smart maternity dress

[Madigan]

any ideas where I can get a really nice dress for a wedding in June? Will be 28 weeks then, and would like something really lovely. don't mind spending a bit on it. Does anyone have any ideas re good shops/websites/designers?

Thanks !

i got a fab wrap dress last year from Blooming Marvellous - also Isabella Oliver do great stuff - slightly more pricey but lovely stuff

I hired one from local specialist maternity wear company. I went to Buckingham Palace garden party 3 weeks before DS was due. The dress was amazing and had a matching hat and bag too. All for about £60.

if money is no object my friend runs this shop

I always like the look of this site and would buy from here if I was pregnant!

Thanks - some great ideas on those websites. will definitely investigate further... looking for something which is not black (and so many maternity dresses are black!) and has some sleeves as my arms have got a bit fat . I really like the Leona Edmiston dresses on the push website ...

themoon 66 - where was the maternity hire shop?

Madigan - it was a local shop here in Lincoln. I found it by looking in yellow pages under dress hire.

oh ... bit far away for me (am in London).

I've just bought this dress from jojomamanbebe for a friends wedding I've got in June (i'll be 24 weeks by then), and it arrived today. It's really pretty, pure silk. I think I'm going to wear a fabulous hat to make it look a little smarter. I guess it all depends on your colouring, shape etc what you get. Tiffany Rose maternity do some more formal dresses \link{ tiffanyrosematernity.com/maternity/clothes/dresses.html\here} as well.

Good luck x

doh, that last link didn't work!!
try this

The best maternity dress I got was linen one from Mothercare. It was a wrap over style and I wore it to a posh cristening in a chapel in London, the same place wills and Harry got christenened in and I didn't look out of place

I just got a gorgeous dress from Isabellaoliver.com for a family wedding I've got coming up soon. You must have a look at their site, they've got a lovely selection of smart dresses for weddings in lots of different colours and styles. It's such a pretty dress and it's well made so altho it's a little pricey, nothing too awful mind you, at least it's money well spent.

Thank you for all your help ....

I love that plum dress from JoJo... but I am worried about bare arms as they are not toned and have grown a bit while I have been pregnant... maybe I am being paranoid?

Don't buy from Tiffany Rose!!!!!

I ordered a few dresses from there when I was pregnant and had a wedding to attend. When they came thet were all really poor quality!

I seem to remember I had problems getting a refund when I sent them back too.

Their clothes are overpriced tat imo!

Formes does lovely (but very expensive) clothes. thye are all good quality and many cn be worn after pregnancy as well.

If too pricey - try eBay! I have bought loads there. As an occasion dress is always only worn a couple fo times thye are in good quality!

For a real treat, Blossom Mother and Child have some beautiful clothes (eye-wateringly expensive tho!)

Would second the dresses from Isabella Oliver - I have the wrap dressses and I wear casually with flip flops now the weather is warm for maximum value.

Madigan, I don't have the greatest arms either, I'm hoping that a bit of fake tan and perhaps a shrug/pretty tie front cardi/funky cropped jacket or something will cover them adequately (and appropriately for church - my mum's so old fashioned, says I can't have bare arms in church!) until the evening when hopefully gloom will hide my bingo wings. Either that or I'm going to do tricep dips for the next six weeks!!

The dress is really pretty though, get some fab costume jewellery and no one will pay any attention to your arms, I'm going to get something with lots of sparkle to distract everyone!

mrsMar - agree that dress is beautiful, and I think I may order it and try it on. Do the sizes come up big or small or average?? am thinking it would look lovely with one of those cute little crop jackets over it (my mother is exactly the same as you re bare arms in church ....) - apparently Wallis have some lovely ones (but what colour???)

Jojomamanbebe sizes run small generally. I've ordered things from them before and everything ran very small. I've got some pregnant friends who are all shaped very differently and they also all found this to be the case with jojo sizes. Hope that helps!

I also bought the wrap dress from Isabella Oliver to wear to a wedding when I was about 28 weeks. I had so many complements, and it was very comfortable to wear and made me feel beautiful and feminine (not fat and hippo like at all!)
When the parcel arrived it was beautifully wrapped and it felt like a special occasion. I will definitely recommend Isabella O - a bit pricy but worth it for a special occasion.

The ruffle wrap dress from Is Oliver is esp stylish IMO, and I think more flattering than the plain wrap dress. The ruffles distcract from your bump and any other less than perfect body parts IYSWIM!

HI Madigan... I bought a 16 and it fits me fine. I have totally pigged out in the past few weeks and I'm carrying waaaay more weight than normally and it fits just fine. I was a 16 before getting pg as well... I did try on the black and white dress in Jojo (black and white floral print one) and bizarrely a 16 didn't fit around my rib cage, but when I tried the purple paisley print one from there the 16 was gigantic on me! I guess it's just a case of trying on and sending back if necessary. I was thinking of putting mine with a cute cream cropped jacket too, I'll have to check out Wallis!