Rock Star Momma: The Hip Guide to Looking Gorgeous Through All Nine Months and Beyond (Paperback)

With a little help from Hollywood, being pregnant has become the hippest thing for a woman to be. Fashion icons such as Angelina Jolie, Gwen Stefani, Kate Hudson, and Heidi Klum have made it beautiful to have a bump -- and more important, to show it off. Now, Rock Star Momma is here to help today's fashionistas learn how to hold on to their hipness as they rock-and-roll their way into motherhood.

With personal advice from your favorite haute mommas like Gwyneth Paltrow, Elle Macpherson, Britney Spears, Mariska Hargitay, Joely Fisher, Jennie Garth, Kimora Lee Simmons, and many more, Hoppus provides the inside scoop that style-driven pregnant women are looking for. Hoppus also includes must-have tips from industry standouts such as Fit Pregnancy, UrbanBaby, Spanx, Bugaboo, and babystyle!

• The essential Denim to Die For guide for finding those perfect jeans
• Baby Shower Babe do's and don'ts, showing how to look and feel your best on this most important day
• How to go from "gym girl" to "glam girl" in ten minutes flat
• The Panty Shmanty chapter, helping you navigate the world of maternity bras, panties, and hosiery
• Well-being, fitness, fashion, and beauty tips for all nine months and beyond
• A must-have Shopping Bag chapter that provides an arsenal of information and resources for every modern momma-to-be

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
casual cool

Whether it's heading to the mall, running errands, grabbing a movie with

the girls, or going for a laid-back Sunday morning brunch, "casual cool"

is what it's all about. In those pre-pregnancy days, you'd just toss on

a tracksuit or an old scrappy T-shirt, some awesome jeans, and a killer

belt for instant style. But now that you're knee-deep in hormones and

feeling like the human equivalent of a Hummer, getting dressed to run

around town isn't the no-brainer it used to be. Even picking out a basic

T-shirt can turn into such a daunting task that finding the square root

of 126,784,589 seems almost easier. Ah, the joys of hormones, my dear

pregnant friend.

Enter Casual Cool. This chapter was created to help make it easier to

achieve relaxed pregnancy style that flatters and feels good, even on

those scary, hairy, hormone-laden days. Through the following sections,

Rock Star Momma will make sure you've got the pregnancy essentials

for looks that rock! Check them out:

Totally Tanks and Tees

Denim to Die For

Stellar Skirts

Terrific Tracksuits

TOTALLY TANKS AND TEES

T-shirts and tank tops are the Holy Grail of casual cool. Whether they're

paired with your favorite pair of jeans, comfy trackpants, stylish cargos,

or a sassy skirt, tanks and tees are true maternity wardrobe staples. By

the very nature of being pregnant, passersby can't help but look at your

tummy -- and in turn, at that (hopefully) darling tee covering it. So

now's the time to step on up and embrace those fun and funky tops like

never before. After all, people are looking!

How to find simply fabulous casual cool tees for your belly? It's easy. I

promise. First, just say "no!" to those huge, long, tentlike tops. No,

no, no! Honey, this is the time to delight in your curves, not drown

them.

Then, keep in mind the metamorphosis your belly is about to embark upon:

from shape and size to how high or low it sits each and every day of your

pregnancy. What you'll look for in tops during month three is different

from what you'll need by month eight. Thankfully, with the "T-shirts by

trimester" guide below, you'll learn all about the hottest tops to wear

now through to baby. Read on, maternity maven!

T-shirts by Trimester

First Trimester

In those early months of pregnancy, even though your bundle of joy is

barely the size of a lima bean, your bod is gearing up for the many

changes to come and the pounds may be a-packing. You may be feeling so

nauseous that the only foods fit to soothe your stomach are laden with

comforting but calorie-packed carbs. French fries? Pasta? Cereal? Bagels,

anyone? Add hormones to the mix and it's only natural that you may be

feeling a little bloated and...well, slightly curvier than the pre-

pregnancy you. Don't even get me started on the fact that your boobs are

about to burst out of your shirt!

That said, it's not quite time for you to make a mad dash to the

maternity boutique to outfit your changing shape. If this is your first

trip through the wonderful world of pregnancy, you probably won't even

"show" until around the seventeenth or eighteenth week -- that's over a

whole month into your second trimester. But subsequent pregnancies can

start to show between weeks twelve and fifteen.

The best way to conceal that burgeoning bulge during those first few

months is to wear tops that flatter and minimize your subtly expanding

curves -- until, that is, your soft midsection evolves into a firm bump.

Boxy and unshapely tees are never flattering, but if you are

starting to get mushy around the middle, relaxed, languid ones are. Just

don't wear your tees so loose that the whole world wonders what you're

trying to hide, especially if the nonpregnant you usually sticks to

form-fitting shapes...you wouldn't want to blow your little secret too

soon.

Second Trimester

Sometime during your second trimester your belly is going to pop. And when

it does, get ready to have the most fun with your maternity clothes,

especially with those tees. But until it does, those first few weeks of

the second trimester can be a bit challenging. You know, when you're not

big enough to don maternity duds, but you're also just a little too big

for your regular clothes?

Rock Star Momma solution: Make friends with s-t-r-e-t-c-h. Cotton

or jersey that also contains Lycra or spandex will hug you gently and

look sexily slim-fitting, but will grow with you as your belly (and

breasts, don't forget) expand.

Second Trimester Tee Tip

It all began one day -- almost to the EXACT first day of my second

trimester -- which I remember as vividly as if it happened this morning,

my husband as my witness. That day I headed into my closet and something

just felt "different." It was during that time when -- and if you haven't

experienced this moment yet, then you might want to skip this and come

back later! -- NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, worked. My belly was getting

bigger but not BIG ENOUGH for maternity wear. (Later I realized that

this was the moment that drove me to start my own maternity collection.)

I wasn't showing enough to convince people I was carrying a child, yet I

was far too big to remain looking -- and feeling -- my normal self. I was

knee-deep in that awkward transition time in between showing and not

showing and I felt completely and utterly GROSS. Nothing fit. Nothing was

comfortable. Nothing looked or felt right. So I did what any hormonal

pregnant woman would do: I wept -- like a baby! -- on my closet floor.

After a box of tissues and many reassuring words of comfort from my

wonderful husband, I decided to attempt small wardrobe victories one T-

shirt at a time. How? I pulled out all my old favorite longer tees and

layered them with those stretchy maternity tanks that are so incredibly

flattering. I also loved layering a three-quarter-sleeve henley with a

contrasting colored tank. Your husband's Hanes tanks will also come in

handy but I say, if you can, splurge for the good maternity styles with

added Lycra and length.

POP, THEN SHOP

When you do finally pop, you'll be MORE than ready to shop till you drop!

When you head out on your spree, use your prepregnancy sizing as a general

maternity fit guide, keeping in mind that there isn't a whole lot of

consistency in sizing among maternity designers. You may be an extra-small

in one brand's tees, but large in another's. Your best bet: Spend some

time in the fitting room to assess what works for you. A great maternity

store should also have those "fake" bellies that you can Velcro around

your existing "new" belly so you can see if that shirt you have your eye

on will fit in month nine! Those strap-on bellies (yep, strap-on!) are

very useful and hey, it's a fun thing to visualize what's to come while

attempting to master your first real maternity wardrobe purchase. Just do

it...you'll thank me later!

Once you actually LOOK pregnant, don't be afraid to take risks -- you can

certainly pull it off, maternity momma! Go for fitted tops in bold colors,

fun prints, and flattering cuts to create looks that are cool, hip, and

totally you. Stick with body-hugging shapes. Why? Because a great fit will

accentuate your bump...which will then -- hooray! -- create the illusion of

a more slender you everywhere else.

Star Style: Joely Fisher

"There is no way to compare the magnitude, the wonder, the amazement,

and humility of being with child, knocked up, having a bun in the oven. It

is difficult to describe the unparalleled power in housing another's soul.

It's also a bitch to find something to wear. In my chosen profession, I

have found that I have had the unfortunate reality of my pregnancies not

onl