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Expecting Moms Set a New Standard for Maternity Wear

Today's Mom-to-be want clothing that is contemporary, with a modern flair, and is comfortable. For years expecting moms have been influenced by many things. These days she is even more bombarded by television and the media, and is influenced by a changing society and her own personal goals and lifestyle.

Celebrity moms lead the way
In 1952, television history was made when Lucille Ball became the first celebrity mom in America to be filmed and televised throughout her pregnancy. Lucille Ball set the tone for maternity fashions for two decades after that infamous airing. Ball brought glamour and sophistication, as well as her unique sense of style, to all the expectant moms across America.

Now, there is a whole new set of celebrity moms leading the way. In recent years, moms like Madonna, Julia Roberts, and Heidi Klume were in the forefront of fashion and motherhood. Recently, expecting mother Britney Spears help set the tone of chic maternity fashions to expectant mothers. Britney Spears, being one of the recently most photographed moms-to-be, continues to wear the same types of fashion she wore during her rising pop star years. She loves embellished tank tops, low rise hip hugger jeans, sexy camisoles, funky cropped tees, and active jog sets. If you thought she was showing off her midriff before, she is even more proud of her midsection now.

The New Demographics
Today's mom-to-be is older, and she is having fewer children. She is educated and has dedicated much of her time to her career and moving up the corporate ladder. She is finding a lot of success; though this success often delays starting a family. In many ways she is like the television character in the early 1990's, Murphy Brown, but also in many ways she is not. Today's expectant mother is able to juggle career, marriage, and family.

Today she is a professional, married to both her job and to her husband. She is a dedicated, hard-working, full-time career woman. She is strong and independent but wants to preserve her femininity, too.

A Focus on Fashion and Comfort
Today's expecting moms have a different view point on their pregnancy. With smaller families and dual family incomes, many moms are spending more on their maternity wardrobes.

Our modern expecting mother will not sacrifice her sense of fashion, but will select fashion that will emphasize her trim, toned, pregnant body. She wants to wear the same fashions she did before she became pregnant. She wants to stay within the latest trends, from embroidered ethnic tunics, cute and sexy A-line tops, to her low rise jeans that she loves. However, she needs a pair that can accommodate her growing midsection without sacrificing the look, and have it fit comfortably below the waist.

All these fashions are cut to accentuate her state of being. She likes the sleeves and shoulders to be cut closer to the body. Today her growing midsection is something to show off proudly — not something to cover up with embarrassment. Yesterday's maternity clothes that made one look like more like "mama" than a "hot chic" are on their way out. These days no one wants to look like they are wearing the old huge A-line teepee-like tee shirts.

With the use of bias cuts and stretch fabrics, the expectant mother can wear the same items from sixth months to nine months and beyond. They give and stretch in all the right places to accommodate the changing body. Yet they still remain fashionable and, most importantly, comfortable.

Moms on the Move
The modern expectant mother demands a wardrobe with selections to take her where she needs to go: from the office to special occasions like weddings, or off to the gym, spa, and resort.

The expectant women of today are health conscious. As social norms have changed, her expanding belly is something to show off, not cover up. She balances her stress-filled life by being more physically active. She works out at the gym, takes yoga classes, and runs on the treadmill. She has also found sanctuary in a favorite day spa, through meditation and stretching.

All these activities require new exercising clothes. With an emphasis on yoga and stretching, in preparation for her delivery, she needs workout wear that really stretches in all the right places and gives her the coverage and support where she needs. Active bottoms with additional spandex to give the freedom and support she needs to go through her routines with ease, comfort, and versatility. The Roll Up (above belly) and Roll Down (below the belly) yoga pants have become a must-have in her active wardrobe. Along with yoga tanks tops specifically designed with shelf bras and wider shoulder straps for added support, an extra dose of spandex helps keep all the girls in their proper place.

The beauty in these new fashions for the expectant mother is that, since they are not your typical old fashioned maternity frocks, they can be worn after the baby's birth. Don't forget, it takes time for one's body to completely recover from pregnancy. It takes time to regain one's figure, especially while attending to the newborn. These new fashions for maternity provide not only flexibility but also longevity: they can still be worn after the baby arrives and no one will know it is maternity clothing.
"Change your clothes, not your style"™.

Jon K. Murata, Vice President Design, and Merchandizing of Belly Basics