Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Oprah Winfrey sitting near a coffee table.
Model wearing black and white dress
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
The Fashion Museum dress of the year 2021 was by Giorgio Armani + worn by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex for the CBS tv show Oprah with Meghan and Harry. Meghan was 6 months pregnant, the lotus motif was chosen to represent rebirth.
Queen Charlotte sits holding her baby daughter. She raises a finger gesturing for quiet as the infant sleeps.
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
Queen Charlotte 1767 by Francis Cotes - In this portrait Queen Charlotte holds her 4th child princess Charlotte while she was pregnant with her 5th child Prince Edward. She wears a white silk sacque gown with lots of gold brocade
1921 catalogue for maternity dresses
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
1921 catalogue of maternity uniforms for nurses. Two dresses on the right have an elasticated waistband, but there is no adjustment to the length of the front hem. None of the models are visibly pregnant.
Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, pregnant with their 6th child. She wears a yellow dress with black sash.
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
Henrietta Maria
after Sir Anthony Van Dyck 1636 pregnant with her 6th child. Her pose emphasises the shape of her maternal body.
Anne, Lady Pope with her children Portrait depicting heavily pregnant Lady Pope and 3 of her children. 1596.
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
Anne, Lady Pope with her children
by Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger. This 1596 portrait shows how elite Elizabethan women dressed when pregnant. Pearls were a symbol of fertility and appear all over Lady Pope’s gown.
Ellie Goulding, pregnant in 2021.
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
In 2021 Ellie Goulding gave an interview to Vogue and the Telegraph in which she explain how she valued the opportunity that lock down provided to keep her pregnancy private.
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
A scene in the New farce called the rivals or a Visit to the Heir Presumptive - In March 1819 baby Prince George was born heir to the British throne this lasted 2 months until his cousin Queen Victoria was born 8 weeks later.
Saskia van Uylenburgh in Arcadian Costume, 1635 by Rembrandt. Saskia is pregnant, she wears pastoral style clothing and carries a bouquet of flowers.
2020 Label interpretation of Saskia van Uylenburgh in Arcadian Costume, 1635. No mention is made of her pregnancy.
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
Saskia van Uylenburgh in Arcadian
Costume, 1635 by Rembrandt depicts the artists wife while pregnant. In 2020 the National Gallery London makes no mention of her pregnancy in their interpretation label. #nationalgallerylondon
Maternity Corset c.1900
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
This c.1900 maternity corset from the collection at the V&A Museum London has side laces to adapt to changes in body shape / size and poppers over each breast to facilitate breastfeeding.
Simpson US store advert for maternity shirts. 1943-4.
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
1943 US ad for maternity shirts. Focus on utility, comfort and discreet pregnancy concealment. A subtle hint that the left shirt was designed to fit changes in bust size. #WW2 in UK pregnancy meant extra clothing rations.
Venus by Claire Partington, 2015, ceramic figurine
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
Venus by Claire Partington, 2015, ceramic figurine. Here Venus encompasses symbols of The Madonna and Hindu mother Goddess Parvati and #21stC ‘every woman’. There are symbols of birth and death and the passage of time. #pregnancy
It was a treat to join @zwhitehistory.bsky.social at #BSECS2025 and talk all things pregnancy and fashion for The Napoleonic Wars Pod #18thcentury #maternalbodies open.spotify.com/episode/6YGK...
HRH Princess Margaret stepping out of a car when pregnant with her son David 1961.
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
A rare photo of Princess Margaret in 1961 when pregnant with her 1st child. Her flowing dress covers the detailed shape of her maternal body and pleating of the fabric could move and adapt to her changing shape.
Seraphine maternity wear shop advert - 2022.
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
2022 ad for Seraphine maternity-wear. Shockingly it is standard today for non-pregnant models to pad their bodies for maternity clothing ads. This is therefore not actually a maternal body at all but it
“kinda” looks like one
Lucille Ball pregnant in an episode of I Love Lucy
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
When Lucille Ball became pregnant in 1952 she persuaded producers to incorporate her pregnancy into storylines of I Love Lucy. She was one of the 1st pregnant women on US TV. (But the words pregnant /pregnancy were never used.)
1962 Mothercare advert of pregnant woman with a dove.
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
A 1962 ad for Mothercare. The ‘hand on belly’ maternal arm positioning is both protective and communicates a pregnancy to others. Meanwhile peaceful animals symbolise maternal values, nurturing+natural mothering instincts.
Nude portrait of Kate Moss by Lucian Freud 2002.
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
‘Naked Portrait 2002’ depicts a pregnant Kate Moss and is the work of Lucian Freud. A film about Moss & Freud and the making of their portrait is currently in post-production.
Advert for maternity clothing from 1934 Lane Bryant New York.
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
Today we have this 1934 advert from Lane Bryant in New York. Their maternity clothing was designed to ‘conceal the condition’ +their collection includes maternity corsets. The woman pictured does not have a visibly pregnant body.
Mollie King at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards - 1.10.24
Welcome to #maternitymondays
A weekly look at #maternalbodies and #pregnancyclothing past + present. What’s changed? What’s stayed the same?
Mollie King - 8 months pregnant. King’s high neck / long dress makes her maternal body harder to distinguish, but her posture brings her bump into focus.
Pregnant British Soldier dressed in maternity uniform - introduced for the 1st time in 2018.
#MaternityMondays
#maternalbodies #pregnancyclothing past + present
In 2018 the British Army introduced the first ‘Multi-Terrain Camouflage’ uniform for pregnant soldiers + officers. Prior to this standard issue was a smock, but many had a mens size MTC uniform adjusted to fit instead 🪡🧵
Maternity dress design by David Sassoon for Diana Princess of Wales. 1982. From the collection of Historic Royal Palaces.
Interpretation text and image accompanying the 1982 Sassoon drawing from the collection at Historic Royal Palaces.
#MaternityMondays A weekly look at #maternalbodies + #pregnancyclothing past + present.
Today we have a 1982 maternity dress design by David Sassoon for Diana Princess of Wales. Notice how the sketch does not represent the shape of a maternal body even though the client was known to be pregnant.
