POPE up the volume

By Published On: May 23rd, 2012

Tune into the world of Rosie Pope Maternity. Rosie Pope […]

Tune into the world of Rosie Pope Maternity.
Rosie Pope is pregnant and she drinks martinis. This is the humorous juxtaposition that makes the maternity aficionado throw back her blonde tresses and chuckle. Pope is joking. She is indeed expecting her third child, but she saves the occasional libation for postpartum extracurriculars.
Just how many hats does Pope wear to stake her claim on the maternity turf? Well, she designs belly-friendly clothing line Rosie Pope Maternity (RPM), runs a retail business, consults pregnant clients, stars in Bravo’s Pregnant in Heels and is penning her first book, MOMMYIQ: The Complete Guide to Pregnancy. Oh yes, and these responsibilities all come after and in between being a wife to Daron and mom to sons J.R. (3) and Wells (1). “RPM is soup to nuts,” she says. “Every mom is soup to nuts—you have to be everything.”
To those familiar with Pope and her catered services on Bravo TV’s reality show Pregnant in Heels, her lightheartedness and good nature are not lost. Hired by higher-than-high-end mamas-to-be to find the best personal trainer, arrange photo shoots, style looks, and basically fulfill any crazy hormonal whim, Pope takes her role as pregnancy concierge with a dose of reality. “People expect me to say, ‘That is so rational that you want to be naked on a horse,’” she explains, “but I’m honest on the show.” In other words, if you want to deliver junior on a magic carpet in Dubai, Pope may book your excursion—but she’ll first tell you to look for those marbles you’ve lost.
As for her clothing line, one wouldn’t expect a Columbia University neuroscience student to carve a place in maternity fashion, but Pope is not of the sort defined by just one title. Her beginnings are born from making clothes with her seamstress grandmother and segue to thriftier endeavors. “I had no money in college and had to make all my own clothes,” she divulges. Inspired by expectant friends, Pope recognized a need for fashionable maternity garb, trusted her talent in design, and began making custom dresses for expectant ladies with serious dough to lay down. (One of her gowns sold for $10,000 to a delegate attending Obama’s Inaugural Ball!) As RPM transitioned from custom garments to consumer collections, Pope’s fashionable finger has remained on the pulse of trends but her pieces have become accessible to the masses thanks to their far more justifiable price tags.
Yet Pope—once described as the Martha Stewart of maternity—also remains mindful of matters outside the fashion world. The Rosie Pope boutiques in New York, Los Angeles and online extend beyond wardrobe offerings to provide MomPrep services as well. The “institution” allows expectant and new mothers to attend seminars, CPR classes, expert discussions and other pre- and postnatal informational events. Pope explains, “When you buy a piece of clothing with us, you also get a piece of education —it’s a part of the whole thing.”
It would be easy for this Renaissance woman, who is shadowed by camera crews and responsible for dresses that cost more than some people’s cars, to catch a mean girl rap. But her engaging and charming persona prove her quite the opposite–just the kind of girl you’d grab a martini with.