One of my favorite things to wear during pregnancy is a dress! Honestly, as much as I love a maternity waistband, dresses are really the most comfortable option available. I especially like them with tights (to keep everything in its place) and boots in the fall and winter.
When buying maternity dresses, I look for styles that can easily be adapted through at least a couple of seasons – for example, with tights, boots, and cardigan in the fall, and bare legs and sandals in the spring – and that would work for teaching and church on Sundays, a date night, or even a social event. Also, I prefer stretchy material and especially like wrap or shirt-style dresses that could later be worn to hide postpartum pudge AND work for nursing…
Here are a few of my favorite maternity dress options in stores now:
Old Navy – Still my “go to” spot – you really can’t beat the prices, and it is one of the only stores that actually has a maternity section on site (as opposed to only online). I’m actually going there today to look for that gray and black color-block one. I don’t usually go for the super form fitting looks, but I think the black panels on the sides would be flattering here.
Gap – Gap is quickly becoming one of my favorite maternity lines. I have a few things from them – including the corduroy dress and the pink and blue plaid one shown – and really love them. Their styles are so classic that I feel like they would work for subsequent pregnancies regardless of how much time is between them; and, they have a huge selection of cute shirt dresses.
Ann Taylor Loft – I LOVE The Loft’s maternity line because it is basically the exact same as their regular line only with extra belly room. Unfortunately, their prices are pretty high for something you will only wear for a few months – but I’m sure the quality is good. (I don’t own anything from there, yet.) That said, they run great sales and some of their items – like the chambray one shown – are an additional 40% off already marked-down prices right now.
ASOS – I’ve actually never ordered anything from ASOS before, but my best friend gave me a dress from there for this pregnancy, and I love it (sorry, it is no longer for sale). They have so many options and are the most stylish of all the maternity styles I’ve found. My biggest complaint is that many of the styles look SUPER short (of course, some of you might be able to pull that look off); but, if you look hard enough, there are plenty of longer styles too. They also have some beautiful more formal options, but I’m going to save them for another list another time. Prices vary from over $100 to under $50. * P.S. That long black one has a hidden nursing patch so you can feed your baby while wearing it. GENIUS! (Also, how cute are those last two for a spring shower?)
What do you think? What do you look for in a good maternity dress? Do you have a favorite?
E
Love ON and GAP maternity dresses!
My favorite budget friendly thing to do is purchase “regular” dresses that work as maternity dresses. Many of the GAP and Old Navy TShirt dresses and the ones with a high waist and stretchy material are super flattering and accommodate a growing belly and as I like to call it a “vacated kangaroo pouch” postpartum.
I lived in ON dresses. I mostly bought regular size old navy cotton dresses but in Tall so that they would still be a great length with my growing belly and as you suggested, wore them through fall and winter by just adding tights and boots. Because they weren’t maternity to begin with, I can still wear them now 🙂
Are you doing maternity tights? Regular tights in a larger size? Leggings? Not sure what I need to be wearing under my dresses now that I’m 28 weeks pregnant. Suggestions?
P.S. Love your maternity style posts 🙂
Our Old Navy doesn’t have a maternity section, sadly enough. I tried ordering some online when I was pregnant, but found their sizes to be kind of wonky on me. Would’ve loved to have the maternity section in our store!