Mad Maternity

I have already mentioned how much I love the AMC series Mad Men, especially because of the detail paid to the costuming. In season three Don's wife, Betty Draper, is VERY pregnant. The first episode of the season kept her at home, sporting maternity nightgowns and day dresses. In episode two however, she and Don go out to dinner with another couple. Betty wears a lovely cocktail dress and coat in gold and salmon brocade.


Image from amc.com

Currently the internet is all a flutter over Betty's smoking and drinking while pregnant, but I think its important to mention how it wasn't untill the late 1950s and early 1960s that women of a certain social standing would even go out to social events when visibly pregnant. In the middle of the century maternity clothing became its own area of apparel, something that corresponded with the expansion of ready to wear. I can't wait to see what other ensembles Betty gets to wear as her pregnancy progresses!