Don't be a frump with your bump

Published on Thursday 28 March 2002 00:00

CELEBRITIES are blooming all around us. And as their bumps grow bigger, so too does the hype surrounding the impending arrivals of their tiny tots.

While these mums-to-be manage to wander about in immaculate fashion with clear skin, glossy hair and perfect make-up for at least the first few months of pregnancy, it seems that as their hormones go mad and their waistlines expand, trying to retain a sense of style is too much of a tall order even for them.

Just look at Liz Hurley. When she first announced she was with child she seemed to refuse to gain any weight at all apart from a neat bump for many weeks. She even wore tight white jeans for the first four months. Since then, though, things have fallen apart.

Although she laid out the rules for maternity dressing – separates, nothing too clingy – she has broken every one. She’s appeared out and about in ill- fitting designer frocks in an obvious attempt to pretend her now large bump doesn’t exist. She was never known for a casual sporty look, which Nicole Appleton carried off when pregnant, so her attempts to adopt it have made her look flat- footed and, perhaps for the first time ever, shapeless.

Far worse is glamour model Jordan. She is due to give birth in May and in her usual tasteful manner has promised to show the event live on the internet. Yet the 23- yearold hasn’t let her pregnancy stop her whirlwind social life and she’s been displaying her pregnant stomach at every

opportunity in skin tight gold lame skirts. And remember the snatched photograph of Catherine Zeta Jones experiencing a road- rage incident in Los Angeles towards the end of her pregnancy – she was bloated, flushed and sweating, a million miles away from her usual appearance.

In reality, coping with backache, fluid retention and everything else that goes with pregnancy can make any woman feel exhausted and unattractive. And while it may bring great joy to expectant mums to see the celebrities struggling to look good at eight months pregnant, the best news is that there’s really no excuse for anyone to look bad.

Mums-to-be used to have to wear awful marquee- tyle smocks, gruesome leggings and baggy T-shirts – items which were hardly going to make them feel remotely feminine.

Designers may still baulk at creating clothes for women with anything which protrudes further than their hip bones, but thankfully 21st century high street maternity wear now enables women to wear the styles and trends that they would normally choose minus bump.

Maureen Ross of the maternity clothing department of John Lewis says: “ There seems to be so many famous women pregnant at the moment and it’s easy for them to look good if they choose the right clothes, as they have the time and the money to be able to look after themselves. But for ordinary women, it’s possible to look elegant and fashionable too.

“ The days of having to wear just baggy T-shirts and leggings when you’re pregnant have long gone. Nowadays, maternity wear follows normal fashion trends. So many women work right through their pregnancy and they still want to look smart in suits. And most women still want to look trendy.

“ There’s a lot of beading and sequins in the new spring/ summer collections, which are really pretty. Colours such as reds, pinks and beiges will really give a woman’s spirits a lift.

“ Of course just because you’re pregnant doesn’t mean you have to wear specially designed maternity clothes. There are a lot of slouchy trousers with drawstring waists and loose shirts with side slits in the normal collections at the moment. They’re proving very popular.”

UK company manager of maternity company Formes, Sarah Amigoni, says: “ Our inspiration comes from the catwalk, so the colours and styles you see in the likes of Jigsaw should be similar to what we have here.

“ But there is a big difference between proper maternity wear and simply buying bigger sizes. The backs of our garments

give the same silhouette, but are cut much longer in the length to accommodate the bump so clothes don’t ride up.

“ They have tiny details which have a major affect on comfort, such as adjustable waistbands. And they start in petite size of 36 because it’s very difficult for customers to find things so small. Most manufacturers assume that if you’re pregnant you are big all over, while we assume you will stay in shape but have a bump.”

She adds: “ If you just size up on the normal clothes you buy they won’t fit you anywhere else. They’ll be too big in the shoulders and thighs, too long in the arms, yet too tight on the bump. But we never shy away from the fact that you should show your new shape and do fitted clothes and not baggy jumpers.

“ There are no hard and fast rules to dressing well when pregnant, but women should make the most of their best features while pregnant.”

Of course the one celebrity who might just be able to carry off the full ninemonths looking great is Kate Moss. Can’t imagine her swapping designer frocks for maternity smocks.