With everyone cooped up and doing their part to flatten the curve, it’s safe to assume that a baby boom is on the horizon. We figure this time at home can go one of two ways: either cooking, cleaning, and caring for the children you already have is the best free birth control ever, or all of this time with you and your significant other under one roof 24/7 means the two of you are going to be getting busy more than usual. After all, there’s only so much Netflix one can watch. No matter what, one thing’s for sure—when this is all over, maternity fashion will be needed, and it should be fabulous. Enter the female-founded, direct-to-consumer, luxury maternity line Frances Hart.
The brand, which just launched in October, aims to support mothers without forsaking the tailoring and fit of their garments. Founder Natalie Hart Wadsworth got into maternity by “virtue of observation,” she says. “I watched so many of my friends—and also my sister—struggle to find anything they wanted to wear while pregnant. The options available to them we’re staid, unflattering, expensive, or some combination of all of these things.”
The gap in the market surprised Wadsworth particularly because mothers in the U.S. are having children later in life compared to a decade ago, and a large number of women are working while pregnant. “And yet, none of the product available reflects the fact that there are real, grown-up women with a sense of style and some buying power who need to look and feel good—and like themselves—while pregnant,” she explains.
The name Frances Hart comes from both sides of her family—Frances from her mother’s side, Hart from her father’s. (It’s also Wadsworth’s middle name.) All products are made in Europe across four factories in Poland and Italy. “We’re sending lots of love to our partners in Italy right now in particular,” Wadsworth expresses. The new spring collection boasts feminine and professional dresses, tailored separates, and delicate and elegant knits with the most beautiful stretch, so they’ll be great at eight-months pregnant and even postpartum.
At the core of Frances Hart is a mission to support women in a very critical and personal time in their lives. “Yes, we operate in what can be construed as a ‘superficial’ category, a.k.a. apparel,” Wadsworth admits. “But we think expecting mothers deserve better than what they’re being offered, and we’re proud to deliver that.”
Below, a few of our favorite picks from their online shop!
