HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER (1497/8-1543)
Cicely Heron (b.1507)
c.1526-7RCIN 912269
Cicely Heron, the youngest daughter of Sir Thomas More, has loosened the bodice of her gown, revealing her yellow kirtle beneath, to accommodate her changing body shape during pregnancy. Another practical option was to insert an additional piece of fabric known as a placard or stomacher between the two sides of a bodice. During this period a woman would have on average six or seven pregnancies (not necessarily all to term).