store or carrying maternity fashions, you will be rewarded not only with a true destination shopper but a repeat customer when that pregnant gal finally finds clothes that flatter her shape and that don't make her look fat.

With the right resources, a maternity shop is a great business. Look for vendors that have been around for a while — there's a reason for their success. Consult your regional representative—they have a wealth of information to share with you. Be a trendsetter ¾ sell maternity clothes!

— Armanda Texidor has been representing high-fashion maternity lines in NY since 1985. She now travels to Chicago to meet the demands for better maternity lines in the Midwest.