Maternity Clothing Help! - Wedding to attend with bump

[Yankeedoodlenic]

I'm attending a wedding at the end of this month and I'll be 20 weeks pregnant with my 1st. I really want to get myself a nice dress to wear to accentuate the bump - so people know I'm pregnant and not just fat. But I feel so guilty about spending the money - ever since finding out I was pregnant my DH and I have been on financial lock down, trying to save every penny we can. AIBU to stop myself from spending the cash? I got donated several maternity clothing items but none of them are really fancy enough for this wedding we will be attending as it is going to be a fairly formal affair.

So I'd like advice on a few areas:

1st of all I have a dress pre-pregnancy I could probably wear as it is stretchy & rouched on the sides - but it is solid black. Is this appropriate for a summer wedding?

2nd has anyone bought maternity dresses from Asos? I've seen several in the £15-25 range in the sale which look suitable but I'm just worried they'll look cheap and not really appropriate for the wedding.

Please help! I have posted a thread on my local mumsnet pages to see if anyone in the area has a dress I can borrow.

local.mumsnet.com/Talk/local_milton_keynes/1792106-Does-anyone-have-a-posh-maternity-dress-I-can-borrow

Thanks for your help fellow mummies!

Kate Middleton has an Asos dress so you're in good company. However I think you should spend some cash on one good piece you'll feel happy in for this wedding and in any future pregnancies. Maybe try and get something plainish that you can dress up with acessories but could also wear if you have an interview or anything like that later in pregnancy?

topshop have a couple of nice plain dresses too. Good maternity clothing is NOT a luxury. It's essential for your self-esteem.

Have a look on eBay for an Isabella Oliver dress, something like this

I wore one in plum to a wedding when I was 6 months pg with ds2 and it looked good and was really comfy.

You could try ebay for Boden maternity too. They sometimes have nice things. Also any NCT sales near you?

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I always forget to consider ebay, so I'll look there now.

I know it could be a good investment but I just feel bad spending the money! I am really crossing my fingers coming might come from my local post and someone can let me borrow a dress. I did find the Isabella Oliver website the other day but was gobsmacked at the prices.

I guess I'll leave it another week or two and then maybe order something off Asos as a last resort.

Northernlurker How do I find out about NCT sales in my area?

Search for Tiffany Rose maternity dresses on eBay. There are some lovely ones about.
Bought this dress from New Look which would be suitable for a wedding and got loads of complements when I wore it prodid=282947313&cat=cat1920039&name=view-all-maternity NewLook

m.newlook.com/mcs/publish/4923/76718?prodid=282947313&cat=cat1920039&name=view-all-maternity

Sorry try that link again. NCT nearly new sales should be linked in their website or find your local area group on Facebook

Thanks. I've just bid on an Isabella Oliver wrap dress for £6! So fingers crossed.

Essexgirl that is a very similar style the ones I've been looking at on Asos.

Thanks for the suggestion about NCT if this dress doesn't work out I'll check that out.

A nice wrap dress is a good investment as you can wear it for nursing once you have the baby too, so you get better cost per wear value and won't have to feel guilty about spending extra money on nursing clothes when the time comes. I found that non maternity jersey wrap dresses worked for most of pregnancy due to their stretch and then they can be used afterwards. When the weather got cooler I just wore various coloured long sleeved heat tech tops underneath.

The Isabella Oliver stuff is fantastic quality. You can get some real bargains on Ebay too. I have bought an IO vest type dress for a thing I have to attend and although it was £30, it had only been worn once and is like brand new. They are £100 new, so it's quite a saving. It's extremely flattering on too.

You will wear a nice dress more times in your pregnancy, & it is important to look good for you. But, at 20 wks with your first you might not be showing much, if at all, and many pregnancy dresses look odd before you have a proper bump. If you are still pretty flat, have you thought about a stretchy dress eg from phase eight, some of which you can also breastfeed in by pulling the neckline down? I have a couple of dresses I do this with. Also if still fairly flat can wear tummy control pants / tights etc. not really different from a bump support band which some people are prescribed in late pregnancy.

I had a lovely dress from Crave maternity and used it for several weddings when I was pregnant. I've seen this teal dress on their site which is nice and in their sale.

Or they have some other nice options in their outlet which might work.

I'm having a nightmare with this at the moment! Am 28 weeks and finding all the affordable dresses so shapeless and frumpy. Asos is #1 culprit at the moment..ordered 2 dresses from them and they're both going straight back. Size 10s were too big (i'd love to be an 8 but would prefer to earn it, rather than get there after 6 months on the cookie dough ice cream!) And just didn't fit nicely at all.

I love the idea of Isabella Oliver but must be missing something as most of the dresses I like on eBay are about £50 or more, which is a lot for one wedding!

Best purchase recently is a normal dress from warehouse with some very flattering ruching at one side . Do share if you find anything as it's driving me mad!

m.warehouse.co.uk/sleeveless%20floral%20print%20wrap%20side%20dress/dresses/Warehouse/fcp-product/4543084434

Oops, forgot to add the link, sorry!

What size are you? I have a couple of size 10 dresses that may be suitable... You could borrow them, I am 20 weeks too but don't need them til August as I am at a wedding and a christening.

Let me know if they are the right size and I'll send you pics :)

HavingKittens I like your suggestion of a nice wrap dress. I might search this out as an alternative because I do agree - like Pizdets maternity stuff is just too big at the moment. I tried on some maternity leggings and they were so loose around the stomach they ended up sagging down after a few minutes of wearing. It is such an awkward stage because my normal clothes are too tight but maternity clothes are too big. Also, Pizdets on ebay it just takes a bit of searching. I just typed Isabella Oliver Maternity Dresses & then sorted by price + p&P lowest first. Some of them don't end for days so it is likely the price will go up. But I am watching one that is only at around £7 right now (I hope you aren't going to have a bidding war with me now!) You need to check out the Isabella Oliver website though to find out what size you need as they use their own unique sizing (as far as I can tell it is unique to them!)

Alanna1 I have a nice dress from before pregnancy that has rouching on the sides and really shows off my cleavage (perfect at the moment) but it is solid black and my original problem is I have a summer wedding to go to. A solid black dress just doesn't feel right for a summer wedding. But I may look into not specifically maternity dresses and see what is out there.

Onelittlepiglet I'm definitely going to check out Crave as well. Thanks so much for the suggestions.

Everyone has been so helpful. The Isabella Oliver dress I am bidding on on Ebay ends today around 5pm. So I'll keep you all posted! But in the meantime - keep the suggestions coming!! xx

Good luck for your eBay auction! Fx you get it. X

Hi all. Thanks so much for the advice & support. I've won on eBay an Isabella Oliver dress for £18 including shipping! Bargain. I have a feeling this is going to lead to an eBay addiction as I've founds loads of IO stuff for cheap!

For what it's worth, I don't think anyone would think a black dress is inappropriate on a pregnant woman. Most women understand that the selection is v limited. You can splurge on some bright accessories or jewellery and it will look much more summery. However, I would depend on the style and the material. If the day is very hot, a bondage style dress would just look a bit odd.

Oooh jealous! Congrats on the dress, I'm going to have to look again and find myself some bargains, I think!

Great news! Hope you're pleased with it when it arrives.

That sounds perfect you don't need to feel guilty - it's hard to feel gorgeous when you're pg - or at least it was for me - and IO dresses are perfect. You will be able to sell any IO items on Ebay afterwards, they hold their value amazingly well. I just sold a top for over £20 which cost me £30 ish new in the sale, so it cost me £10 to have it to wear during pregnancy iyswim. Splash out and don't feel guilty