Pregnancy Fashion Starring Nicole Richie and Gwen Stefani

Maternity fashion. Oy vey... what a nightmare. Not every woman will literally double in size during pregnancy - you see the odd one who looks essentially the same (right up until the end!) except for a neat, basketball-shaped abdomen. 'You can only really tell she's pregnant from the side' people will say jealously.

Even for those women, maternity dressing is a hassle. If you don't balloon all over, it's like suddenly having an extra limb (aforementioned basketball abdomen). This extra limb must be accommodated, and the available dresses are notoriously frumpy, box-like and cheap-looking. And why, oh why (I will never understand this) does virtually every maternity outfit come in a selection of loud, psychedelic prints (and no block colours)? It's like wearing a tent-sized Hawaiian shirt.

Gwen Stefani set the bar for maternity fashion while pregnant with her first son, looking defiantly cute and polished right up until the end (even in those prints!)

More recently, Nicole Richie has earned the approval of fashion commentators with her (gasp) sexy, clinging pregnancy outfits. Who'da thunk it?!

Images: maxim.com, imnotobsessed.com, justjared.com