Not Your Mother's Muumuu

July 11, 2007 — -- Most women in the United States are not pregnant — they just look that way.

You've probably seen it: The latest trend this summer is shapeless blobs of fabric gracing the frames of women from petite to plus size. These dresses are the fashion industry's latest hit trend — the baby doll dress.

Baby's Back in Town

The baby doll dress is nothing new, but the resurging popularity of the trend is. Cristóbal Balenciaga is one designer credited with creating the free-flowing fashion. He unveiled the high-waisted baby doll dress back in 1957.

Sasha Morrison, fashion director for US Weekly, says designers were inspired by old hits like Balenciaga's motifs to create this season's newest must-have, 50 years after it made its debut.

"This trend evolved from a fascination with the 1920s, when there was no waist and also the 1960s, with the whole baby doll thing," Morrison said. "You have all that history."

They say history, fashion history included, repeats itself, but not every trend has made a successful comeback — think bell bottoms and go-go boots. So what has shaped the success story of the shapeless baby doll dress?

Making Fashion Accessible

It seems as if the fashion industry is on a roller coaster ride, moving from one extreme to another. This summer's baby doll dress is a far departure from last year's skinny jeans. But unlike skinny jeans, the baby doll dress is accessible to all shapes and sizes of women, something fashion insiders say adds to its appeal.

Sari Sloane, vice president of fashion merchandising at Intermix, a hip New York retailer, says the dress looks good on just about everyone.

"Baby doll dresses are extremely forgiving," Sloane said. "It's a very easy, comfortable style that can be adapted to just about every body type."

Comfort doesn't typically top the list of must-haves in fashion design. So adapting to the everyday woman is not something typical of an industry that uses pencil-thin models to promote its products. High fashion has historically been reserved for the runway, staying out of reach of the everyday woman. But the baby doll dress may be breaking that stiff stereotype.

"Fashion is about change. It's about mood and making you feel good about something you have," Morrison said. "It's invoking a mood in some people to have a passion about fashion, so it's fun."

How to (and Not to) Wear It

Wearing the baby doll dress is not foolproof, something consumers of the trend are well aware of, according to one shopper.

"I recently bought one, but it took a lot of persuading by my friends," said Rachel Carpenter, who works in marketing in New York. "I was uncomfortable with how shapeless it seemed."

And nobody is immune to committing a fashion faux pas with this trend. Both skinny and overweight women could potentially have problems with the dress.

"Overly curvy girls could possibly look heavy and on the other token, very tall and skinny girls can get lost in the dresses," Sloane said.

Morrison recommends accessories to avoid a fashion disaster.

"Everybody can wear it, depending on how you accessorize it," Morrison said. "You can hem it, belt it in or buy a smaller size."

Carpenter says belting the dress is her favorite option.

"I like how comfortable the dress is, but I constantly feel like I should be belting it or pulling it in so it doesn't add 30 pounds from its tentlike form," Carpenter said.

Morrison agrees and cautions shoppers against another potential fault of the baby doll — it can make you look pregnant.

Celebrities from rumored-to-be-pregnant Nicole Richie to a very-not-pregnant Jessica Simpson have been splashed across tabloids, triggering speculation about possible pregnancy. Many of the rumors stemmed from photos of the stars in baby doll dresses. Rumors of Richie's pregnancy began when she was photographed wearing one of the dresses.

"If you go out and get a dress that's voluminous, you'll get comments that there's a bun in the oven," Morrison said.

Unlike celebrities, most women don't have to contend with screaming tabloid headlines speculating about a pregnancy. But a casual or clumsy query from a friend or co-worker prompted by wearing of the dress can really ruin a day. So if this is a side effect of the baby doll dress, how can this trend survive in a body-conscious society?

According to Morrison, if the dress makes a woman feel comfortable in her own skin, she'll have the confidence to deny pregnancy rumors.

"You can actually say, 'No, I'm wearing volume,'" Morrison said.

Staying Power

Despite some negative side effects, don't think the baby doll dress will be the latest addition to the fashion hall of shame, like gaucho pants or skinny jeans. According to fashion insiders, this piece has staying power.

"It's like a forever piece," Morrison said. "There are certain things that you wouldn't want to be walking around with, like rhinestone shirts, but this you can work with."

And working with the trend is exactly why stores like Intermix aren't saying goodbye to the baby doll dress anytime soon.

"It can be adapted for every season," Sloane said. "The dresses can be both dressy and extremely casual."

Morrison agrees.

"You can wear them later in the fall as a tunic," Morrison said. "A tunic never goes out of style."

So love it or hate it, it looks like the baby doll dress is here to stay. And who knows, people thinking you're pregnant may have an up side.

"If everybody is under the impression that you're pregnant, being offered a seat on the subway isn't always a bad thing," Morrison said.