FashBlog.com

By Brandi M. Seals

Has anyone else noticed that everyone is trying to look pregnant now days? I cannot go out or flip through a magazine without seeing some empire-waisted number that undoubtedly creates the appearance of a bump. The bump gets bigger depending on the material used and the shape of the dress. Maybe I am the only one who sees it like this. I do not know. What I do know is that I doubt few women would opt to look pregnant when they are not.

Everyone knows I hate high waisted styles. I do not think my skirt needs to be pulled up to my breast and I think my pants should sit below my belly button. Trends are changing back to the way things were in the 80s. As much as I hate it, the only thing I can really do is complain. However, these high waisted styles do not really create the baby on board look that I have seen.

The sole cause seems to be high waisted dresses that are fitted at the top and then flow outwardly like a tent underneath. Think of the baby doll dresses that were popular in the early 90s. These new dresses seem to be a combination of the baby doll dress and those skimpy, butt-showing styles from the 60s.

I understand that America recently went through a baby boom. All but two of us still of childbearing age on my dad's side of the family gave birth this summer. In fact, our family has gotten 4 new babies in the past 2 years. Three of which were just born. It seemed like I could not turn around without seeing a pregnant woman. I have no problem with children or pregnant women, I am merely commenting on how everyone seemed to be reproducing this past year. I often wondered if this was what it was like when the baby boomers were born. But now things seem to have cooled off.

Maybe manufacturers did not know what to do with all the extra maternity wear they had produced so now they are marketing it as regular clothes. Maybe seeing all the pregnant women made some designers want to have children and they did not realize that the new dresses they were designing made everyone who wore one look like she was expecting a new little one.

I honestly do not know what is going on with this, but the dresses definitely make women look pregnant. Perhaps it was some sort of inadvertent quirk that popped up when the baby doll dress met the short, skimpy dresses of the 60s. What really adds to the problem is the fact that the bottom of a lot of these dress are humongous. It is almost like they took the bottom half of a dress sized 14 and sewed in on the size 4 top.

Anyone is going to look enormous if their clothes are too big. Think about your favorite oversized sweatshirt. When you wear it, I bet you look between 15 and 30 pounds heavier simply because the bulk of the garment. I personally will not be opting to look pregnant when I am not. I guess I will just have to wait and see what everyone else is going to do.

I suppose it is a good thing that the line between maternity wear and regular clothes has begun to blur. For years, pregnant women have been relegated to wearing ugly, high-waisted pants that must be hidden beneath an oversized shirt. Dresses and cute outfits were far to find if not nonexistent for anyone expecting a baby. Now all of that has changed.

Modern looking shirts, skirts, and pants can be found over in the maternity section. Sometimes it is even hard to tell where the maternity section starts. The clothes are beginning to blend flawlessly with regular clothes.

I actually love that maternity wear is becoming much trendier. I have actually found myself inadvertently looking at maternity clothes. I just thought it was just a cute shirt. As I was picking it up, I noticed the label which had some sort of name like Baby on Board or something else that made it obvious that the top was part of a maternity collection. I have since paid closer attention to what I pick up.