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Dress, pregnant, just look fat!

One of our businesses is a hotel and it's having a relaunch with a champagne reception and 6 course taster menu etc. Hubby and I are invited, it sounds like a lovely evening and I want to go, but none of my dresses fit me. In fact I have condensed 3 wardrobes to 1 now by packing away everything that's too small and am operating on a skeleton set of clothes for work and non-work.

The do is in 3-4 weeks. I've put on over a stone and just look fat. No cute baby bump for me, my usual pear shape is now apple and I feel like a blob compared to 4 months ago! :)

I can't afford to spend much but will definitely need to buy a new outfit. I was a 14, but now I'm buying 18s in normal shops (I've bought stretchy-like stuff but not much maternity gear). I don't know where to start! Can anyone help guide me?

Replies

  • Ill bet you will look pregnant in maternity clothes rather than just bigger sized normal clothes. I certainly found that anyway. Could you look on eBay for a maternity dress? You could get something simple that can be dressed up then wear it again at Xmas/NY?

  • I agree with LR, the couple of maternity bits I have are more flattering than the normal clothes I'm still wearing. I've been looking for a dress for a wedding on Saturday and picked up a Red Herring maternity one in Debenhams last week. It's really plain but I'm going to dress it up with accessories and should hopefully be able to get away with it not being too underdressed!

    I had been keeping an eye on eBay but hadn't seen anything in the right size that I like. It's definitely worth a look though as there's some nice stuff on there and you have a couple of weeks still.  Online shopping has been my friend, I much prefer trying things on at home rather than battling the crowds at the shops!

  • I agree, treat yourself to a nice maternity dress, the pleats/shaping/cut of the maternity dress will help dress your new shape and give you confidence.

  • I went to a weddin at 34 weeks, hated all maternity dresses I could find and the ones I liked I didnt want to pay the extortionate price of (me tight- never lol), I got a maxi dress from dorothy perkins in the end. It was a royal blue and grecian style looked just perfect for a wedding. Try the high street just maybe change the style clothes you go for

  • Thanks ladies. Good call! Because my Debenhams doesn't stock mat gear I kind of forgot about the Red Herring stuff. And yes, I could perhaps get something a bit nicer and have it for works Xmas meal, Xmas day etc. Really get my moneys-worth lol.

    Noodles, I have seen some pregnant ladies look gorgeous in maxi dresses, but I find, because I'm quite big built, they make me look stockier than I am. To be fair, it been AGES since I tried one, so I might bung one in to the home delivery order and give it a whirl! :)

  • Sshh - I like the New Look stuff, but didn't see anything quite going-outy enough. Have ordered a dress on Asos in 2 sizes to give a try. Isn't New Look very reasonable for that stuff?!

  • And identical website - Asos and NL, I guess they must be part of the same family.

  • I've been buying 16/18 normal clothes and just looked fat, and in the last few weeks have decided to bite the bullet and get a few maternity bits, honestly the difference is amazing. I feel nicer in clothes now than I did before I was pg (whole other story without clothes though!).

    What have you gone for? I'm looking out for a Xmas party dress but I'm stuck!

  • I'm going to try this:

    www.asos.com/.../pgeproduct.aspx

     

    With strappy black sandals. It's not too unlike what I might wear anyway. I had a cocktail dress very similar but in jade that I used for a couple of weddings. I'll try it and see. It's actually the 24th (I checked) so although it seems a long while away I probably need to get a wriggle on. It's more than I wanted to pay (£35) but if I can get the wear and maybe sell it on it might not be so bad :)

  • Oh it looks nice! I have an extra problem that my boobs are enormous so unfortunately that rules out lots of dresses for me. I'm sure it will look lovely when it comes :)

  • I'm going to a ball on Saturday anda friend has lent me a dress she wore toa wedding when pregnant. It's from top shop maternity which is somewhere I'd have never thought to have looked in myself. I completely agree with the others about maternity clothes being far far far more flattering than just bigger normal stuff.

  • Ebay was a godsend for me. Alot of stuff has been worn once then sold. Worth a shot x
  • Counter - I tried that dress from ASOS and I looked massive!! Hopefully it looks better on you because it is a nice dress.

    I just posted on the tri thread about the one I have bought, here's the link again:

    www.asos.com/.../pgeproduct.aspx

    I found that the floaty dresses didn't look as good as this one which was tighter fitting. I really didn't want to look too tarty whilst pregnant but I think I'm hopefully still looking classy in this dress!!

  • I have looked on eBay and bid on one dress but there was a lot of daytime or a bit frumpy stuff (as most expectant mums are 20s or 30s why do they make mat clothes for Hyacinth Bouquet?!)

    Mrs V I'm worried now! Although I'm a big-boned bird and my spread is definitely all over the front, lol, so maybe it'll be alright. Maybe I'll even be brave enough to post a pic (or maybe not!)

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