Emily Cohen, right,
opened Bella Belli with
the help of her mom,
Annie Cohen.
Carrie Doelle is wearing
a black and white ban-
dana halter top. S73, and
matching skirt, S64, by
Olian. Melissa
Oleshansky is wearing a
red and white print mesh
top by Diane Von
Furstenberg, S165, and
black slim pants by
Cadeau, S200. Jodi
Trivax is wearing a black
jersey halter top, S60, and
matching skirt, S46, by
Olian.
•
Carrie Doelle; , wears an aqua terry cloth .—
sweatshirt, $82 and matching Capri sweatpants
by Childish Clothing, $78.
•
Enhanced
Pregnancy wear goes high fashion in Birmingham.
slogans like: "Love Your
f you've got it, flaunt it.
Belli," "Now Showing,"
• Whoever came up with that fashion mantra prob-
"Dalai Mama."
.. ably didn't have a pregnant belly in mind. But,
"I think to show off your
these days, women who've got 'em are proudly
pregnancy and to feel
flaunting their expanding bellies and
good
about it makes the
looking fabulous in the process.
customer feel pretty and
Emily Cohen of Huntington Woods is
sexy," Cohen said.
helping dress some of the hottest mamas
Cohen doesn't have
in town. "Enhance it; show the pregnan-
children
yet, but when
cy," Cohen said. "It's natural."
she realized there
Cohen owns Bella Belli Maternity in
was a market for
ROBIN
SCH
WARTZ
Birmingham. She sells everything from
upscale, high-fashion
1ST
COLUMN
designer maternity jeans to slinky
maternity wear, the
maternity dresses. Some of the best-
idea for her store was born.
selling items include Samson Martin T-shirts with
Maternity Trends:
What's Hot
• Body Hugging Clothes: Anything that
enhances and shows off the pregnancy
instead of hiding it
• Funky Jeans: Maternity jeans as flattering
and trendy as regular designer jeans
• "Saying" Tees: T-shirts with playful
sayings like: "Who's your Daddy?" and
"What's Kicking?"
• Full Skirts: A must in maternity and non-
maternity wardrobes
• Beading, Embroidery and Bohemian: Colorful
details that liven up tops, skirts or pants
• Fun and Sexy Clothing: Tube tops, halter
tops, slinky dresses
20 •
JULY 2005 • JNPLATINUM
"A lot of my friends were
getting pregnant, and everyone
I knew was complaining that
there was nowhere to shop and
there was nothing cute,"
Cohen said.
So the 29-year-old, a former
Campaign associate with the
Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit, did her
research and opened the busi-
ness on Old Woodward with
the help of her mom, Annie
Cohen of Bloomfield Hills.
The mother-daughter team