Fashion: Great with child

“I’ve never stepped foot in a maternity shop,” declares the almost-due Ashleigh Dempster. “It’s not happening. I’ve made it this far.”

Her best friend and business partner, Amanda Blakley, lagging slightly behind at 8-1/2 months pregnant (they’re due within two weeks of each other and insist it’s all a huge cosmic coincidence), admits to once wandering into a Pea in a Pod store in Miami. “I had to walk out because it was unbearable. Everything was drapery and unflattering. I would never wear that if I wasn’t pregnant, so why would I wear that now?”

“We didn’t change or alter our style just because we are pregnant,” she adds. “We didn’t all of a sudden change our style to hippie Earth mother.”

The fearlessly fashionable twosome are the founders of The Society, a culture club that hosts events that bring together the arts — from fashion to architecture to literature for their young urbane members. (Example: Just after Labour Day, The Society is having a Vintage Lawn Party, an excuse to dress up, drink gin and play croquet, badminton and bocce ball on a University of Toronto lawn.) The two have spent a fair bit of time during their pregnancies hopscotching among their outposts in Miami and New York.

When your business involves bringing together cool people and hip brands for ultra-stylish parties and events, finding fashionable maternity wear is an ordeal. It would be easier finding a dress for a pig.

Which is why the two glowing first-time mothers-to-be have thrown out the rule book regarding what to expect when you’re expecting.

“One of the best pieces of advice I got was to buy things from Zara, H&M and Forever 21 — cheap little cotton stretchy things — because when your pregnancy is finished, you’ll never want to look at those things or wear them again,” says Blakley.

Even now, so close to the end, the two can still be found in high heels, miniskirts and skinny jeans that show off their impossibly still-slim legs. Their swollen tummies, meanwhile, are wrapped with form-fitting dresses or tops (giving new meaning to the term confinement!) that blatantly bare their baby bumps.

“You only have the bump for about five months of the pregnancy so why not embrace it?” observes Blakley.

It was not so long ago that pregnant women did their best to hide their growing bellies with tent-like dresses with infantile Peter Pan collars and polka dots. We can thank Demi Moore for busting that immaculate-conception image of pregnancy when she posed nude, her belly bulging, on that iconic cover of Vanity Fair in 1991. Other celebrities — notably Cindy Crawford and Britney Spears — have since followed suit, proudly photographed showing off their bump. This past weekend, Beyonce chose the very edgy VMAs to announce she is expecting, posing on the red carpet, hugging her early bump.

The sight of an exposed protuberant belly is still a discomfiting sight for some, though. The opening-night party for the J. Crew store in Yorkdale Shopping Centre was attended by Blakley and Dempster in their standard pregnancy attire, prompting one guest to take to Twitter to sound off about whether Dempster’s miniskirt and white shirt, which exposed her lower belly, was appropriate for an evening party in a mall store.

She is unfazed: “I wear a lot of what people think is a major no-no. Since I started showing five months on, I’ve been wearing cropped tops — it’s comfortable and cute because you’re pregnant and you have a little belly.”

Plus, they chime in together, “It works for us!”

Another style signature they refused to give up during pregnancy were their fantastic shoes.

“I’ll be wearing heels on the delivery bed because they are saving us through this entire pregnancy!” says Dempster. “Whatever you’re wearing, if you put on a great pair of heels for two hours — they are not comfortable for much longer! — they make everything look better, and you feel better.”

Blakley agrees. “Heels give you confidence.”

And they have that in spades. Heels high, tops cropped, bellies out, the two are striding toward motherhood, poised and self-assured.

BABIES, BODIES AND BEAUTY

Looking great during pregnancy doesn’t just apply to clothing. What you put on your skin is also part of looking and feeling your best. Ashleigh Dempster and Amanda Blakley, founders of The Society, share their beauty and fitness tips.

Ashleigh Dempster

Face: Since becoming pregnant, I have switched to the Tata Harper line for face wash, face cream, replenishing oil and eye cream. At Gee Beauty; Tataharperskincare.com

Body: Alaffia Shea Butter Baby Balm from Whole Foods to help avoid stretch marks. I slather it on day and night.

Nails: I found a great non-toxic polish line, Karma Organics. At 889 Yonge Street.

Sunscreen: I have yet to find an all-natural sunscreen but did switch to Skinceuticals SPF 50 when I became pregnant, as your skin becomes more sensitive to sun. At Gee Beauty

Naturopathic Medicine: In addition to my workouts, I have regular visits to the Dempster Clinic — my brother is naturopathic doctor John Dempster. He also got me on the juicing train, which I have been doing through my pregnancy to make sure I get those extra veggies in my diet.