SO, YOU'RE PREGNANT?
Hand-me-downs are hot for moms-to-be

By Paula Rath
Advertiser Staff Writer

When it comes to maternity fashions and the busy mom-to-be, it's all about friendly networking. Nearly every mother-to-be we talked to said most of her maternity clothes came from friends, passed on post-partum.

Shannon Burns (in blue print dress) wears a polyester/Spandex dress by Duet from Makana Mother & Baby ($69). Summer Vaimaona plans to wear her Meet Me in Miami cotton/Lycra outfit from Kahala Kids (pants, $50, top $48) after she gives birth. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

"I borrowed from friends who have had children already," said Mia Noguchi of 'Aina Haina, who is six months into her first pregnancy. "They loaned me a lot."

Noguchi is a Bishop Street public relations professional who has to look appropriate in executive offices and board rooms. Although her annual budget for clothing used to be around $1,000, which she spent mainly at sales in Las Vegas, Noguchi plans to spend only $300 on her maternity wardrobe for personal and professional use.

Noguchi's solution is to alternate six pairs of pants, dark brown and black, with different tops. "I found my business basics at Motherhood Waikele and Gap online," she said. "None of my suits fit me any more and I won't buy a maternity suit. I'll just wear pants and a shirt with a blazer thrown over them."

Shoes have been the most important part of Noguchi's maternity wardrobe. She wears flats and thick heels only, in the best leather she can afford and with lots of support.

Barbra Pleadwell of Pauoa has a hui of friends who are all about the same age and in professions that require being well-dressed — from attorneys to public relations professionals — who are going through their pregnancies together. At one of their informal meetings, they all brought boxes of maternity clothes to share.

Pleadwell said she's determined that her professional image not slip during these nine months of pregnancy. Her staples: "five pairs of black pants and two cocktail dresses." She also "accessorizes like mad."

She shops locally at Motherhood in Waikele and Makana Mother & Baby in Mo'ili'ili. She doesn't trust catalogues because of fit issues.

Annie Hope of Palolo, who delivered daughter Ollie Marie on April 30, bought most of her maternity clothes at Off the Mat, a yoga-themed boutique in Kaimuki. "I like the fabrics — the cotton is really soft and I wanted to have clothes I would continue to wear after my pregnancy," she said. Her favorite line is LuluLemon from Canada.

Hope runs a company, Alora, from home, and she is blessed with a tall, slender frame. She's the kind of woman about whom others said "Yikes! You can't tell she's pregnant from the back! I hate her!"

Opting for a fitted look, Hope "didn't want anything dumpy looking. I wore my own stuff, but bigger." She also likes T-shirts by C & C (from Shasa Emporium in Kahala Mall) because they are longer and cover her tummy.

"There are two kinds of pregnant women," said Pleadwell, "One who likes things over her tummy and one who doesn't." The majority of women we talked to, including Hope and Pleadwell, prefer longer tops over low-rise pants and skirts. Anything on the waist, it seems, is anathema.

Pleadwell also found camisoles at Old Navy that have shelf bras she likes. However she reported that they fade quickly and the stitching tends to come undone.

Diane Johnson of Hawai'i Kai said, "Once everyone finds out you're pregnant, things just appear — people gave me all kinds of clothes."

Johnson works at home, so she didn't need too much in the way of maternity clothes. One black skirt and a variety of tops, found at Motherhood in Waikele, has seen her through the first eight months.

As for trends in maternity wear, Deborah Sharkey of Makana Mother & Baby said that Island mothers-to-be are showing more skin and more shape. Fitted styles, halter tops, and a lot of cleavage (often a source of pride during these nine months) are popular.

"Denim is huge, as are bright prints and citrus colors such as limes, lemons and oranges," Sharkey said.

Kahala Kids in Kahala Mall started carrying maternity clothes in February and they can hardly keep them in stock, reports owner Gaye Kaupiko. When she was pregnant with her twins, who are now 3 _, the only place she found to shop was Motherhood in Pearlridge. When searching for maternity clothes to carry in her shop "I was looking for something more boutiquey and unusual." She settled on a maternity line called Meet Me in Miami, the clothes worn by Miranda during her pregnancy on "Sex and the City."

"Customers like Meet Me In Miami because it's high style and doesn't look like maternity clothes," Kaupiko explained. "They have Hawaiian print dresses and lycra tops and halters. It's a line they can use after they're pregnant."

Kaupiko will introduce a line of "pregkinis" from a company called Nicole Michelle this summer. "Some of them are i oh my God i really skimpy. The maternity world has changed so much. No more covering it all up. They don't mind showing it off in crop tops and low rise pants," Kaupiko said.

Pleadwell believes that 2004 "Is a lucky time to be pregnant because all the barriers have been pounded down and you don't have to hide it any more. In fact, it's more flattering to show your tummy."

It's all good. As long as you pass it on, 'ohana style.

Reach Paula Rath at 525-5464 or prath@honoluluadvertiser.com.