Monday, September 21, 2009

Oh, the media LOVED this 'look'


Do you really WANT to see that 'look'? I'm not anti-babies, but.....geeeeeZ!
I'd always wanted to ask you what you think of shrink wrap baby wear in comparison to the lovely loose and swingy clothing our moms wore ..... seems like a perfect time to ask?
You like it?

34 comments:

shoprat said...

I don't think being proud of the fact you are pregnant is a bad thing, but I was kind of disturbed when a couple of best-forgotten female celebs decided to pose nude while very pregnant and expose their swollen bellies to the world. That one crossed the line with me.

Z said...

UGH..pregnancy is wonderful, but this is so awkward and seems slightly agenda-drive to me...like breast feeding in public; Very few people WANT to see that and I believe it's their right to not be subjected to it.....or every inch of a woman's distended pregnant naval, etc etc...
In the old days, people respected that not everybody feels the same way they do and didn't push it; today, things are so different.......
Anyway, that's my take on this.

Chuck said...

I think I am firmly indifferent to the whole thing. I think the dress is a choice for the individual. As far as breast feeding, I agree it should not be so public. A baby needs to eat but I don't think a blanket is out of order.

Z said...

Well, if you both don't mind seeing every curve and think that's pretty...maybe it's just me.
She sure is beautiful...but...ugh

Steve Harkonnen said...

I think that's up to the pregnant woman to decide what she wants to wear and for her to completely ignore what the media believes.

Anonymous said...

I've been pregnant twice. I was happy, but proud? Was it some rare feat that only I accomplished? We all know the answer to that.

Was I sexy? Ummmmm NO! People would tell me my face had a glow about it. My face. Yes my face remained in tact and I guess it did have a glow I don't know.

In fact during both pregnancies I changed my hair color. I'm not sure what that was. Probably some neurotic response to a body out of my control. Ha, ha.

Btw, no one ever said that the waddle I developed was attractive.

Don't misunderstand. I wasn't miserable. In fact I felt great after the first three months. But, I did miss the old me, and looked forward to wearing regular clothes.

But folks, why is it that displaying your swollen belly is somehow a new public announcement of "here I am look at me, I'm special".

Well, you may be special to your husband and your family. When I look at you I think, why are you wearing a stretch top? It's not attractive. Isn't having stretch marks enough?

And that husband? He can't wait for you to look sexy again. He won't tell you that, but that's what he's thinking. I know, I'm a mind reader. Ha!

So get a grip ladies, the best you can hope for when pregnant is looking feminine.

A nice loose fitting smock with a neck ruffle, or a pretty brooch on your neckline. Preferably not a neckline that drops to your navel.

Concentrate on the neck up, and enjoy your glow. It's OK not to look sexy for a few months. When push comes to shove (no pun intended), the reward is worth it.

Pris

Opus #6 said...

Is that Heidi Klum? Is she pregnant again? I'd be afraid she would trip and fall down in that dress, endangering the baby.

Rita Loca said...

I lived in a culture of near nudity on women, so...

Z said...

Okay, guys...LET IT RIP!

i guess it IS just me. Doesn't matter if we WANT to see her naval or not...And, really I DO respect your opinions VERY much, as usual...
I just keep remembering MOm having my siblings and how gorgeous and sexy she looked in smock-type of swing-tops...flirtatious and so special. there was something adorable about her (of course, she was gorgeous, anyhow, and OH, the way Dad looked at her...Now, everybody can see everything the Mom wants us to..and I guess that's fine)

Ask yourself what changed: is it "everything goes now! Everybody see EVERYTHING!" or "Z, grow up, pregnancy is pregnancy and if she wants to rip, let 'er rip"?


Pris..thanks. At least one of you agrees! It's an interesting question, don't you think, though?

Ducky's here said...

Wasn't me.

Truth said...

Remember, if it wasn't for Eve this good looking lady wouldn't be wearing anything. The way God really intended it to be.

WOW, does that make God a pervert?

If a man gives his heart to Jesus and proclaims his love for Jesus, does that make him GAY?

Faith said...

I don't think it's attractive but I have more of a problem with the form fitting clothes in general.

A pregnancy bump just isn't sexy so to flaunt it -- I don't know really what to make of it. In fact it makes me realize there's some confusion in my mind about this. Breast feeding exposes a part of the body normally considered erotic. Isn't that the main reason for covering it up? But a pregnancy bump ISN'T erotic, except maybe to some odd ones not worth mentioning. So exposing it has some other meaning. Loose clothes really normally don't look sexy, no matter what anyone says. Heidi Klum is trying to look sexy in SPITE of the bump, I think. I think she's showing off the bump just to say it isn't getting in her way, more than to brag about it.

I dunno, it's confusing.

EDGE said...

Yah, that's a little much. There are great fashions for pregnant women...this ain't one of them.

Z said...

Ducky, that cracked me UP!

Truth...when you don't understand something, it's better to keep quiet or it makes you look ...something other than you probably are. thanks.

Faith, good point.

Edge...there really are, and they look SO adorable in them, too.

Anonymous said...

revZ - Yes it is an interesting question. Actually, we seem to be living in an era of exhibitionism.

You should have seen the girls coming out of the HS, when I went to pick up my grandson.

Many in very low cut tops, bustieres worn without a blouse covering, etc. Lowriders, really low. That kind've thing.

So, no surprise that when pregnant they're flaunting it. Modesty is definitely not "in". Seems to me that's a lack of parenting.

It concerns me most in these young girls. God knows where their Moms are in all this.

Isn't it ironic, that the woman's movement lamented that women should be respected for their brains, not their bodies, and now we have "girls gone wild"!

If girls have no respect for their own bodies, how can we expect boys and men to?

Oh well Z, that's just me. I hate to see young girls with so little regard for their bodies, and themselves in general.

As you know I think our children are the most at risk group in the country, and I don't see any improvement on the horizon.

Pris

Anonymous said...

Z, that rev before your initial is from my curser jumping. I didn't realize it until too late. Weird.
Pris

Z said...

Truth, I don't want to be unkind, but just sayin'....
I also wanted to mention I find it unseemly to come to a blog like mine and slam faith....I'm sure you'd be happier with others of like mind unless this does something for you. Do you think it's nothing we've all heard before, thought about PLENTY before? Still? Anyway..all the best.

Priscilla, you make excellent points.
This, I guess, is LIBERATION!
I coined a phrase a few years back "When ANYTHING goes, EVERYTHING goes"..and I think we're seeing that now.
Women fought so hard for their 'rights' and the right, I guess, was to demean themselves in the name of comfort or exhibitionism or desperation (I'm talking in general from what I see, not particularly this Heidi Klum thing), 'letting it all hang out', etc.

I've said this before, but I'd love to be a fly on the wall of a group of high school girls like you describe in your last comment ..watching the original PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, where women were SO revered for their grace and beauty AND brains....the men in the film pined for the women, revered them for their purity and goodness. MY GOSH, today, do you know how many boys a girl must have had sex with to act like those in GIRLS GONE WILD and other things? HOW MANY at 18?
And the young boys want them to mother their CHILDREN?

Where do we go from here?

Anonymous said...

"Where do we go from here?"

Z, I shudder to think.

Pris

Anonymous said...

If you think that the media LOVED that 'look'"..
Check out my latest post.

Trekkie4Ever said...

I agree with shoprat. I believe the women who posed nude while pregnant was way over the top.

Pregnancy is very natural, but I think women look a lot cuter and more feminine when they have the flowing clothes and not strangling the baby, so to speak.

Anonymous said...

I don't have a problem with form-fitting maternity clothes. What bothers me is when a pregnant woman is so unnaturally thin, in order to be fashionable. Off topic, but not completely.

I do think that a pregnant woman is sexy. That pregnant belly is beautiful. No, hip-hugger jeans and a tube top aren't flattering during this time, but I don't think the belly needs to be hidden. I think that a pregnant woman who shows her beautiful figure is simply saying to the world, 'I'm loving my baby and my body right now'. And I don't think it's weird for a man to find that pregnant belly sexy, either. ;-)

This dress isn't my style, but I don't find it offensive. I was preggo at the same time as Katherine Zeta Jones, and she always had good style on the red carpet. Oh! And Kate Winslet, too. Classy is better.

And Ducky...too funny! ;-)

Anonymous said...

Expectant mothers ought to stay home during the last four months of pregnancy, knit tiny garments, read up on the care and feeding of infants, and play board games with intimate acquaintances only till the Blessed Event arrives wrapped in swaddling clothes of an appropriate color and laying in a white wicker bassinette.

~ FreeThinke

Anonymous said...

PREGNANCY FASHION NOTE:

Revive Empire style gowns, adding graduated hoops that start just below the bust and flare out till they drop close to the floor. Skirts should be dark. Features above the bustline should be in lighter, brighter, shinier fabrics.

Hair should be clean, shining, upswept. Discreet necklaces and earrings that direct attention to the face and neck should be mandatory.

In other words use every trick in the book to DIVERT attention from the belly.

Exhibitionism may or may not be morally offensive, but it is inexcusably vulgar.

~ FreeThinke

Anonymous said...

Hey! Maybe the caption under that picture should have read:

OBAMA'S THE ONE!

};-)>

KG said...

Hideous!

RightKlik said...

Looks a little extreme in that picture. But I can't say I'm crazy about the mumus of yesteryear either. My wife is about 36 weeks along now, and I have to say I'm glad she hasn't been wearing tents.

Z said...

RK : Congratulations!
NO MUMUS, you're right...but they have adorable maternity things where everybody doesn't have to see the UNDERSIDE of the whole deal...even kind of 'fitted' but looser at the bottom instead of SHRINK WRAP back into the pelvic area with the bulging belly button for all to see.

Looking forward to hearing your good news soon!

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

Pregnant women do have a glow. Probably from having more than one soul within them.

And good hair. Pregnancy does something to women's hair... just makes it more vibrant I think.

As for showing off the bump with form fitting clothing, nothing wrong with that, really. If the woman can pull it off and look good, more power to her.

heidianne jackson said...

i'm with you z - does that make me hopelessly old-fashioned? i hope so.

i was so happy when kat was pregnant that she purchased and wore such cute outfits. everything was swinging but not tent-like.

she did get some pics taken, professionally, when she was 33 weeks pregnant. if the pics were going to be shared beyond immediate family i would have questioned her, but they weren't and it was all very tasteful - exposed belly, but no nudity. whew!

i like the cutesy look - must more becoming, i think, than the shrink-wrapped look shown here...

Anonymous said...

Is Free Thinke kidding?

Now THAT'S WEIRD!

Z said...

Beamish, I've got to say I think it cheapens the whole thing.
Love the idea of two souls making a woman more beautiful in pregnancy; that's for sure, so many women glow!

I don't WANT to see someone's pregnancy and I"m so sorry our world has drip, drip, drip taken away the beauty and privacy and specialness and even holiness of a blessed event like that.

Anonymous said...

This is such an interesting topic to me, Z. I think that a person can maintain a sense of style while pregnant, yet not feel ashamed of showing her figure. There's no shame in being pregnant, after all. None of us would be here were it not for the miracle of birth. ;-)
There is a holiness and sacredness that must be maintained. At the same time, no need to shame women into seclusion, as some would have it. (which is just so odd and archaic...)
How did the French women dress when expecting?

Z said...

I never saw women in Paris or Munich with shrink wrap on in Europe, Jen...just stylish, loose-ish stuff, more drapey?...maybe tight around the top, but they don't show the underside as pronouncedly as women do here.

I don't think this reflects at all on the beauty of having children! I think it's sort of like public breast feeding, in a way....We who don't want to see a woman we don't know's naked breasts also don't much care to see the big, distended navel pregnancies cause or the bottom side of a 'lump'...

Pregnancy is a beautiful thing!
Just wear something lovely, something flattering....Maybe I'm just mean, I don't know. I used to almost burst into laughter in the days when women first started with the "Look at EVERY INCH of my belly PLEASE" clothes.....Not in meanness, really, just surprise because women used to dress so carefully when expecting (Sorry, PREGNANT).......today, it's so silly to think they'd want strangers to see every fold and distension ...but, we get used to things. I DON'T!!! ICK.

I find that kind of sad, personally.

Pat Jenkins said...

z i don't think there is anything more beautiful than a woman with child. and that is one beautiful lady with a child.....