Friday, October 19, 2012

40's maternity



all patterns available on etsy

I will start this post by saying this I AM NOT PREGNANT! This is not why I am writing this. Last year I went to dinner with 2 of my girlfriends and one of my friends turned up in this beautiful 1940's vintage dress she bought in the US when on holiday. After finishing our starter of lots of good chili con queso and tortilla chips I was saying that I should have worn something with a little more stretch in it my friend said she did and un-did the tie of the dress then un-buttoned the side of the dress then re-tied the the tie and sat back down. I was amazed, I had never seen a vintage dress like it, she then told me that it was a 40's maternity dress that had buttons at the side so you could expand the front as the belly grew. After dinner I went home and jumped on etsy to find more and I was hooked.


Unlike modern maternity wear that is stretchy and tight fitting the 40's maternity clothes where designed to be  grow and shrink with you and be warn through multiple pregnancies and shared with friends or family who needed it (multiple pregnancies in quick secession where common, watch call the midwife to understand). The intricacies of the construction are amazing with all the hooks/buttons/ties to gather the fabric so it can be let out as the baby grows. While looking I also found patterns to pregnancy skirts that are made with a large cut out for the belly and held closed by a tie. A cut out like that must have been a little cold, at least somethings are better now than in the 40's (thank you hormonal contraception and belly bands).

2 amazing blogging vintage pregnancy style mama's
Left - Ulrika Bachér from her blog the freelancer's fashionblog pregnant with her 1st child, son Dag. She not only looks fantastic but also performed burlesque all the way through her pregnancy 
Right - Twila Jean from her blog twila jean  pregnant with her 3rd child, daughter Olive. A mother, a model and etsy store owner who looks amazing and what a hair colour  

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