Styling Maternity Dresses

[coconutchips]

LOOOOng time lurcker, but I finally made an account!

maternity clothes can be so terrible! I was lent quite a few cotton dresses though but I don't know how to wear them and not look like a frump.
Stuff like this

or


I can't really wear flipflops to work, but heals seem SOOO over dressed for cotton dresses.

Can you ladies suggest some shoes? I don't care too much about heal height. It's warm all but 5 days a year here too so that doesn't matter either.

Accessories would probably help too right?

[busybodyk]

A wedge with a cotton dress looks good.
A long necklace or a statement necklace would look good.
For the second dress, I would wear a real belt (throw away those strings) over my bump. An eternity scarf would look good too.

[wawa]

Yes, necklaces and earrings are your friends. They fit no matter how big your belly gets too, so that's always nice. Also fun scarves in interesting prints.

I'd wear simple pumps or a heeled sandal (it is spelled heel btw) with the first dress with no hesitation. In fact, I'm wearing something similar today. (see OOTD, 2nd page)

the second one is a little more casual with the self-tie and the henley neck, but a nice leather sandal would look great with that. (not a flip flop. an actual shoe) You could do a wedge if you want to keep some sort of height, or a flat sandal. changing out the tie for an actual belt would help add some interest too.

[esynergy]

I agree with the others...I'm pregnant and I've been wearing my normal belts instead of those ties that come with a lot of the dresses and tops. Also just accessorize with scarves and necklaces. I honestly dress just how I normally would. I know it's hard to find maternity clothes that look good though.

I find that pants and fitted shirts are more flattering than dresses. I have a dress on today that makes me look more huge than I am. I feel better when I'm wearing more fitted clothes than dresses that fit like bags.

[coconutchips]

Thanks not to self check spelling better!

Do you have any suggestions for wedges?

I have these in my cart in brown, but I'm wondering if they'll work with dresses.

*so clueless*

[melaniesc]

i know for me personally when i was pregnant with my first my feet swelled like mad the last couple months, so i wouldn't invest any crazy amount of money in new shoes because you may not be wearing them that long. (My shoe size also changed after my 2nd kid, which I've heard happens to a lot of women too). I loved flats while pregnant and love them now that i'm running around after 2 little ones. YOu can get some for pretty cheap at Old Navy and they are dressy enough for work. Also if you use one of their coupon codes it'll be even cheaper.
I know I loved wearing dresses when pregnant, especially in the later months because I didn't like pants clinging to my waist (made me have to pee all the time). Do you have any empire waisted dresses? I loved those because they made me feel like i still had a shape.
For the 2 dresses you have i agree with pp that said to use necklaces and earrings to dress them up a little bit. and definitely a true belt for the 2nd.

[busybodyk]

Sept 5, 2012 11:13:05 GMT -5 coconutchips said:

Thanks not to self check spelling better!

Do you have any suggestions for wedges?

I have these in my cart in brown, but I'm wondering if they'll work with dresses.

*so clueless*

These shoes work in brown or in the color in the pic. Very nice!

[Deleted]

Fit is so important. I understand that its maternity and meant to allow you to grow with the garment, but oversized and frumpy is just that, regardless of the bump. belted cardigans over the bump always look nice. A nice wedge helps with balance and you can find dressier wedges if a straw look is too casual for work.

[coconutchips]

Thanks, I ordered those in brown. Work is casual just not flip flop casual. Full length jeans are fine.