With a surplus of celebrities showing off their baby bumps on red carpets, celebrity stylists are reveling in the newest ways to revolutionize the baby bump. Although maternity wear has become more normalized over time, that wasn’t always the case. For centuries, the concept of maternity wear for centuries had been one of concealment and suppression—picking the biggest, shapeless dress or t-shirt to make the baby bump nonexistent. In the 19th century, it was customary for women to wear a maternity corset, as the growing baby bump was seen as unfeminine.
So what changed over time? Significant influences of the modern maternity style came from fashion designers like Phoebe Philo, along with decades of influential women who redefined what it meant to be a mother and helped normalize maternity clothing.
Early Days of Maternity Wear
Dating back to the 13th century, maternity wear wasn’t seen as something to celebrate. Using thick fabrics like velvet, the goal was to conceal the baby bump to remain modest and feminine.
From around the 13th to 15th century, more casual wear such as overcoats, aprons, and robes was custom for pregnant women, as they were expected to be confined to their homes for the last few months of pregnancy. This was often referred to as their “lying-in.” An exception to this was for royals, as Marie Antoinette was expected to give birth in public to ensure a safe delivery and remove any speculation about the child’s parentage.
The 16th century saw pregnant women wearing corsets to maintain a feminine figure. Petticoats and corsets were the go-to’s for this ideal look. It wasn’t until the Victorian era that the infamous maternity corset was introduced. Becoming more creative with their gowns, not only did women have lace in the back to accommodate their growing belly, but in the late 1700s slits in the breast area were introduced for easy breastfeeding access.
By the late 1800s, expectant mothers welcomed the maternity corset. A doctor-endorsed corset comprised of whalebones, women were accustomed to this unbearable undergarment to conceal their “condition.” Brands even endorsed the corset as an effective way to slim down a woman’s figure during pregnancy.
Adapting to Modernity
The maternity corset took on many forms over the 1900s, but maternity wear slowly took a turn for the better in the 1930s, with more focus on comfort rather than concealment. Three sisters took on a new approach to maternity wear.
Elsie and Edna Frankfurt founded Page Boy, the country’s first high-end maternity-wear firm in 1937 with the adjustable maternity skirt. Their younger sister, Louise, eventually joined her older sisters as the main designer.
When Edna became pregnant, she soon the lack of maternity wear that worked for her ever-growing belly. Elsie explained that the pregnancy wasn’t the problem, just the lack of options for flattering clothing during a woman’s pregnancy. Thus began the invention of the adjustable skirt—an intentional hole on the front of the skirt, with a drawstring to fix and adjust the waist size as needed.
From there, the sisters continued to design fashionable, yet functional, maternity clothes. The once-tiny fashion brand went on to find major success with First Lady Jackie Kennedy eventually sporting one of its designs in 1960 during her husband’s presidency.
Phoebe Philo’s Influence
As the former creative director for Chloé and Céline, women around the world fell in love with Phoebe Philo for her adept knowledge of what a woman wants, especially for busy working mothers and their ever-changing bodies.
From being the first designer to take an extended maternity leave while at Chloé to canceling the Céline Fall/Winter 2012 show due to her pregnancy, Philo redefined what it meant to be a working mother in the fashion industry. Even now with her new namesake label, her signature “MUM” necklaces are a sleek and modern way to celebrate motherhood through fashion.
As Philo makes her return to the fashion world, there’s been a curious shift in maternity dressing.
Maternity Looks Today
Maternity wear has evolved considerably since the morbid maternity corset, but luxury fashion for mothers-to-be is still few and far between.
While the most well-known luxury houses lack in offering maternity options in their ready-to-wear collections, we are seeing a change in how influential figures are styling their pregnancy looks. In a celebrity-driven shift, women are embracing their baby bumps by showing more skin with daring silhouettes — unafraid to exude their sexuality while pregnant. Rihanna’s bombshell pregnancy announcement in jeans and a pink puffer coat opened to showcase her bump was just the beginning of her unyielding maternity outfits
Slowly but surely, the installment of modern maternity wear and normalization of maternity fashion have given influential women the opportunity to reclaim the baby bump everywhere from the red carpet to the streets. Next step: pregnancy fashion on the runway.
