Occasion dress - 15 weeks pregnant

[Poppins2016]

I'm due to attend a wedding when I'll be just over 15 weeks pregnant. I'm 12 weeks now and don't have a bump, but am definitely 'thicker waisted' and none of my usual occasion dresses fit... I'm slim (size 10) and just don't know when to expect a bump to appear (can't really predict these things)!

I have three weddings to attend in the next few months and I'm wondering whether to just bite the bullet and invest in a nice maternity dress now, for all three occasions (and anything else that crops up), seeing as nothing currently fits me...

The big question is, will a maternity dress look ridiculous at 15 weeks?

Would the hem/cut of the dress look odd if I don't have much of a bump?

I'm looking at styles like this (although I'd rather pay less for maternity wear, still searching): www.tiffanyrose.com/maternity/clothing/NOEDRB/Noelle-Maternity-Dress-Short-Riviera-Blue.html

I've looked at 'sizing up' a standard dress, but the cut always looks ill-fitted.
I'm a fan of empire line (which I think would surely work beautifully at this stage of pregnancy), but everything I've found so far looks like a bridesmaids dress!

All suggestions desperately needed gratefully received!

I wore maternity dresses from around 13 weeks. I suffered with hyperemesis and couldn't stand a band on my stomach. They didn't look daft. For my brothers wedding I got a dress from Tiffany Rose (nice but expensive). I've just had my little girls christening and got one from the Katie piper collection on want that trend which was lovely. I wore this for nursing (not pregnant) and it fitted perfectly.

I’m about a size 8-10 and personally found that style really unflattering until I had a properly visible bump. I know you said sizing up didn’t really work but have you tried a shift dress? That’s what I did until about 7 months! And empire line NEVER worked for me. I looked twice the size in an empire line compared to other styles.

I looked huge in empire line dresses, even though I only had a small bump

At 15 weeks I was only wearing maternity trousers - most of my non-fitted dresses still went on fine - but you don't know how you will fill out.

ASOS has a good value, interesting maternity range. Also, eBay can be good getting more expensive maternity dresses - lots of women only wear an expensive party dress once or twice throughout their pregnancy

I’m also a size ten and wore normal dresses, just in stretchy fabrics (scuba-type fabric particularly good) and a size up right up till 36 weeks (there were a lot of weddings that year... 🙄) I also felt both I and bump looked better in more fitted styles as anything flared tended to look tent-like. Ted Baker and ASOS were my friends.

Is it your first pregnancy? I think I'd wait until as late as possible, then order a few options to try. I am also a size 10, and 20 weeks with my first, and between 12 weeks and 15 weeks I went from being a bit bloated to having a neat bump :)

I also have a couple of nice events to go to and have bought this - but sadly I don't think I'm going to make the wedding I've been invited to that's 5 days before my due date! FYI, this dress is really flattering if you are all bump, but it does make it very obvious you're pregnant. Which might be a good thing if you think you just look a bit "thicker" like you say!

Congratulations btw!

There's just no way to predict how soon or late you will get a bump. With my first pregnancy maternity anything was just too big my bump never filled them so those floaty style dresses looked tent like.
I second the recommendation for shift dresses until u get a nice bump then something fitted.
I have a few occasions coming up too and ted baker will be my go to. They have some lovely shift style dresses in at the minute and some lovely reduced ones too.

Oops, sorry for the silence, it's been a busy week!

@BlairWaldorfLovesShopping Yes, this is my first pregnancy, hence being utterly clueless...
I already have my eye on that dress from Seraphine, I'm glad to see that you would recommend it, I'll give it a try.

I went to a few stores to try (non maternity) dresses on today but couldn't find anything that felt comfortable or looked flattering. I don't think the complete spring/summer ranges are out yet, so there wasn't a lot of choice.

I usually live in quite classic skirts/dresses/cardigans. I'm quite fussy about fit and don't particularly care for current trends. The idea of finding/buying new clothes at short notice (due to current clothes rapidly not fitting anymore) is filling me with dread as I hate shopping and my current, modest, wardrobe took years to build up! However I suspect I'll have to woman up and get over it/make do with compromising.

@OlennasWimple you were right, empire line is truly unflattering.

I had a scan on Tuesday and was dated at 13 weeks. Bump is definitely starting to make an appearance (I suddenly noticed a difference yesterday), so hopefully I'll soon start to look less bloated and more pregnant which should help... Fingers crossed.

I think I'll give online shopping a go and see how I get on...