While a trusty pair of dungarees that proudly show off your bump is the height of fashion now, it hasn’t always been that way. Back in the day, maternity fashion was mostly about hiding your bump - because Heaven forbid your body looks *gasp* different when you’re growing a human. Okay, okay - climbing down off our soap box. From boxy dresses to maternity corsets, let’s look at maternity fashion throughout the eras (and be glad that we’re in the era of leggings and yesterday’s old top.)
Maternity Fashion Throughout the Eras
From boxy dresses to maternity corsets, let’s look at maternity fashion throughout the eras.
Before the records - the 1800s
When we look way back to the 1800s, most people assume that maternity clothing simply didn’t exist. That’s because there’s essentially no proof of any special clothes for pregnant people.
What we do know about maternity fashion in the 1800s is that pregnant people mostly chucked their clothes away after they gave birth. There was no sharing or passing anything down. Because who wouldn’t want great-great-great-great-great-great-grandma Gertrude’s old maternity smock?
Maternity fashion was a tricky one back in those days. Fashion journals didn’t want to talk about being pregnant because it was seen as improper. (How these people thought they came into the world, we don’t know.)
People with deeper pockets could skirt the issue by ordering maternity clothing through the post. We assume it wasn’t exactly Amazon next-day delivery, but needs must. There were also pregnancy sewing patterns for the craftier folk that fancied doing things themselves.
The 1900s
At the dawn of a new decade, fabric was a pretty expensive commodity. Most people couldn’t afford to buy new clothes when they became pregnant. If only they had Vinted. Instead, people would adjust the clothing they already owned to see them through their pregnancy.
For the top of society, things were a little different. A company named Lane Bryant changed the world of maternity fashion on its head. If you were posh, this was the place to shop when you had a bun in the oven. They mainly consisted of maternity corsets or dresses that laced up especially tight to hide your bump.
It wasn’t all impractical fashion, though. Lane Bryant created the very first maternity gown in the early 1900s, and produced the first ready-to-wear maternity clothes in the 1910s. No more corsets - hurray!
The 10s-20s
Things start to move along a little more in the 1910s. Common advice dictated pregnant people should be wearing ‘maternity clothing which is not only perfectly healthful, comfortably and pleasing without being conspicuous, so that the prospective mother need not deny herself the pleasure of going out among her friends’ - because, again, it would be disastrous to walk around looking conspicuously pregnant! The horror! That little quote was from a prenatal pamphlet called "Prenatal Care by Mrs. Max West,'' published in 1913 by the Children's Bureau.
In the 1920s, the trend of loose dresses continued to dominate. Softer silhouettes with draped and belted waistlines meant that the days of maternity corsets were well and truly on their way out. It wasn’t all sunshine and roses, however. While you could move around without your ribs being crushed, pregnancy still carried an air of embarrassment. One ad from Good Housekeeping said of flowier maternity dresses: ‘Be entirely free from embarrassment of a noticeable appearance during a trying period.’ Seriously - how did these people think they came to be?! Storks were working overtime in the 1920s, apparently.
The 30s - 40s
We start to see something that looks somewhat familiar in the 1930s. While still conservative, the standard dresses of the day could be seen now in your local Mango. Cinched-in waistlines and slim, sleek silhouettes were in. That means that pregnant people wore a lot of small prints (like polka dots), wrap dresses and adjustable waistbands to hide their bumps.
Fashion stayed pretty consistent in the 1940s until that whole ‘world war’ thing cropped up. Because World War II put a pretty massive halt on fashion production, there weren’t many new styles in maternity fashion. As such, the 1930s wrap dress stayed in fashion.
Some mavericks in the maternity fashion world didn’t take to the wrap dress like the majority of pregnant people. Wrap dresses could leave people’s stomachs exposed, so shirt dresses also became a popular alternative. Button-up dresses also became popular with people post-pregnancy for easy access when breastfeeding.
The 50s
Pregnancy starts to become a little less taboo in the 50s. Magazines and fashion journals finally start uttering the words ‘maternity clothes’. Two-piece ensembles really took off. Even trousers started to come into fashion. Everything is starting to look pretty familiar at this point.
Movie stars were painting the way for new trends - the OG influencers. Lucille Ball broke new ground as the first pregnant woman on screen while filming ‘I Love Lucy’. She really set the trend of 50s maternity fashion with smock tops and flowy separates. These wide tops paired with slim-fitting skirts or capris were the dominating look of the time.
Other stars like Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor also set the stage for a glam pregnancy wardrobe full of pencil skirts and fashionable tunics.
The 60s
Stars continued to dominate the maternity fashion world in the 60s, with icons like Jackie Kennedy and Twiggy being the big headliners. Chic simplicity really ruled the day with styles like inverted pleats and boxy separates being hugely popular.
Even royals started making waves with their public pregnancies. Queen Elizabeth II rocked a lot of velvet in fashionable, business-like separates, while her sister Princess Margret wore plenty of loose overcoats.
For the average lady, A-line silhouettes were also super popular and great in the early days of pregnancy - but didn’t have much give for those later months. This is when women started to buy specific pieces of clothing for their stage of pregnancy. Maternity wear started to become so popular that even pregnancy beachwear started to crop up.
The 70s
Maternity fashion in the 70s can be summed up in one word: polyester. This material totally dominated and was perfect for maternity wear thanks to its stretch and affordability. The recognisable hippy-like looks that you’ll find in Free People like peasant tops and bohemian maxi dresses were favourites for pregnant women in this decade.
Hemlines were high for all women and pregnant women were no exception! Even in the latest stages of pregnancy, you’d find ladies rocking mini skirts. And, at the opposite end of the spectrum, there were plenty of flowy, floral maxi dresses. Pair with a fur afghan coat of your choice and boom - you’re basically Cher.
The 80s
Much like everything else in the 80s, maternity fashion was bold, bright and extreme. Athleisure had a big moment with its leg warmers and neon bodysuits. Extreme silhouettes were also a hit with extreme shapelessness, volume and proportions.
Your mum’s favourite royal, Princess Diana, made waves with her maternity fashion in this era. Oversized shirt dresses in pretty pastels and preppy patterns were suddenly a hit with mums-to-be everywhere.
With women moving into the world of work en masse, business-appropriate maternity clothes appeared for the first time. Even maternity wear didn’t escape from massive shoulder pads, though.
Denim starts to make its way into the maternity fashion space with pregnancy jeans being created by Juicy Couture creators Gela Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy. While they didn’t have ‘juicy’ rhinestoned across the bum, they paved the way for the casual maternity fashion that we know and enjoy today.
The 90s
The decade that only 90s kids remember - maternity fashion in 1990 really kicked up a gear. Long gone is the outdated embarrassment that came with pregnancy. In this era, women unapologetically embraced their goddess-like glows. Demi Moore posed nude while pregnant on the front of Vanity Fair, and sums up the feeling of the decade pretty well by saying “It did seem to give a little bit more permission to feel sexy and attractive when you're pregnant.”
Overall, pregnant bodies were celebrated like never before. The world’s obsession with celebrity culture, and the sudden access to celebrities and their style, meant maternity fashion was finally both cool and accessible. Every style, from form-fitting silhouettes to baggy dungarees, had its moment.
The 2000s
At the start of the new millennium, all the old rules about maternity fashion were chucked out the window. Pregnant people were rocking pretty much every fashion of the time without a care. Queen of the 00s, Jennifer Aniston, had some iconic looks on the set of Friends. Whilst not actually pregnant, her character Rachel showed off her bump in a variety of tummy-showing tube tops and tanks.
Empire waistlines had a moment on the red carpet as a bit of a throwback, but overwhelmingly, pregnant people were choosing comfort over anything else.
Modern maternity fashion
As for the maternity fashion of today, pretty much anything goes! Whether you want to stick to your oldest, stretchiest clothing items or shell out for a whole new pregnancy wardrobe, there are no rules.
If you’re anything like us, one day you’ll be in a flowy maxi dress looking like a 70s bohemian queen, and the next you’ll be rocking athleisure like no tomorrow. Whatever you decide to wear, we can all agree on one thing: let’s leave the maternity corsets in the history books.