Maternity clothing that enhance your beauty & body
When a woman becomes pregnant, no matter how excited she may be about the prospect, there is also an unhappiness about the loss of her figure. Though there are females who just love blossoming out, for the most part the loss of shapeliness is a negative part of pregnancy.
Especially in today’s ultra thin imaged society, fat is out. It took Demi Moore’s tummy on the cover of Vanity Fair in 1991 and a pregnant Cindy Crawford in tight leather pants to start the mind change from hiding one’s pregnant stomach to flaunting it. This altered the entire fabrication of maternity clothing. No longer did women have to wear baggy tops over ugly stretch waistband pants.
Tight stretchy tops and dresses came parading in, naked tummies actually peeked out, and waistbands had to be designed to be visible, not hidden. Until recently, Montreal was a wasteland of designer or fashionable maternity clothes. Formes was the only game in town bringing in high end European fashions. Finally, Bloom Maternity came charging into the forefront with their funky clothes that you would even wear when you weren’t pregnant. Their famous convertible waistbands were written about in Pregnancy and Belly Magazine, and were worn by Britney Spears and our very own Jamie Orchard, Mitsou and Tracey McKee. when they were pregnant. And now we have Mama Mia on the West Island with the same youthful approach to pregnancy fashions. It’s about time.
Bloom Maternite, 4937B Sherbrooke St. West at Claremont. Phone: 514-481-5151. Hours: Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. http://www.bloommaternity.ca Taking a whole new youthful approach to clothing (Olian, Juicy Couture, Seven, Meet Me in Miami, Michael Stars, Pure T, Maternal America) for pregnant women, this boutique’s T’s, tops, denim, stretchy, sexy things in sizes XS to XXL are so cute that you will wear them after the baby arrives too. Jeans have a convertible waistband so that they too can be worn afterwards. Pants are low-riders, specialty lingerie is yummy and there’s even a kit for a belly cast.
Formes, 2185 Crescent St. at Sherbrooke St. Phone: 514-843-6996. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Sunday 1 p.m. to5 p.m. from September to December) http://www.formes.com We were the first city in North America (since 1989) to benefit from the French couturier approach to pregnancy. The exclusive collection by Daniel Boudon’s design team is very European high styling in a mid to high price range. Women (sizes 36-44, 4-12) can look quite fashionable ’til baby is born. If you need it, there’s stunning evening wear and pretty bathing suits along with the business suits, work wear and casual wear.
Mama Mia, 262 Bord du lac at Cartier Ave., Pointe Claire Village. Phone: 514-695-8989. Hours: Tuesday to Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Thursday, Friday or Sunday evenings by appointment). If you want them, Silver Jeans are here with maternity waistbands and are priced under $99. Many of the lines (Nougat, Silver, Ca Va Soi, Rite, Olian, Japanese Weekend, Duet, Tummi) can be worn before, during and after being pregnant, and appear in sizes XS to XL. You can pick up a maternity bathing suit by Prego for the summer as well as nursing bras, baby gifts and diaper bags by Skip Hop, Lune and Jujube.