Pregnant socialite Nicole Richie is expanding her fashion empire to include a line of maternity wear.

The Simple Life star will soon welcome her second baby with rocker boyfriend Joel Madden and she's taken inspiration from her own growing family to launch a range of clothes specially for expectant mothers.

Richie, who is already mom to 19-month-old daughter Harlow, has teamed up with clothing label A Pea in the Pod to create and model the designs, reports
People.com.

She says, "Pea in the Pod is such a known company for pregnant women. They carry great lines, and so when they asked me to create a line for them, I was really excited and eager to do it.

"(When you're pregnant), you really feel like you have to change your whole wardrobe. And that's the last thing a woman wants to go through. So I really tried to make this line to get women excited about wearing clothes.

"I think the pregnant body is beautiful, and I think you should show it off." Richie also has her own fashion range, House of Harlow, which recently launched a collection of 1960s-style jewellery.

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)