"Sexy, but completely comfortable at all times," attests Christine Taylor, who, with husband Ben Stiller, welcomed second child Quinlin in July. Cate Blanchett, Denise Richards and Jennifer Garner also made the discovery. "The compliments were nonstop," says Taylor. "No one could believe it was maternity wear."
That's just what the designer was going for. During her first pregnancy in 2000, Hansen-Boye, then a photographer's assistant, avoided maternity clothes, determined never "to wear anything with a Peter Pan collar." Instead, she shopped at "civilian" stores, and improvised. In her seventh month, she altered a beaded bustier (read that again, moms: a bustier in her seventh month!) from Loehmann's to wear at her baby shower. Nearly three months later daughter Chiara Kruza was born—and soon after, her clothing line.
Boosted by a $10,000 gift from her parents, Hansen-Boye, 36, who had no prior design experience, quit her job, hired a patternmaker, and within six months had sold 180 pieces to the Babystyle chain. Currently sold from L.A. to London, Chiarakruza's stretchy modal spandex tops and casual dresses had sales of $4 million last year, says Hansen-Boye. Husband Tyler Boye, 32, a photographer, helps out shooting pictures for the company Web site from the Studio City, Calif., home they share with Chiara, now 4, and son Oliver, 20 months. And though she is no longer her own target customer, Hansen-Boye hasn't forgotten her original philosophy: "When you're pregnant, the last thing you need is to wear something that doesn't make you feel good."
Rennie Dyball. Alison Gee in L.A.
- Contributors:
- Alison Gee.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
