The Latest Couture In The Maternity Ward

By drodriguez Apr 30, 2009

It wasn’t long ago when becoming pregnant also meant losing all the style your wardrobe once had. Maternity fashion, if you could call it that, was often times the section of the store you would find in the way back that featured mannequins wearing the equivalent of grocery sacks and elastic wasted pants in pastel shades that should only be allowed on Easter eggs.

Thankfully, today’s maternity fashion lives up to the description. Fashionable items are much easier to find and you don’t have to spend a fortune. A recent article from the Associated Press, “Hot Mama! Pregnant Women Can Still Have Style” discusses the maternity fashion revolution that has taken place over the last couple of decades.

Rebecca Matthias, president of maternity wear store A Pea in the Pod, discusses how with the women’s movement we have seen more stylish clothing become available to pregnant women. Matthias said, “It was a sociological change that led to a fashion revolution. Women had to dress nice when they were pregnant. They could afford to, and they were probably earning their own money.” In today’s fashion world, a pregnant woman can find the same skinny jean or designer business suit in maternity fits as she could have when she was sans baby in belly.

With new maternity styles, trends also began to shift among pregnant women. Celebrities began flaunting their burgeoning bellies on the red carpet rather than hiding them under a caftan. Liz Lange, who began designing maternity wear for Target, discussed how fitted clothing is a lot more flattering. Lange realized the fitted style as more becoming to a pregnant woman when she witnessed her pregnant friends trying to squeeze into non-maternity dresses.

Lange felt her friends looked a lot better in the closer fitting fashions than the maternity wear that tended to hide every curve, the good ones and the bad ones. Lange said, “It may seem like the opposite is true, but when you wear something fitted, close to the body, it is so much more flattering. It shows you have some new curves, but also where you don’t.”

What do you think of the latest maternity fashions and the way they have changed over the years?

Do you agree that the women’s movement has had an effect on maternity wear of today?

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Comments

by qtswetgrl27 | Fort Wayne, IN

May 06, 2009

If not for giftcards and Christmas presents, it would have been difficult to have a maternity wardrobe. Maternity clothes are slightly priced. You have to choose between buying for your little "peanut" or for you for a span of 3 months. Other than price, I think Maternity Clothes are on the right path!!

by knappch | Nyack, NY

May 06, 2009

I'm pregnant and recently received some hand me downs from a few years ago. I've also purchased some new outfits. I definitely think that the newer clothes have a more tailored and flattering cut to them and fit much better. I labsolutely love the secret fit belly pants and how they stretch with my growing belly. One thing I'd like to see is more of the womens labels carrying maternity lines. I know several already do but not many actually carry them in the stores and I've found that many only sell them online. Ordering over the internet is difficult because I can't try the clothes on before I buy them.

by COLLDAWN | Temecula, CA

May 04, 2009

I recently had a baby. And to be honest, I was surprised at how the styles have NOT changed from the last time I had a child (5 yrs. prior). The only thing is that they still cannot quite get the pants to fit comfortably. Other than that, VERY CUTE NOWADAYS!

by sd_evans07 | Madison, NJ

May 03, 2009

I think that the new fashion for a pregnant women is Great! Pregnant women are beautiful and there cloths should match

by segue68 | Richmond, VA

May 01, 2009

My maternity wardrobe is more fashionable than my regular wardrobe. I don't know that it has to do with the women's movement as much as the trend towards niche consumerism and generally slutty fashion trends (though I guess those are a result of the women's movement, themselves).

by am_i_lost | Centralia, IL

May 01, 2009

I agree with Beachbettyboop when my daughter was expecting my husband and I were the ones buying mostly everything for her. Between trying to get the basics bought for the baby that was soon coming and trying to keep clothing on her ever expanding body nearly put us in the poor house. I shopped Target and didn't think that their prices were all that reasonable.

by beachbettyboop | Phoenix, AZ

Apr 30, 2009

As a mom of an infant, I couldn't agree more that the fashions are starting to catch up to the maternity section. However, new moms can't afford to keep up with them. At a time when it seems like you're spending money on your impending bundle of joy at the rate faster than that of your growing belly, dishing out the dough for hip maternity wear just isn't realistic. Now, if they could make quality maternity wear that stretches as you grow and looks like it just stepped off the runway...THAT would be novel!