Chic Vintage Maternity Clothes, From Retro Dresses to 50s Fashion
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All about vintage maternity clothes, including 1940s style maternity clothes, 1950s style maternity clothes and 1960s style maternity clothes.
This post is all about Chic Vintage Maternity Clothes Inspiration
Ready to take a stroll down vintage maternity wear lane?
Today we’re excited to explore the most popular 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s maternity garments.
You’ll love the creativity from each decade, as they designed clothing for the growing baby bump and breast feeding.
We’ll explore the styles worn by iconic expectant mothers of the 40s, 50s, and 60s, from the pregnant and glowing Princess Grace Kelly, to Lauren Bacall, Lucille Ball, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy.
In the early 20th century, the antiquated and pervasive small minded thinking was that pregnant women should “hide” themselves at home when they started showing.
And then stay there until their baby was born.
Why? This was the ‘proper’ thing to do, as there were limited maternity clothing options, and women needed to get their “normal” feminine silhouette back before returning to the public.
Fortunately, the spicy redhead, Lucille Ball, helped sway public opinion on this in the 1950s.
She refused to stay at home when pregnant, and wrote her real life pregnancy into her script of I Love Lucy, proudly showing off her growing baby bump to millions around the world.
“Exercising while pregnant is like eating kale on your cheat day.”
Maternity dress styles in the 1940s
There were a range of popular maternity dress styles in 1940s.
World War II influenced vintage maternity style.
Dresses needed to be practical, money was often scarce, and there were fabric shortages.
Except for the very wealthy, most women needed a maternity dress that could be easily altered into an everyday dress after their birth.
In the 1940s, the practical ‘reusable’ mentality and creativity ran wild.
By making small tweaks to popular 1940s dresses, women turned them into the perfect and chic vintage maternity style outfit that worked from early days of a pregnancy to the 3rd trimester.
In the 1940s and 1950s maternity clothing options were minimal, often only 2-3 pages of a catalog, except for the mail order catalog from Lane Bryant which had an entire catalog for maternity clothing.
1940s Vintage Maternity Clothes Style Favorite: House Dress (Shirt Dress)
The 1940s house dress (also known as a shirt dress) was one of women’s favorite casual dress styles.
Why?
It was the perfect feminine and practical outfit for the busy and no-nonsense dressing of the early to mid 40s.
The cute front buttons ran from the neck to the waist, or all the way to the hemline.
The 1940s vintage maternity version of this dress was to simply add extra fabric (width) to the side and back of the dress, add an adjustable tie belt, and a lady has an instantly stylish and adjustable dress.
Wake up one day and realize your baby bump has grown?
Simple throw on your 1940s shirt dress, and fasten the adjustable tie belt accordingly.
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1940s Vintage Maternity Clothes Style Favorite: Wrap-Around Housecoat and Housedress
Vintage wrap around housecoats and house dresses were another chic vintage maternity style.
Not only was the style incredibly flattering for the ladies’ growing silhouette, but its flexible cut and construction could also ‘grow’ with the woman’s blossoming body.
Modern dresses were constructed with fancy fabrics, like jersey, vs the 40s typical stiff cotton material.
1940s Vintage Maternity Clothing Style Favorite: Sexy Separates
Separates was another favorite vintage maternity style in the 1940s.
Leveraging the favored silhouttes of the 1940s, the shirt and skirt, or blouse and pant combinations were a chic and fashionable style dress that were stylish and flexible for the growing baby bump.
Check out these 1940s and 1950s style maternity skirts with the baby bump slot built in.
The round cutout and adjustable tie is 100% adjustable, so that it can “grow” with the baby!
1940s Fashion: Rita Hayworth Vintage Fashion Maternity Clothing Outfits
The gorgeous Rita Hayworth, a popular actress and pin-up model during World War II, absolutely glows in her chic vintage maternity separates outfit in the mid 1940s.
Notice the classic 40s fashion elements in her vintage maternity outfit, from her dramatic shoulder pads, billowy long sleeves, asymmetrical floral embroidery and a-line cut top to her classic wide legged trousers and low strappy pumps.
She is absolutely glowing and looks so feminine and beautiful with her glorious baby bump and retro waves!
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1950s Vintage Maternity Clothes Style Favorite: Matching Suit Separates
Moving into the 1950s, maternity suit separates were the “it” trend.
Ladies loved the versatility and practicality of matching suit separates.
These became more popular than dresses.
They were so comfy and classy, and perfect for the growing baby bump.
Don’t these 50s maternity outfits look oh so chic and adorable?
1950s Fashion: Elizabeth Taylor Vintage Maternity Clothes Style
Elizabeth Taylor, the legendary violet eyed actress from the Silver Screen absolutely glows in her her stunning 1950s style maternity clothes.
She proudly shows off her blossoming baby bump in 1957, when stepping out with her husband, Mike Todd.
Her favorite vintage maternity styles?
Suit separates!
She loved pencil skirts and dress-like tunics in beautiful fabrics.
Her style secrets?
Tasteful pairing of feminine and chic accessories, and voilà say hello Old Hollywood Glam à la maternity style!
1950s Fashion: Grace Kelly Vintage Maternity Clothes Style
Even though dresses were a more rare fashion choice for the 1950s, yet sometimes they were just the thing for special occasions.
We love this picture of Princess Grace Kelly in 1957 at a special event where she is wearing a beautiful vintage maternity grown, paired with gloves and glittering diamonds.
Talk about princess style inspiration.
1950s Vintage Maternity Clothing Style Favorite: Maternity Coats
Princess Grace Kelly, pregnant with Princess Caroline, looks absolutely gorgeous in her chic vintage maternity coats in 1956! (bottom right)
We love the simplicity and clean lines of her 1950s formal maternity dress (bottom left)
The full and swingy coat styles that were hot in the 1950s were perfect for a baby bump.
Also, some maternity specific coats also were introduced.
Don’t you just adore the houndstooth pattern, cozy fabrics, and exquisite tailoring of these vintage styles?
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1950s Vintage Maternity Clothing Favorite: Pants (and even Shorts were ok!)
Did we mention how separates were the vintage maternity craze in the 1950s?
And what really was on were pants…and even shorts were green-lighted.
Cigarette style pants were all the rage (thanks to Audrey Hepburn) and looked oh so chic on the glowing mother to be.
A slightly more flowy trouser style was also a 50s maternity pants style.
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1950s Fashion: Lucille Ball Pioneering the Celebration of her Baby Bump on Screen
Lucille Ball was a trailblazer for mothers to be.
In 1952 when Lucille Ball wrote her real life pregnancy into the plot line of I Love Lucy, she forever changed the TV landscape.
The Hollywood execs pushed back, arrogantly confident that the ‘public’ wouldn’t want to see a pregnant woman on screen, but the spicy redhead had no plans of staying home for nine months painting her nails and eating bon bons.
Given the 50s censorship, although the word “pregnancy” was banned from the script, Lucille Ball glibly substituted the word ‘expecting”.
The I Love Lucy birth episode aired to jaw dropping unprecedented ratings, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Just another reason why we all love Lucy.
1950s Fashion: Lauren Bacall Vintage Maternity Clothing Outfits
Even vintage shorts paired with a starched button-up (we’re betting a courtesy of Humphrey Bogart) were a 1950s casual maternity style, which Lauren Bacall rocks in the early days of her pregnancy.
What a chic and comfy retro maternity style.
1960s Vintage Maternity Clothing Favorites
The 60s ushered in an exciting variety of maternity clothing.
The trend was of opposites that embraced both sophisticated designs inspired from the 50’s to bold, trendy (and often shocking) designs of the new generation.
These polar opposite 60s looks includes elegant outfits (like trenchcoats and classic a-line dresses outfit), and edgy trailblazing outfits (“hippie” style tops and muu muu style tunic dresses).
The latter, mod category, embraced bright colors, geometric designs, and experimental materials and synthetic fabrics.
Showing a little more leg was definitely in in the 60s, a style element our glowing expecting mothers gladly embraced.
Just how the 1960s fashion represented a wide breath of style options from the classic lines to the experimental vintage mod looks, expecting mothers had lots of fabulous and colorful options to choose from.
1960s Vintage Maternity Clothing Favorite: A Line Style Dresses and Coats
“Maternity clothes are regular clothes with a 200% mark up.”
With the wide variety of the 1960s maternity styles also came the trend to buy maternity clothes for various stages of the pregnancy.
The trendy a-line silhouttes was a fabulous option for the early days of the pregnancy, but not so much for the bigger baby bump.
Plus, the maternity styles lines extended from glorious swimwear options to beautiful evening gowns--the sky was now the limit to show off your silhouette.
The 60s ushered in the...drumroll... the use of elastic fabrics in pants and skirts.
60s skirts and pants typically had an expandable front, via an elastic ‘belly-panel’, just like today--a comfy solution for changing bodies.
1950s Fashion: Jackie Kennedy & Audrey Hepburn Vintage Style Maternity Outfits
The legendary first lady Jackie Kennedy looks absolutely stunning in her elegant shift dresses, tailored coats, and boxy separates.
With her baby bump proudly on display, she is a glowing model of the 60s elegant category - chic simplicity. (left photos)
In 1960, Audrey Hepburn, pregnant with her first son, Sean, looks absolutely stunning in her chic tailored maternity coat. (right photos)
P.S. Notice the similarity of the classy looks mirrored by the pregnant Audrey Hepburn and Jackie Kennedy?
It’s highly likely that Hubert de Givenchy, the famous designer of both ladies--designed these gorgeous maternity outfits for both 60s fashion icons.
“I’ll be a wife and mother first, then First Lady.”
1960s Vintage Maternity Clothing Favorite: Babydoll Dresses
Another vintage mod 60s maternity style was the babydoll dress.
What more stylish look for showing off the baby bump than a trendy babydoll style, with a tie top and looser flowy bottom?
January Jones glows in her 60s style babydoll dress in the Season 2 Finale of Mad Men.
1960s Vintage Maternity Clothing Favorite: Muu Muu or Tunic Style Dresses
Airy loose-fit tunic style dresses with open necks were another favorite maternity dress style in the 60s!
To dress up her flowy 60s style maternity outfit (left), Audrey Hepburn adds a smart hat.
1960s Vintage Maternity Clothing Favorite: A Line Style Dresses and Coats
A-line dresses were a lovely and very flattering option choice for expecting mothers.
The slight a-lines were more suited to a smaller baby bump, and more dramatic wider cuts perfect for the later pregnancy stages.
Queen Elizabeth II (below) sports a chic velvet maternity dress in London while attending a ballet performance in 1963.
This post was all about the vintage maternity clothes from the 40s, 50s, and 60s.
What is your favorite vintage maternity style?
Do you prefer the classic 40s style maternity shirt dresses, the popular 50s separates, or some of the edgy vintage mod styles of the 60s, like the babydoll or sheath styles?
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