Mama Mia!

2008 is coined the year of the baby, and with so many celebs having babies this year, we see why! But remember how awful and hideous maternity clothes used to be? It was almost like you had to lose all sense of style just to have a baby. Thank GOODNESS times have changed. Hot mama-to-be outfits are no longer only available to Hollywood, but to pregnant cuties next door!

Check out two of my fav pregnant celebs (okay, so J. Lo had her twins already, but she’s still my favorite) and then see how you can get the look.

Get the Look

Coats

OK, I confess. These aren’t “maternity” coats, but guess what? They’re super-roomie around the midsection which means you can carefully keep your baby bump warm. Just get a size or two bigger, if needed.

1. Ellen Tracy Trapeze Topper $128.90 at Nordstrom 2. Belted Stand-up Collar Jacket $73.90 at Nordstrom 3. Sara Berman Knit Swing Coat $147.90 at Nordstrom 4. Valette Mini Check Swing Coat $158.90 at Nordstrom

Tops

1.Long Sleeved Draped Top $34.50 at Gap 2. Momzee Maternity Nicole Wrap Top $86 at Nordstrom 3. Maternity Textured Drop-Waist Top $20 at Old Navy

Dresses

1.Olian Maternity Empire Waist Dress $104.00 at Nordstrom 2. Dress with striped belt $39.99 at Gap 3. Belly Basics Maternity Double Cowl Neck Dress $88 at Nordstrom 4. Fem by T-bags Maternity Kimono Dress $165 at Nordstrom 5. T-Bags Long Halter Dress $220 at Neiman Marcus

The key to stylish pregnancy dressing? It’s all about the accessories, hair and make-up, baby!

Makeup

For when you just can’t get the pregnancy glow on your own, start with Becca’s complexion perfecting system: 1. Becca Luminous Skin Color $40 at beccacosmetics.com. Start out with this tinted moisturizer blending it evenly on your face with a foundation brush or makeup wedge. 2.
Becca Stick Foundation $39 at beccacosmetics.com. This super-creamy, easy-blending formula will give full coverage on blemishes yet still keep skin looking like skin! Swipe the stick under your eyes and anywhere you have a blemish, then blend it in with a foundation brush or makeup wedge. 3. Becca Fine Loose Finishing Powder $35.00 at beccacosmetics.com. Top it all off with this luxurious finishing powder. Best when used with a stippling brush or a big powder brush, this brush helps to set and finish makeup. 4. Dust NARS Blush in Orgasm on your cheeks and get that innocent “I just got laid” glow Or get the famous J. Lo Glow by dusting 5. NARS Bronzer in Casino on your temples, the bridge of your nose, and the tip of your chin (places where the sun naturally hits the face) with a fan brush. Not a fan of bronzer? Luminize your skin with 6. NARS The Multiple in St. Barts. 7. Give your lips a hint of color with plenty of shine with MAC Lustreglass in Luminary, Decorative, or Little Vi. 8. Get the doe-eyed look by applying a couple of coats of DiorShow Mascara ($24 at Sephora) to your upper and lower lashes. 9. Make your eyes stand out with double-duty eyeliner and eyeshadow Stila Smudge Pots ($18 at Sephora). For a funky look, try the Cobalt shade.

Hair

A lot of expecting mothers notice an increase in hair growth. Take advantage of this opportunity and try textured hairstyles that require little to no heat or chemicals.

A roller set can yield to unbelievably bouncy curls that last and last. Try using different size rollers all over for a pretty bouncy mermaid look.

Or try a twist out (click pics to enlarge)

Accessories

Now, I’m not condoning wearing high heels during pregnancy, but they do help to elongate your frame. If you choose to wear heels, wear them with caution–amateurs need not apply.

1. Cienega Black Patent Pump $89.95 at Steve Madden 2. Rossi Red Leather Pump $119.95 at Steve Madden 3. Sweetee Leopard Pump $129.95 at Steve Madden 4. Explain Brown Suede Boot $69.99 at Steve Madden

If a flat shoe is more your thing, check out these choices:

1. Mulberrie Red Patent $49.95 at Steve Madden 2. Tianna Black Suede Boot $99.95 at Steve Madden 3. Banglez $129.95 at Steve Madden 4. Keepsake Green Patent Leather Flat $49.95 at Steve Madden

1. Pink Moon Sunglasses $20 at Urban Outfitters 2. Oliver Peoples Layla Sunglasses $350 at Neiman Marcus 3. Tribal Bangles $24 at Urban Outfitters 4. Gucci Pop Bamboo Large Tote at Neiman Marcus 5. Snake Hinge Bracelet $24 at Urban Outfitters 6. Turnlock Doctor Bag $68 at Urban Outfitters 7. Serpentine Spiral Bracelet $14.99 at Urban Outfitters 8. Adorned Enamel Bracelets $9.99 at Urban Outfitters 9. Cloisonne Button Stud Earings $12.00 at Urban Outfitters

What’s Got Into Katie???

Katie Holmes has come a long way since her Dawson’s Creek days, heck since the days when her then fiance, Tom Cruise, jumped up and down like a fool on Oprah. Check out some of the looks recently seen on Katie and keep on scrolling to see how you can get the look.

Be red-carpet-ready with Benefit’s HollywoodGlo ($24 at Sephora). Apply with your finger or a makeup wedge to the bridge of your nose, your temples, and just a touch on the tip of your cheekbones.

Paint the town red in this hot, high-collar trench coat from Soia & Kyo ($265 at Nordstrom)

The Little Black Dress with a twist, Diane von Furstenberg ‘Baker’ Tie Front Dress ($345 at Nordstrom)

Instantly dress-up a basic jeans and t-shirt outfit with this cool short-sleeved jacket. Sashimi Crop Swing Jacket $44 at Nordstrom.

Show off toned shoulders and back with this sexy, goddess gown by Kay Unger ($348 at Nordstrom)

Not only can you wear these cute peep-toe heels with a dress, you can also pair them up with your favorite pair of jeans! Treason Gold Snake Pump $89.95 at Steve Madden.

Black Beauty History: Dorothea Towles

Dorothea Towles Church (July 26, 1922—July 7, 2006) was the first successful black fashion model in Paris. Church was born in Texarkana, Texas. She was the seventh of eight children in a farming family.

She attended Wiley College (same college depicted in The Great Debaters) in Marshall, Texas, where she majored in biology. After her mother’s death, a wealthy uncle invited her to move into his house in Los Angeles. She transferred to the University of Southern California, where she received a master’s degree in education.

Church initially considered an acting career, but was discouraged by the lack of roles for black actors. She enrolled in the Dorothy Farrier Charm and Modeling School in Los Angeles.

She found work modeling for magazines with a black readership and in fashion shows on the West Coast.

Her sister, Lois Towles, sang in the Fisk University concert choir during its European tour in 1949. Church scheduled a two-month vacation in Paris that coincided with the Fisk choir’s concert schedule. While in Paris, Church decided to try out for some modeling assignments.

Christian Dior (shown left with Dorothea) hired her on the spot to replace one of his regular models who was out on vacation.

Church found Paris so inviting that she decided to stay in France. She told her husband, a wealthy dentist several years her senior, that she wouldn’t be returning to California. “He wrote me and even called me, but I told him I wasn’t coming back,” she said. “He finally got tired, and then he got a lawyer and sued for divorce.”

Church also designed her own gowns with samples she bought from Paris designers using her model’s discount.

In 1954 she returned to the United States and began a tour of black colleges, showcasing her couture line. Her fashion shows served as fund-raisers for Alpha Kappa Alpha, a sorority for black women.

She later signed as a model with the Grace del Marco agency in New York City. Shortly after moving to New York she met Thomas Church, an immigration lawyer. They married in 1963 and had one son. They remained married until Thomas Church’s death in 2000.

Church was revered in France during the five years she modeled in Paris. “If you’re beautiful, (the French) don’t care what color you are,” Church said.

Church recalled her experience in Paris of the early 1950s in a 2004 interview for Women’s Wear Daily: “For once I was not considered black, African American or Negro. I was just an American.” The French fashion establishment “treated you like a queen,” she said.

In her 1998 book Black and Beautiful, author Barbara Summers quotes Church about her celebrity status in Paris at the beginning of the 1950s: “I got invited out all the time. I was the only black model in Europe and I just thought I was an international person.”

Church was not totally immune to prejudice in Paris, however. Pierre Balmain wouldn’t allow her to borrow his designs for an Ebony Magazine shoot out of concern Balmain’s white clientele would be offended.

“They didn’t think that African American women would buy the clothes, that they could buy the clothes,” Church told Summers. “That’s where my education and my experience came in. I knew about black history and black society.”

Instead, Church told Balmain she wanted to wear the dresses to a party. The photographs later were published in Ebony.

Black Beauty History: Pat Cleveland

Patricia Cleveland was born into an African-American family in New York in the early 1950’s. Her mother was an artist, so Pat also decided she would learn how to paint. When she was 15 years old, she was traveling to art school by the subway, when she was noticed by Carrie Donovan, the editor of Vogue magazine, who asked her to come into the Vogue office for a photographic trial. The first designer to use her as a model was Jacques Tiffeau then later Stephen Burrows.

She also took part in the Ebony Fashion Fair which gave her valuable exposure. This led to a modeling career which has now spanned five decades. Pat has been one of the most successful black models.

At 21 Pat moved to Paris, and modeled for French and Italian designers, including Valentino. Only in 1974 did she return to the United States.

In 1973, she was part of a gala show given at Versailles in France, where she and other black girls modeled clothes of Stephen Burrows, Bill Blass, Anne Klein, Halston and Oscar de la Renta. Even though great French designers Yves St. Laurent, Pierre Cardin, Emanuel Ungaro and Hubert de Givenchy were also showing their clothes, the American girls stole the show with their stage presence and style.

From the mid-1970’s Pat was one of the Halstonettes, the girls who modeled for American designer Halston. His elegant clothes looked wonderful on tall slim Pat Cleveland.

Halston was very fond of all his girls and took them all over the world, China, South America, Europe, to show his clothes.

She continued modeling throughout the 1980’s, appearing on magazine covers and lay-outs. In the late 1980’s Pat married Paul van Ravenstein and became Patricia van Ravenstein. She had two children Anna and Noel. Her family came first, so she was not seen on the runway for a long time. However she did appear in the film “Portfolio” in 1983.

Pat is also a poet. She has published a book of poetry called “In the Spirit of Grace” which is available at Amazon.

In the new century Pat Cleveland has come out into the modeling field again. Everyone was glad to see her back. She wore the clothes of Michael Vollbracht’s new collection for Bill Blass, and of course of her good friend Stephen Burrows on his return to New York fashion week. She modeled for Fall 2003, and for the Spring/Summer 2004 also presented the collection for Italian house Gattinoni, friends for many years.