Just thought I would show you this adorable 50’s maternity suit I borrowed from my lovely friend Shona. We now seem to be utterly comfortable with our baby bumps and many of us are not afraid to show them off to their best advantage with form fitting tops etc. It seemed to be a totally different story until very recently. The idea was to completely conceal what was going on until the baby popped out into the world. Smocks and very loose fitting dresses were the order of the day!
I wanted to make a couple of 1940’s things to wear at some point, so purchased a couple of patterns from Etsy. The covers made me laugh as every single one out there has illustrations of the designs on ladies who are clearly not pregnant. Although stating ‘Maternity’ across the envelope, you wouldn’t know it from what is on the front at all!
Image from Coconutheadpatterns on Etsy
So here is the 1950’s suit I wore to Lyme Regis this weekend. It was very comfortable, the skirt very much so, with a flap at the front concealing a hole so that your baby bump can expand. There are 3 buttons either side that allows the waist to expand also. The jacket is obviously a loose fitting thing that skims over and smooths everything. I would say that a belt under the bust line would improve it immensely!
I will be writing an article for Military World about what to wear at events when you are expecting, so will post on here also. It is a struggle to find vintage styles out there when your bump reaches a certain size! I have some larger fitting repro items, but after a while, you do seem to need maternity wear or something with a higher waistline. I shall attempt to help those who still want to look the part, even if they still feel like a baby bungalow…
So, I was quite pleased apart from the head. The doll ends up with no neck, so I tried creating one which wrinkled the face and my stupid permanent pen guides I had drawn for the facial embroidery ended up spreading, making her look like an old lady!
1940's Pin-Up Entertainer Kitten von Mew 