Celebrity Moms

Reading through the Women's Wear Daily website, I found an article that addressed the fashion trend; maternity. The article talked about how celebrities have transformed the idea and the fashion of pregnancy. Now, celebs like Christina Aguilera and Halle Berry are adopting figure fitting garments and flaunting their bodies. Nicole Richie also embraced her pregnancy. She was quoted, "I love when a pregnant woman shows off her belly. Of course naturally, I had my days where I would wear baggier things, but during most of it I embraced my new body." Aguilera was pictured on the cover of Marie Claire in only a cropped jacket midway through her pregnancy.

The only name mentioned that opposed the popular trends was Jennifer Lopez. She has perfected the Greek Goddess look. Dressed in long loose fitting gowns, Lopez kept the fans guessing until she confirmed everyone's suspicions on stage on a tour's finale performance. Even after she told the world, she never dispensed with the classic, covered-up maternity look. Such modesty was the norm say, 40 or even 20 years ago. But at a time when many women, particularly those in Hollywood, seem to regard their bump as a marketing mechanism, flaunting it in tight T-shirts and body-conscious dresses on the street and au naturel on magazine covers, Lopez appears almost old-fashioned by comparison.

Personally, I find both viewpoints appropriate and correct. I admire Lopez's modesty and her desire for comfort during pregnancy. I also find her taste in the elegant gowns to be appropriate for her age and beliefs. I admire Christina Aguilera and Halle Berry for embracing pregnancy and their new, changing bodies. I believe pregnancy is a beautiful stage in life and should be flaunted and admired. I believe in tasteful clothing and garments appropriate for each occasion.

Comments? Opinions? Here is the original article: Under Cover

Is Today's Fashion a Bust because of the Economy?

As we've been talking about, sales of retail have been down. This was visible more than ever this past Christmas where sales were everywhere and stores seemed desperate to sell their merchandise. Fortune Magazine found that high oil prices and the diminishing dollar are the main causes for November and December having such little success on the retail side of sales. While retail sales were down significantly, sales of electronics were up 5.8%. The new trend is not exactly anything new in apparel that has hit stores, but devices like the iPod and any of the Apple Company's products, were the hot topics of the year by a land slide. Fortune magazine said that woman find the fashions of this year very boring because a lot of what was out in stores this year, was not much different from what was out in stores last year. Retail specialists are not surprised, and honestly, with our own personal interests in gifts for Christmas this year, we're not surprised either as gifts of iPods, headphones, and electronic accessories really were dominating.