What to wear at 23 weeks?

[ChaiTRex]

Hi ladies,

I’ve never made it to the second trimester before! And after a year and a half of being stuck inside, I’m SO EXCITED that I get to go to a wedding in early October.
When I’ve not been able to dress up for ages, I can’t help but want to shop and plan it all out in advance. I’m a bit worried about the Delta variant here, so I probably won’t even head out to holiday events to keep myself and the little peanut safe. This is really it!
Only thing is, I just don’t know what people generally look like at 23 weeks.
Will I need a proper maternity dress? Can I get away with normal sizing in something long and floaty? Can I wear low/chunky heels, or do I need to stick to flats? Is your balance affected that early?

Sorry for the fluff topic, but I figured most of you could relate to wanting to play dress up.

It really depends on your ornw body type and how your body does pregnancy weight, you'd be best leaving it til maybe 3-4 weeks before to have a better idea of your shape. Definitely fine to still wear heels at that stage if you want to, can't say my balance was ever affected enough to make me need to wear flats all the time.

To properly answer your question I have never worn a maternity dress in 3-4 weddings over 2 pregnancies, a normal dress has always fit fine and I've been between 20 & 36 weeks at them. Whereas some friends would have needed specific maternity dresses by 25ish weeks, it varies hugely.

Hey!

I'm a Bridesmaid at a wedding next week when I will be 23 weeks :) I've got quite a baby bump and much larger breasts than I had initially and needed to have last min alterations done to my dress so the post above suggesting wait until much closer is definitely right. My best friend is a week ahead of me and is still getting away with just more flowy things as although she's got a bit of a bump it's not massively impacting her :) so its all so different :)

In comparison I'm already in mat knickers skirts and trousers, bra that is two sizes larger than before with tops being one size up by choice and loose fitting :) I've also not put on any weight yet (as lost so much in first trimester due to severe sickness) so it's more to do with baby I think (although I was plus size before I got pregnant so probabaly impacts)

Hope that helps!

@Taenia and @Garman

Thank you so much for your advice! I figured it probably is best to wait… but I’ll keep “looking” in the meanwhile, I can’t help myself 😂
It’s funny how much it varies from person to person! I’m 15 weeks tomorrow and some days I think “wow, look at that bump!” And then the next day I realize it was just bloating.

In my second trimester I could have got away with wearing something floaty over my bump rather than a specific maternity dress but if you want to accentuate your bump, there are some lovely maternity occasion dresses (ASOS has a decent range)

I went to a casual summer wedding at around 26 weeks and wore a maternity maxi dress (and then flat sandals underneath which made me feel so smug when half way through the night all the other women were complained about their heels killing their feet 😀)

I went for a maternity dress for my cousin’s wedding & picked something pretty but not too formal as I could then wear it afterwards as I got bigger. I just dressed it up with a fascinator, pashmina & heels. It’s over the bust that I struggle most with my normal clothes. I’m 26 weeks now and I have some stretchy/ floaty non-maternity clothes in my “fat clothes” selection (a size bigger than I was pre-pregnancy) that still fit but I am mostly in maternity clothes now x

You probably could get away with something long and floaty which is not maternity. A maternity dress will make your bump more obvious, which you may or may not want people to notice so have a think.
It is not very easy to find maternity dresses suitable for a wedding so that might be another issue!

I went to a wedding at 23 weeks on Saturday, I brought a boohoo maternity dress. I don't have a big bump but I do find the fit better on them. I prefer boohoo Mat stuff to ASOS! New look is really good too. Congratulations x

Everyone is different! A loose fit normal dress a size up might work, or perhaps a maternity dress with ties you can pull in tighter if needed (I've got one I still wear many years later, pulled in U.K. at just a dress). Why don't you try local charity shops and see what they have? I wore mostly sized up normal clothes until the third trimester

In my first pregnancy I just wore normal dresses until I was literally at my due date, then I bought a specific maternity dress for a party as everything else just made me look like a whale. I could still fit in my looser fitting normal dresses but bump was so big that they hung like tents.

Everyone is different but for me 23 weeks would be the perfect time along to wear something nice. You should look properly pregnant but not beached whale about to pop 😂 if I were you I'd plan a shopping trip a couple of weeks before and try on a few different styles.

I don’t know I’m 22 weeks and feel like an absolute sea cow 😂🙈

Congrats!

Gosh, it really depends on your body shape!

I'm 25 weeks in second pregnancy and definitely couldn't fit in any pre-preg occasion dresses. Usually a size 8. However the occasion dresses I have are quite fitted. I am going to a wedding at 30 weeks and will be getting something maternity specific. I've been in maternity bottoms for about 10 weeks and feel bigger earlier this time.

I've looked on Asos, New Look and H&M for maternity occasion dresses so far.

Oh my goodness so many responses, ladies, thank you!!!

I actually did order a couple event-worthy maternity dresses from asos before posting here… the bag arrived on Tuesday, ripped open with only one item inside (which was a cute dress, but not for a wedding). Their customer service was great, but they’re sold out of those now.
Hoping they get more cute maternity stuff in later on, once fall clothes start coming in.

I’d love to show off my bump with something more fitted, I just don’t know how much bump there will be! I’m a pear shape usually so I’ve got oodles of long flowy dresses. I’ll wait a month and see how my body is changing then.
Thank you so much to everyone who responded, you’re so helpful!

I wore a regular non-maternity flowy maxi dress to my friends wedding at 28 weeks. I pinned it under my bump though to make myself look clearly pregnant rather than just big! I also wore wedges but changed to flats after dinner for the dance floor.