Women's Maternity Dresses

A maternity dress solves the belly problem the way most dresses solve any figure problem, by moving the fitted point away from the part of the body that changes. An empire waist seams the dress high, just under the bust, and lets the fabric fall loose from there, while a wrap style crosses and ties at whatever point on the belly feels comfortable that week. Both avoid a fixed waist seam sitting directly on the bump.

Ruching does the rest of the work on many dresses. Fabric gathered and stitched down at the sides, usually running from underarm to hip, gives the dress built-in room that releases gradually as the belly grows rather than a single seam that either fits or does not. A stretch jersey dress skips ruching largely, relying on the knit itself to stretch, while a woven dress depends on ruching or a wrap front almost entirely, since woven fabric has no give of its own.

A dress solves the whole outfit in one piece, unlike Maternity Tops, which need a bottom paired with them, at the cost of being harder to judge for growth room from a single photo. Most maternity dresses carry no feeding access at all either, unlike Nursing Tops, so anyone wanting one piece to cover pregnancy and the months after should look specifically for a dress labeled as both maternity and nursing.

Work events, warm-weather days, and anywhere pregnancy makes separates fussy all suit a maternity dress well. An empire waist in particular tends to keep flattering the body well after birth, when the belly has not yet returned to its starting shape, which makes it one of the more useful pieces to keep past the pregnancy itself. A fitted wrap style should be checked carefully at the bust, since too little overlap can gape open as the bust changes size alongside the belly.

Judge growth room by the ruching rather than the overall silhouette in a photo, since two dresses can look identical unstretched and behave completely differently once worn. Pull gently at any ruched seam before buying to confirm the stitching holds rather than straining. Wash jersey styles cold, and hand wash anything woven with delicate trim, since a maternity dress often gets worn well past the point most clothing would already be set aside.