The groundbreaking Dallas clothing company

Look to save on indoor and outdoor furniture as well, says USA Today. New designs hit the showrooms after the holidays, in February and again in August — making July a big clearance month for furniture. You can likely pick up a new sofa and love seat at a steep discount, but don't expect new fabric colors debuting for fall.crouchless bikiniOverall, improved consumer confidence and spending helped drive retail sales in May up nearly 5 percent from last year, according to the most recent figures released by the National Retail Federation.Looking for the perfect baby-shower gift for a certain well-dressed duchess? Consider Kay Goldman's new book Dressing Modern Maternity, a history of the Page Boy maternity label. 

The groundbreaking Dallas clothing company was founded in 1938 by the three Frankfurt sisters, who were frustrated with the limited options in maternity wear.crotchless bikinis Combining stylish design with innovative business practices, Page Boy dominated the maternity market for five decades. Jackie Kennedy, one of the first victims of "celebrity bump watch," was a Page Boy client; so was Elizabeth Taylor.With two more paparazzi-friendly pregnancies–Cambridge ongoing and Kardashian just ended—putting maternity fashion in the global spotlight, it would seem that the timing of this release couldn't be better. There's just one problem. As Women's Wear Daily recently pointed out, both Kim and Kate joined the growing ranks of mommies-to-be who spurn maternity clothes in favor of adapting their pre-pregnancy wardrobes or buying slightly larger versions of the kinds of clothes they usually wear—and, with minor alterations, could wear again after the baby arrives. 

This isn't just recessionista chic; for most of the history of fashion and motherhood expecting moms have managed just fine without maternity clothes. The relatively high cost of textiles in the pre-industrial age made it impractical to wear any article of clothing for just a few months; most pregnant women wore their everyday clothes,thong bikini altered or made with extra material that could be let out or taken in with frequent childbearing. It wasn't until the early 20th century that women began buyifrench maid apronng clothes expressly designed for two. Maternity clothing, then, is a fairly recent phenomenon,cheap naughty girls and a close reading of Dressing Modern Maternity suggests that its days are numbered.