Maternity Clothes Break Fashion BarrieBy Andrew P McDonald

There is little doubt that maternity clothing has evolved greatly in the last ten years, there are a variety of factors which have contributed to this development – some of which will be highlighted in this article. However, it can’t be denied that there is still a definite stigma which still exists around maternity clothes, particularly from newly pregnant mothers-to-be.

The Generation Gap

This fear is completely understandable if we take into account what it is primarily based upon – memories of our parents and grandparents. We are sure that like us you remember your mother, pregnant with a younger sibling, being forced to wear some truly unflattering maternity clothing. Maternity ‘fashions’ of the 1970s and early 1980s were practically non-existent, you merely bought some bigger clothes. We have some very strong memories of dungarees and bland ponchos, looking at old photos of our parents during this time illicit a huge wave of sympathy – the main word that comes to mind is ‘frumpy’. Things get even stranger when we see what our grandparents had to deal with when pregnant – they almost look like they’ve been squeezed into larger gents tweed suits. Thankfully things have evolved somewhat from these dark old days.

Change had to happen

There is no doubt that things had to change in maternity wear, and thankfully a confluence of factors came into being which aided this evolution. Firstly, from the mid to late 1980s there was a marked rise in fashion consciousness amongst consumers, fashion designers and labels became the icons of the age. This led to the pregnant mums to be of this time becoming more demanding of their maternity fashions – although for the masses many of these styles remained unobtainable. The second prime factor which has brought trendy maternity fashion to the mainstream has been the rise of the so called ‘fast fashion’ retailers, who were able to quickly manufacture and adapt the designs inspired by high end fashion designers and get the clothes to the high street for affordable prices.

Maternity wear today, Peacocks UK

A prime example of the fashionable maternity clothes available on today’s High Street comes from UK retailer Peacocks. They offer a range of maternity wear which is typical of some of the best ranges available. Their range of maternity tops has a great variety of style – including vests, long shirts, blouses, printed t-shirt style tops, cardigans and a lot more – certainly more flattering than a plain poncho. Similarly, there are also a wide range of maternity jeans and trousers available from Peacocks – instead of being just a slightly bigger size, these trousers are now styled – for example the Harem style maternity trouser has grown massively in popularity. Similarly the range of maternity jeans offered has now expanded considerably, you can even get skinny maternity jeans now. If you add these to the differing styles of dresses and skirts available there is now no reason to lose your style when pregnant.

Maternity fashion is now a legitimate sector in its own right, and styles are continuously evolving – our parents and grandparents must be very jealous.

A P McDonald is is fashion analyst writing for the Cheap Clothes Rule clothes blog. Peacocks Maternity clothing can be found on this webpage.

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