Maternity clothing is worn by women in some cultures as an adaptation to changes in body size during pregnancy.
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History
Dresses did not follow a wearer's body shape until the Middle Ages. When western European dresses began to have seams, affluent pregnant women opened the seams to allow for growth. During the Baroque period, the 17th until the late 18th century, the Adrienne, a waistless pregnancy gown with many folds, was popular. In the time around the Adrienne dress, women wore men's waistcoats. This clothing had laced vents in the back that allowed the wearer to adjust the size of the coat as she needed. During the Georgian period (1714 to 1837) the Adrienne dress became more practical. "The billowing fabric found in the Adrienne dress was again used in this era to accommodate changing bodies, but bibs were added at the bust line to permit breast feeding." Aprons were also worn to close the opening left by jackets. 19th-century maternity clothing was tailored to hide pregnancy, and Western women wore maternity corsets to conceal their pregnancies.
For many decades during the 20th century, maternity wear was considered a "fashion backwater." Pinafores were the most common style and were often sold through nursery shops. The first commercial ready-to-wear clothing for pregnant women were sold in the US by Lane Bryant, which opened in 1904. Lane Bryant offered shirtwaists with an adjustable drawstring waist, and dresses with an adjustable wrap-around front. '
The next competitor, Page Boy, offered a patented skirt in 1937. By the 30's wrap-around skirts with a series of buttons were available, but the new Page Boy skirt was constructed with a window over the area of the expanding abdomen. In later years when stretch fabric became available it was used to fill in the window. Their clothing became fashionable during the 1950s, when celebrities such as Jackie Kennedy and Elizabeth Taylor wore their clothes. Page Boy was eventually acquired by Destination Maternity.
Fashion designer Gela Nash-Taylor was dismayed by the tent-like offerings available to her when she was pregnant, so in 1988 she co-founded a business to make slim-fitting designer blue jeans for pregnant women.
Further developments in maternity clothing styles have meant that many maternity tops are also made to enable discreet nursing, extending the usable life of maternity clothes beyond just the period whilst pregnant.
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Cultural trends in maternity wear
Maternity clothes around the world have been undergoing significant changes. In both Eastern and Western cultures, there is greater demand for fashionable maternity clothes. In Western cultures the influence of celebrity culture means that pregnant women in the public eye are taking the lead on maternity fashion. As a result, pregnant women are no longer trying to hide or disguise their "baby bumps", instead choosing to wear garments which closely fit their new shape, often emphasising the bust and abdominal area. Fashion bloggers have caught on to the shift in perception too and began regularly discuss new styles and fabrics designed with the pregnant form in mind. High-tech fabrics such as elastane are the material of choice for maternity wear in Western cultures as they allow garments to be form-fitting while allowing the abdominal area to expand as necessary.
Women in Eastern cultures, however, have maintained a much greater sense of modesty when it comes to maternity wear. In both the Islamic and Asian cultures, maternity wear is much less fitted, hemlines are longer and necklines higher. Modern Islamic maternity wear uses fabrics with brighter colours and bolder prints. Aside from cultural modesty, Chinese women have sometimes sought to hide their second pregnancy in less shapely clothes because Chinese policy has dictated that they can only have one child. In Chinese and Japanese cultures, there is a fear of radiation from devices such as computers and mobile phones, especially during pregnancy. Even though there is no evidence to support this (according to WHO), Asian maternity wear is often manufactured from "anti-radiation" fabrics.
Legislative Influences on the Increase in Maternity Fashion in the 1990s
Pregnancy fashion took a dramatic turn in the 1990s, increasing the presence of baby bumps and tight fitted maternity wear. Not coincidentally, this shift occurred during a time of major change for women in America. In 1993, the Family and Medical Leave Act was passed by President Clinton which had been in the works for 9 years prior. This act protected women's jobs during pregnancy, giving women more freedom to show off their pregnancies.
This legislation allowed workers to have job protected leave for 12 weeks in the face of medical emergency and pregnancies. Up until this point, women were in danger of losing their jobs if they got pregnant. Unsurprisingly, maternity fashion's main aim at this point in time was concealment. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1979 only offered pregnant women a degree of temporary disability protection. This act was an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The amendment was ratified because of the court case General Electric V. Gilbert, where an employer offered disability benefits that did not cover pregnancy. In fact, many business associations tried to argue against this coverage on the basis that pregnancy was a voluntary condition. This controversy took place during a time when 45 percent of the working class were women but only 25 percent of insurance plans had built in sick leave for pregnancy or pregnancy related illness. Before this act was passed, many women were fired on the grounds of their pregnancy. Women now had more job security during pregnancy and actually had government protected maternity leave. Interestingly, at the same time as these laws were being passed, maternity fashion changed drastically. Fashion during pregnancy began to show off baby bumps with tight clothing. Currently, magazine articles discuss stylish mothers-to-be in figure hugging bodycon dresses, and shifts that hug their blossoming bump beautifully.
Cost and economics
The cost of maternity clothes range all price points similar to women's apparel.
Maternity clothing is generally worn only during the second and especially third trimesters. Especially if the woman expects to be pregnant only once or twice, buying maternity clothing that will be worn only for about six months, can be considered expensive. Maternity clothing may also be worn while the mother is recovering from giving birth.
Women who cannot afford or don't want to spend large amounts of money on maternity clothing may wear either larger, looser clothing or their partner's clothing. However many women feel the value of buying some maternity clothes because they can be worn the entire pregnancy as opposed to buying larger sizes that are not likely to grow with a pregnant women the entire pregnancy. Additionally, some women buy secondhand maternity clothes via yard sales and also consignment clothes stores. Some products, such as button extenders or Ingrid & Isabel's Bellaband wrap, are intended to work with the woman's non-maternity clothing, to reduce the need for specialized clothing.
Maternity clothing hasn't generally been considered a potentially profitable area for most major clothing manufacturers. This is due to a belief that many women wouldn't purchase clothes intended for only a few months of wearing. Declining birth rates have also reduced sales. However, with wide media interest in celebrity pregnancies beginning in the late 1990s, the maternity wear market grew 10% between 1998 and 2003. In 2006, Kate Bostock of Marks & Spencer said the demand for maternity clothes was growing because "Nowadays women are working during pregnancy, and travelling, and going to the gym, so their clothing needs are greater and more diverse."
Maternity clothing sales amount to approximately US $2 billion per year in the United States, with many pregnant women spending up to US $500 on maternity clothes. This represents approximately one-sixth of all clothing sales each year. The largest chains, belonging to Destination Maternity, control almost one-fifth of the American market. Other brands are sold through discount stores, department stores, and boutiques.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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