When Duchess Meghan stepped out for the first time after giving birth to her new son Archie, mums everywhere praised her for showing the world what a post-baby body actually looks like. Instead of hiding her beautiful post-partum bump, which certainly doesn’t go away until at least a few months after baby arrives, the 37-year-old new mum wore a dress that accentuates her “mum tum”.
And she did so with unimaginable style and grace, as seen in the photo below:
The trench-style, sleeveless tuxedo dress by British designer Grace Wales Bonner featured a tie at the waist, which only served to highlight Meghan’s beautiful rotund bump. However, the choice of the colour white was certainly a brave one.
As any mother knows, those first few days after giving birth can be messy and complicated with lots going on below the waist. Surfboard pads is immediately what comes to mind when we think of having to wear white 48-hours after giving birth.
White can be incredibly unforgiving and show stains very easily, but Meghan managed to keep her outfit pristine for the very short official photocall at Windsor Castle.
The Duchess was hailed as an “absolute icon” by women on social media for failing to hide her post-birth bump in a flowy dress or elasticised waist, instead choosing to celebrate the incredible human feat her body had just performed.
LOVE that Meghan has come to her photo call without trying to hide the ‘after birth baby bump’. Absolute icon. This is how 99% of women look after birth and she is helping normalise it. She looks amazing and is absolutely glowing. Power to her and all new mothers! ? #babysussex
— ☾madeleine (@idgimaddy) 8 May 2019
Shoutout to Duchess Meghan for not being ashamed of her baby bump and not trying to cover it up. Power to pregnant women everywhere not to be ashamed or self conscious after pregnancy. #MeghanMarkle #Babybump #RoyalBabyName
— Vash Frazier (@VeeFraz) 9 May 2019
Meghan clearly carried her child. I admire her greatly for coming out with post-baby puffiness to show that women do not have to look like their pre-pregnancy selves to still be beautiful. #MeghanMarkle #RoyalBaby
— Anne Boleyn (@TudorChick1501) 8 May 2019
But of course, Meghan still did look absolutely stunning as she and Prince Harry introduced little Archie to the world, and the Duchess clearly had the help of a hair and makeup team at her disposal to help glam her up for the occasion. She kept her makeup subtle, with her signature freckles still showing through and her hair in natural-looking waves.
Sadly, we still aren’t used to seeing images of women looking less-than-perfect right after giving birth, but Meghan is paving the way for a new normal for women everywhere. Here are more mums who got real about their post-baby bodies:
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