Sartorial Natalism (and more!)

Is it possible to find a dress for sale in NYC that does not appear to be maternity-wear, and that does not make the wearer look eight months pregnant? I tried on this and this, but ended up getting neither because I do not want chivalrous fellow subway riders giving me a seat. Old Navy's dresses are not wide because of Old Navy's shall we say generous sizing, but because this sort of dress is apparently in style, in the windows of exclusive boutiques for months now. It's not that these dresses are unflattering--in a sense they're slimming, because they make one's arms and legs look tiny--but somewhere around the midsection they suggest a fetus that may or may not exist. It can be confusing in Park Slope, where most women either are or just were pregnant, to see one woman after the next looking like she needs to be rushed to the delivery room. Is the cabal that determines women's fashions of a natalist bent? Should we be concerned?

In other news, one-time prettiest presidential contender (an award that Obama would now win by such a margin who knows where to begin) John Edwards is totally paying this Rielle not to get a DNA test for her/their kid. No link, because you've read about this already. Somewhere, I've forgotten now, I found a comment about this latest affair-to-remember, claiming that the problem is that our good ol' American politicians keep falling for Jewish temptresses--Monica Lewinsky, Chandra Levy, and now the lady once known as Lisa Druck. I don't know what made this commenter think Druck is in any way, shape, or form a Jew, but it's interesting to see that the myth of Jewess-as-seductress has returned.

In still other news, a mouse just ran across the floor. The first in this apartment, and it's been over a year. Fun!