Maternity Through the Years

Recently I passed on some of my maternity clothes to a friend's pregnant daughter. I've gotten rid of a lot through the years by donating it and selling it at garage sales, but there was still a Rubbermaid bin full in my garage. Some of it dated over ten years back from my first pregnancy. As I went through all the clothes to get the nicest things ready for my friend, I was struck by how much maternity clothes has changed in just one decade.

The clothes I had from Bethany were long, baggy shirts and pants with the huge belly panel. The funny thing is that I actually remember having clothes that I loved from that time, but I was working full-time so a lot of it was office apparel that I seem to have given away or sold a long time ago. I had some super cute maternity dresses but they must have sold at our last garage sale. But I did still have a few things from back then that were more or less what I used as comfy, around the house items.

The availability and cuteness of maternity clothes gradually increased throughout my four pregnancies. More of my favorite stores are carrying maternity lines. In general clothes or expectant mothers has become more form fitting and more stylish. Pants are worn under the belly or with an adjustable waist instead of with a big belly hiding cloth panel. I  never had any luck with under the belly maternity pants, they would constantly slip down, but the adjustable waist is one of the greatest inventions of all time, both for maternity clothes and children's clothing. It's easier to find a greater variety of sizes now, including plus size maternity. Now when I'm shopping I find that it's sometimes hard to discern which clothes is maternity and which isn't without looking at the tags.

In Victorian days, it was considered a social faux pas for pregnant women to show their faces in public, and if they had to then they dressed in such a way that hid their burgeoning bellies. It only took until the 21st century for it to become common and acceptable for women to wear clothing that actually shows off pregnant bellies. In fact, one of the things I loved most about being pregnant was that I could be proud of my belly instead of constantly trying to suck it in or hide it. When I was pregnant with Lucy I even had maternity pictures taken, and although they're no longer on display in her bedroom, I will always treasure those photographs.

I'm so glad the general attitude about pregnant bellies and maternity clothes has changed for the better. What do you think? What was your favorite thing to wear while pregnant?