This maternity dress was sewn from a vintage 1950s maternity dress pattern and again it's just so incredibly comfortable to wear! Seriously, why does modern maternity have to be so bland, and I assure you the waistbands on pants or skirts are NEVER in the right place for comfort. This is my fourth pregnancy and I can tell you that everything is always either too high, ending up in the middle of the bump, or too low, pushing on the bottom of your uterus. Meanwhile, all vintage maternity is either a super high waist (above the bump) or free flowing, so the ultimate in comfort. They also keep all your curves a little more under cover, which is also comforting to me. I've never been a fan of the my t-shirt is so tight that you can see the complete outline of my weirdly stretched out belly button, or worse my popped completely out protruding belly button look.
The dress has a button placket down the entire center front of the dress, and like much maternity from the 1950s is shown worn either belted or loose and flowing. For obvious reasons, I always belt it. This time I wore a skinny green belt I got from Hannah Jane Boutique when they were having a crazy awesome sale on all their belts. Oh, and this dress has pockets! And our newly three year old boy decided to pop in for a few of the pictures.
I wore some vintage bakelite bangles and vintage green sunburst earrings. I realize I wear a lot of the same accessories, but that's because I actually have a limited amount of accessories. In some ways I figure that gives me more of a connection with the everyday women of the past who had to make do with whatever accessories they had with all their clothes. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with having more accessories, I just don't, and I thoroughly enjoy getting to see others enviable collections of vintage accessories online.
I've also included a couple shots of a pin curl set now that my middy is growing out some. I just realized that all of the outfit posts I have done for a while have has my hair unset in them, although I have set my hair, I just didn't take outfit pictures with it. There are some drawbacks to letting my middy grow out and one is that the hair is getting a little heavy to hold some of the pin curl sets that used to work so easily. I won't say the temptation to maintain the length hasn't caused me to almost get a trim, but I really like having longer hair, and I miss things like ponytails and buns for when I'm exercising or just plain hot. I simply hate having hair on my neck all the time, too. But don't worry, I'm super fickle about my hair, and will undoubtedly cut it short again in the coming year or two.
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| Please excuse some of the messy counter view and things like art easel and handvac and bananas. I just couldn't bear to cut out this little guy from the picture. |
One thing I really admire about the style of women in the past is the fact that motherhood was embraced, but personal style and appearance were expected to remain. My grandmothers both changed clothes before they went out anywhere and would change back as soon as they got home usually. This kept their nice clothes looking nice and ensured they looked put together and "respectable" when out in public. This is something that I'm trying to adopt for myself, and I'm hopeful that after this baby I can get back to sewing and collecting a very practical vintage wardrobe that includes the fancies, but also things I can wear around the house and clean in. Sure, I still go out in a modern t-shirt and jeans sometimes, but my vintage is a work in progress and I'm moving towards my goal of a complete vintage wardrobe, one item at a time. And honestly, I think it's more fun that way, because I get to enjoy and savor every piece I purchase or sew.
What's something you enjoy about collecting/wearing vintage styles?
Oh yes, definitely, that is such a great point about having a limited number of certain items. Interestingly, I feel that way about my shoes, as I don't have dozens (or even hundreds) of pairs like a fair number of gals these days (though do readily acknowledge that I probably have more than most middle class ladies of the 40s and 50s).
ReplyDeleteI love the fabric you used on this beautiful maternity dress. The purple in the pattern really jumps out at me. That last photo where you're supporting your baby bump is so heartwarming sweet.
Tons of hugs,
♥ Jessica
Aw thank you!
DeleteI've been trying for about the last five years to trim down the number of items I buy for my wardrobe and focus on quality, flattering styles, and flexible pieces. It's so easy to shop and want to buy everything, but my mother instilled in me a frugality that won't let me do it without feeling guilty, lol. For me part of the fun of wearing vintage is to not just try to duplicate looks, but to learn from the past. People were much more careful in budgeting their wardrobes and making them last than we are. I really want to get better at that.