Beauty & Style

Dressing the Bump: How Our Favorite Celebumoms Manage to Look Chic + Comfortable While Preggers

By Natasha Burton on May 13, 2008

Stylish maternity fashion is a phenomenon that continues to grow, offering lots more ways to look chic while pregnant. With big-time specialty designers such as Modern Mom’s style expert Liz Lange, Pea in the Pod and Chiarakruza, and stores such as Gap and H&M targeting the pregnant woman, celebrity moms, and the rest of us, have many more sartorial options than our mothers and grandmothers did when they were carrying children.

What’s interesting today is that while younger moms like Katie Holmes appear fairly tame in their pregnancy fashion choices, older moms-to-be Nicole Kidman and Halle Berry have been pushing the sartorial envelope. That’s a change to embrace! A couple years ago, older moms-to-be such as Julia Roberts and Courteney Cox stuck with button shirts and flow-y fabrics. But Halle seemed hell-bent on taking bump fashion to the next level, with her saucy Dolce and Gabanna cocktail dresses.

What celebumoms have realized is that being pregnant is yet another opportunity to show off your sense of chic. And we’ve noticed that the older Hollywood moms-to-be have taken bold fashion risks. It could be that maturity brings added confidence. Celebumom Kate Beckinsale, 35, recently told Allure magazine that she doesn’t care what people say about her anymore. “That's the nice thing about getting to the age I am. I could have said I didn't care before -- but secretly I did. And now I really don't.”

However, moms-to-be of all ages are choosing to shine during their pregnancies, showing that maternity can be sexy, fun, and fashionable, and that you don’t have to sacrifice your personal style as your baby bump grows. Here are some of Mommywood’s favorite maternity style icons:

	Katie Holmes: Classy Girl-Next-Door Although as a young mom-to-be, Katie could have gotten away with anything, she chose to keep her maternity style clean and classic, just like her everyday look. Katie stuck with the basics during her pregnancy: jeans, mostly white tops, and neutral jackets. For dressing up, the mom-to-be typically went with basic black, and lots of coverage.
	Nicole Richie: Best Beach Bod Remember how refreshing it was to see the formerly skeletal Nicole Richie’s round and healthy baby bump? We sure do! Nicole’s style didn’t change during her pregnancy—she balanced bohemian with Hollywood glamour But her body sure changed – what curves! -- making her clothes look even better on her.
	Jessica Alba: City Stylin’ Sticking with her personal style hasn’t been too difficult for the Sin City actress. Jessica is still rocking her fashion staples—hats and other fun accessories—while also maintaining that New York vibe she has going on with jeans, simple tops, and structured jackets. While she’s been showing less skin than usual on the red carpet, Jessica hasn’t been sacrificing her sexiness. In fact, she’s been working it, opting for long gowns that bare her shoulders or dresses that give her top-coverage but show off those ever-taut gams.
	Nicole Kidman: Sexy Glamourpuss While we haven’t gotten a chance to see Nicole too often during her second trimester, Nicole’s been baring a lot of skin throughout her pregnancy. Nicole took a huge fashion chance while promoting her movie “The Golden Compass” in Asia, wearing a sexy dress with a black lacy bodice that literally revealed her growing baby bump. Her black Oscar gown, which provided more coverage than the lacy number, reflected the glamour and confidence Nicole has always shown in her fashion choices.
	Minnie Driver: All Dressed Up So far, Minnie’s been sheathing her new pregnancy curves in long dresses, as she did on Jay Leno and Ellen’s talk shows, maintaining her elegant style as her body changes. In both appearances, the mom-to-be looked gorgeous and comfortable, the ultimate goal of maternity style.
	Cate Blanchett: Smoldering Red-Carpet Staple Given her double Oscar-nomination this year, we saw Cate, who just had a son this week, more on the red carpet than off it! With each event, she found ways to wear the bold prints and dynamic gowns she loves, each time flattering her growing belly.