Shapely Adults Find Baby Dolls Flattering : The sheer fabrics of these high-waist, low-neckline dresses show off the wearer’s silhouette, and they can come in anything from a Victorian to ‘60s chic look.

They’re called baby dolls, but you won’t find them hanging around the lingerie department.

Sure, many of them look like negligees, with their filmy, see-through fabrics, low necklines and thigh-high skirts, but these baby dolls aren’t pajamas.

Baby doll is a generic term for dresses that have full, flowing silhouettes.

“Technically it’s a float dress--it floats from the body and it’s usually real short,” says Holly Sharp, a Costa Mesa-based fashion designer who has seen her line of baby dolls become one of the hottest new street looks.

“The dresses have a high waist and a low neck, like the kind worn by Napoleon’s wife, Josephine,” Sharp says. “I’ve always liked that silhouette. I was one of the first designers to do baby dolls, and now we’re selling tons of them.”

Indeed, since introducing baby dolls 18 months ago, Sharp says she’s sold about 30,000 of the dresses.

“I started out selling them to high-fashion stores on Melrose Avenue, then Bullock’s bought them and blew them out,” she says. “Now I’m selling to all of the major chains.”

In Orange County, boutique owners can hardly keep baby dolls in stock.

“All of my baby dolls are going fast,” says Rose LeDonne, owner of the Rose LeDonne contemporary sportswear boutique in Dana Point. “My customers who are a little more fashion-forward really want them.”

Sharp designed her first baby doll while expecting a baby of her own.

“I’d wear the baby doll while I was pregnant and got a lot of compliments on the street,” she says.

What keeps the virtually shapeless baby dolls from looking like maternity dresses is their sheer fabrics.

Filmy materials such as chiffon, a popular choice among baby doll designers, allow slender silhouettes to show through. Anyone hoping to hide a few pounds beneath those yards of material will be disappointed.

“Baby dolls are very strong for the figure-conscious customer,” says Laura Downing, owner of Laura--The Unique Boutique in Laguna Beach, who has temporarily sold out of her baby dolls.

For modesty’s sake, Sharp adds a slip to wear underneath her dresses, but women have found other ways to wear their baby dolls without revealing too much.

Some wear their baby dolls over “catsuits,” those one-piece unitards that fit snugly over the body like a giant stocking. Others wear them over lace leggings and a bustier, biker shorts or tight denim shorts and tank tops.

The baby doll can be interpreted in endless fashion.

“They remind me of the Shirley Temple look,” Sharp says.

Many of her designs have “real big, fun, floppy collars,” loose sleeves and empire waists.

One of her baby dolls comes in sheer black georgette with red and orange flowers and has a wide, pointed collar with a low V-neck, an empire waist and a short skirt. The baby doll is available for $170 at Bullock’s in South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa.

Some of Sharp’s designs look like something out of “The Great Gatsby.”

She created a sheer baby doll in solid black or white with long sleeves, a floppy collar, and a drop-waist skirt that falls below the knees, available for $194 at Bullock’s. The same style comes in a floral print with red, purple and gold flowers against an ivory background.

Another of her old-fashioned baby dolls comes in white with bow fasteners down the front and a drop waist with a softly pleated long skirt, for $150.

“When I style them I see them as Victorian,” Sharp says. A few styles feature pearly buttons down the front and scoop necklines.

Other baby dolls have a ‘60s look, thanks to wilder prints and those short, short hemlines. One short-sleeved style by Bon Chic Bon Genre is made out of a multicolored sheer fabric that has a tie-dyed look. The baby doll sells for $88 at Bullock’s.

Rose LeDonne carries a sleeveless baby doll in solid white or black rayon with a short, full skirt and large buttons down the front for $98.

Elisabetta Rogiani, a Los Angeles-based designer who created the tank dress, also has a line of fluid chiffon baby dolls.

“I needed a softer silhouette to go over stretch lace,” Rogiani says. “I wanted something loose but feminine.”

Rogiani has experimented liberally with the silhouette, designing baby dolls with uneven hemlines that are several inches shorter in front, and switching from bold floral prints to smaller flowers to create “a ‘40s antique look.”

By adding different accessories, baby dolls can go from punk to romantic.

“You can wear them with a crocheted sweater and those funky big black shoes with little white socks,” Rogiani says.

“You can wear them with cowboy boots for that ‘70s western feeling. I’ve seen a lot of women wearing them with platform shoes and peace signs. Others wear them with a big cross around their necks.”

Some women wear them with a heavy pendant necklace and shoulder duster earrings.

“The baby doll is so simple, it’s like a canvas,” Rogiani says. “You can paint what you want on it.”