NEW YORK — Is she or isn’t she? It’s a question that frequently comes to mind this summer as Empire-waist looks and A-line silhouettes — styles that are often associated with maternitywear — have become ubiquitous. In fact, the dresses are being embraced by the ultrathin set, whose members, in the past, have preferred to flaunt their figures rather than hide them.
“It’s interesting that the women who choose these dresses have the self-confidence to feel sexy and beautiful and leave something to the imagination, rather than having to wear clothes that cling,” says Tracy Feith, who makes it a point to include a variety of easy, fluid shapes in all of his collections. And while Feith says his fuller shapes are timeless, he also admits that the looks are performing particularly well this summer.
Designer Suzanne Simon, who is eight-and-a-half months pregnant, says she always has loved more voluminous dresses. “There is something very sexy about a slender woman in these loose shapes,” she notes. And now that she’s expecting, Simon is finding such styles especially useful. “These are pieces that work both ways,” she says. “It’s sometimes hard to find cute maternity things in nice fabrics, and these dresses can carry you through your whole pregnancy.”
Maternitywear aside, women in Manhattan say the season’s billowy, roomy dresses are the perfect solution for beating the summer heat while still staying current. “You want something easy that doesn’t cling to you in this weather,” says one woman on Fifth Avenue. Another Upper East Side shopper who, clearly not pregnant, says she opted for her “maternity” look — a strapless cotton Empire number — because of the recent fascination with high-profile pregnancies. “My friend said some celebrity had this dress, so I had to buy it,” she says.
According to Nanette Lepore, the Lady Danger, a wool A-line dress with a tie at the waist, is one of her label’s bestsellers this summer. “I’ve always used the Empire waist in my designs, because it’s the most flattering cut for many body types,” she says. “Now there’s more acceptance of it.”
Cynthia Rowley, too, notes that an Empire-waist look is one of her bestsellers at the moment. “It’s a style that we keep recutting,” she says. “It has a high waist and low V-neck. We even redid it in washed leather for resort.”
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As the trend spreads, retailers report that they’re even noticing a change in their clientele. At Cadeau Maternity, which has boutiques in Manhattan and Los Angeles, owner Emilia Fabricant concurs it’s no longer just pregnant women who are scooping up merch. “We find that when our customer comes in and shops, her friend, sister or even mother may end up purchasing a piece or two,” Fabricant says.
Jennifer Strom Simonte, owner of Belly Dance Maternity — a West Village store that carries such maternity labels as Liz Lange and Japanese Weekend, as well as maternity collections from firms such as Diane von Furstenberg and Chaiken — is witnessing an increase in nonpregnant shoppers, too. “People initially thought the ready-to-wear volume trend would hurt the maternity business, but it’s made us stronger,” says Simonte, who also owns two Belly Dance Maternity stores in Chicago. “Seeing maternity looks in ready-to-wear lets women know you can flatter your figure without wearing tight clothing. It can be sexy to wear volume.” Simonte says that one of her store’s best-selling dresses this summer is a black silk Empire number by ElinOtto. “The stylish, nonpregnant twentysomethings [who work] in my shop also wear ElinOtto’s dresses, and they’re complimented on them regularly,” she adds.
After all, notes Feith, there will always be one important selling factor when it comes to roomier dresses: “It’s a very forgiving silhouette.”