Pregnant Garb

[LadyStitch]

One of my friends is determined to go to TRF in garb at 6.5 months pregnant.  She wants to go as a simple, but pretty peasant. She doesn't' want to spend alot of money but look nice.

As I have  1) never been pregnant  2) make maternity stuff , I'm not sure what to tell her.  Currently she is looking at either an empire waist 1500's thing, or a basic cottom peasant blouse with an under the bust tie. 
Currently she is very well endowed and by then she is afraid that she might need extra support. Any suggestions would be helpful for both of us. Thanks.

[operafantomet]

I'm thinking this type of dress in some way (the green one):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/firenze1/ghirlandaio1475.jpg

It can be made even higher in the waist, and most are front closed (practical). It's not quite peasant, but can be made in plainer, less colourful fabrics.

[Lady Anne Clare]

Here are two I found and one does have a pregnant woman.





If you look closely at the bottom picture, the woman is holding up the front of her dress on her belly.  The basic lines seem the same on both dresses.  The sleeves could be made more simple as well as in plainer fabrics.

[Lady Rosalind]

The bottom one is the Arnolfini Wedding Portrait (one of my favorites!). She isn't pregnant - that was the style of the time. It very well could work for pregnant garb! 

[Corinne Bagley]

I have nearly the same problem. I have a friend who is going with us to TRF 6 weeks after having a baby. The solution we have come up with is loose fitting pants, flowy shirt and a ghawazee vest (in a pirate-y way). An empire waist dress might be a good idea,  you could do a split skirt with another skirt underneath and a belt under the belly.

http://www.atirasfashions.com/images/NO27A.GIF
http://www.tribenawaar.com/marketplace/images/CostumingImages/vests/SmallGreen.jpg

A half bodice or something like the ones that I posted should give enough support...

I hope I've been helpful.

[LadyStitch]

Her hubby is buying her a new full length odd bodkin chamise.  She asked me to dress it up.  My biggest concern will be her comfort.  I'm tempted to offer her my very loose and much too big for me bloomers for her to wear under neath.  I don't know if that would help or hinder.

[operafantomet]

Here are two I found and one does have a pregnant woman.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j247/Sagittarius_Uisce_Beatha/renaissance-art-300.jpg

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j247/Sagittarius_Uisce_Beatha/thearnolfiniportrait-Jan_van_Eyck_0.gif

If you look closely at the bottom picture, the woman is holding up the front of her dress on her belly.  The basic lines seem the same on both dresses.  The sleeves could be made more simple as well as in plainer fabrics.

I think neither of them ARE pregnant, but the high-waisted, full-skirted styles of the dresses can give them that appearance. The first is an early Tizian, and the dresses of that era had tiny bodice with huge sleeves and skirts. Lots and lots of fabric...! Bizarre transitional style.

There is a Raphael portrait of a woman; it's called "La Gravida" (the pregnant woman):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/operafantomet/renaissanceportraits/firenze1/raphael1506b.jpg
The title might be a later one, I'm not sure. And it's not quite peasant either. But hey, at least it's a belly...

I think the best solution would be a highwaisted bodice with full skirt, maybe a chemise or blouse underneath. That should make a quite adaptable dress which she should be able to wear again later. Maybe the bodice could be worn both open and closed laced, for maximum adjustment?

[Lady Anne Clare]

The bottom one is the Arnolfini Wedding Portrait (one of my favorites!). She isn't pregnant - that was the style of the time. It very well could work for pregnant garb! 

Learn something new everyday 

Thanks for clarifying 

[gem]

The bottom one is the Arnolfini Wedding Portrait (one of my favorites!). She isn't pregnant - that was the style of the time. It very well could work for pregnant garb! 

Learn something new everyday 

Thanks for clarifying 

I've actually seen endless speculation by art historians on whether or not Lady Arnolfini is pregnant or not--and if she's not, why does she look SO much more pregnant than similarly-dressed women in other period artwork.

HOWEVER, aside from all of that, part of the reason that that style WAS so popular is that it was during the period following the Black Death (approximately 100 years later), when Europe was still desperate to rebuild its population.  Fertility equalled beauty in those days--the pregnant look was *definitely* in!

[gem]

I found one site that uses the Margo Anderson comfort pattern for maternity garb.  I know we look at those loose gowns and think, "Coat! Hot!"  But you could easily make it from nice breezy linen--and you could probably *also* make it so she could wear her best, supportive bra with it.

[Baroness Doune]

Nothing displays your wealth like excess.
Mrs. Arnofini is wearing a houplande and it's fur lined to boot. 
Even a modest houplande takes a lot of fabric.  This one trails on the floor so much, Mrs. Arnofini has to pick up a goodly chunk just to move.  If you are holding that much fabric in front of your body and it is extra bulky because of the fur lining, yes, you look pregnant even when you are not.

On the other hand, the volume of fabric in a houplande and the way it is pleated on the body, looks good with someone who is pregnant.

On the other hand, all that fabric is hot and heavy.

There are better options. 

[isabelladangelo]

I couldn't find the painting I was thinking of the lady wearing the pink version of this one:
http://www.wga.hu/art/t/tiziano/10/1/06vanity.jpg

The Mona Lisa wears a similar garment.  What it is is a chemise, a loose high waisted bodice (underbust waistline), and then a colorful chemise like garment over that.  It was typically worn by women right after giving birth but I don't see why it wouldn't be a good garment for a pregnant woman as well.

Also, the Flemish Kirtles might work if you make a simple A line under gown and a more fitted overdress.

This might also be an idea depending on how elaborate you wish to get:
http://www.elizabethan-portraits.com/UnknownLady25.jpg
or this:
http://www.sirbacon.org/graphics/liz1.jpg

The second is actually pretty simple in cut but it's the embroidery and sheer overlayer that makes it stand out.

[operafantomet]

The bottom one is the Arnolfini Wedding Portrait (one of my favorites!). She isn't pregnant - that was the style of the time. It very well could work for pregnant garb! 

Learn something new everyday 

Thanks for clarifying 

I've actually seen endless speculation by art historians on whether or not Lady Arnolfini is pregnant or not--and if she's not, why does she look SO much more pregnant than similarly-dressed women in other period artwork.

HOWEVER, aside from all of that, part of the reason that that style WAS so popular is that it was during the period following the Black Death (approximately 100 years later), when Europe was still desperate to rebuild its population.  Fertility equalled beauty in those days--the pregnant look was *definitely* in!

It can be useful to look at the nude paintings a given era, to get a grasp of the body ideals. Nude Italian females from the 16.th century (most often Venus, a gratie or an allegorical figure) can be fleshy per se, but their stomach tend to be smooth. This pretty much reflects the fashion of the 16.th century, with flat-stomached bodices. It also gives a nod towards the ideals of ancient Greece and Rome, where the difference between male and female nudes weren't always striking.
http://www.shafe.co.uk/crystal/images/lshafe/Titian_Venus_of_Urbino.jpg
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/RM/Lorenzo_Lotto_Cupido.jpg
http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Mythology/RM/VenusAnadyomene.jpg

(It's also interesting to see who may have used female models and not - some place the breasts as "oranges" on top of the torso *cough*Michelangelo*cough*, some have them as an integrated part of the chest. But that's another discussion...)

Flemish 15.th century nudes (found in Eve figures and in everyday scenes like bathing women etc), on the other hand, shows slender women with swollen bellies. It is tempting to label them as pregnant, because they LOOK pregnant by today's standard. But Eve before the Fall of Man would not be depicted as such, not even if a pregnant woman was used as a model. It would be contradicting the story told in the painting. Picture exampes:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Hugo_van_der_Goes_009.jpg
http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen/images/memlingeve.jpg

This is only a rough description, and of course there are many variations. Botticelli (though 15.th century) with swollen-bellied women, Hieronymus Bosch (though Dutch) with flat-bellied women... One can also argue whether the silhouette of nude female figures was a result of fashion in clothing, or whether it was opposite. But comparing nude figures to the dressed one of the era and country can be quite useful. 

I agree about ideals following the social situation. The Black Death would definitely have promoted fertility as something desireable!

[gem]

Isabella, you weren't thinking of Botticelli's portrait of Smeralda Bandinelli, were you?

ETA:
Stumbled across another site that talks about loose gowns as maternity wear.

[operafantomet]

ETA:
Stumbled across another site that talks about loose gowns as maternity wear.

Oooh, that's Eva, one of my Livejournal friends. She's made some amazing garbs, this being my favourite: http://web.comhem.se/~u41200125/Anthonismorgown.html

I think she's got a point about pregnancy. Many women were "constantly" pregnant. No wonder many styles and dresses were adaptable in size...