taken from: USA Today
By Andrea Mandell, USA TODAY
NEW YORK — Twenty-four hours before the launch of her revamped L.A.M.B. fashion line, Gwen Stefani, 39, surveys two long racks bearing the fruits of her summer’s efforts.
“I never thought it would turn out this good,” she says, smiling as she traces the lines of an intricately tailored white jacket and opens it to reveal tie-dye silk lining.The lead singer of the recently reunited No Doubt reveals the self-described “rebirth” of her L.A.M.B. line today after working in recent months alongside new partner Manhattan International Trade Inc. Most items will range from $48 to $345, and the line mixes draped separates, sturdy jackets, skinny jeans and leopard accents in neutral colors with pops of electric purple, red and yellow.
The line is a departure for Stefani, who wanted to inject more style and serious craftsmanship into L.A.M.B collections. “I’m really spoiled,” says the red-carpet maven, who is often photographed running errands with her children in sky-high stilettos and her signature bright-red lips. Now, “these jeans are as good as anything I have,” she says, showing off a pair of dark-wash tie-dye skinny jeans on her slender frame.
Pregnancy, or the absence of it, is the hidden theme in Stefani’s fashion rebirth. Sons Kingston, 3, and Zuma, 1, put Stefani on a yo-yo of weight gain and loss, and until recently, her closet was jammed with maternity clothes. (Her current super-trim figure is “no miracle,” she says, noting it took eight months to lose the weight after Zuma’s birth.)
When Stefani launched L.A.M.B seven years ago, she envisioned staying home and planning a family. Today, she’s still going 100 mph with husband Gavin Rossdale and sons cheering her on.
“I don’t get any sleep,” she admits.
Multiplatinum solo albums, a reunion tour and a hot new line aside, Stefani’s priorities are her children. She carries flip-flops in her purse for a quick stiletto change so she can manage carrying 25-pound Kingston. And time goes all too fast with baby Zuma, who quit breast-feeding this summer.
“I didn’t want him to (quit), it felt like a total rejection,” she says. “It was really hormonal, and trying to stop in the middle of the tour was insane.”
With her three guys attending the L.A.M.B. show Thursday (if naptime permits), her next task is writing for the upcoming No Doubt album. Then, there’s her 40th birthday on Oct. 3. “I want a really big cake!”