What to wear??? Formal nights and pregnant..,

[blitznbobs]

I've just found out I'm pregnant - not exactly planned but good news just a little earlier than we thought ( I wasted no 1 at school prior to no 2) oh well.,, but it seems like I timed it well so I won't have to cancel my cruise - I get back home in my 23 rd week..,

 

Anyhow the question what do I wear on formal nights? I have loads of evening wear but none of it is going to fit -- I don't want to spend a fortune on outfits to be worn literally once - any ideas??

[Ggdean]

I cruised at 24 weeks. I bought 1 maternity dress and a few of my other fancy dresses fit. If you want to pay for shipping you are more than welcome to the maternity dress. Check out consignment shops as those are the things you wear once or twice and usually they are in good shape.

[cb at sea]

What cruiseline will you be sailing? Some are more "formal" than others. That said, you really don't have to buy an evening gown to attend formal dinners. There will be plenty of women in less than eveningwear and they won't be turned away from the door! I agree that buying something for 1 two-hour ocassion would be silly!

Congrats on the pregnancy!

[Julienatul]

I bought one black maternity dress, that with a pearl necklace will do you just fine. Check consignment shops in the area, you can usually find some pretty good deals on maternity wear.

[Megsie1000]

I sailed at 18 weeks but looked like I was 28. Seriously, I was freaking huge. :o I was able to find several cute cocktail-style dresses that were non-maternity that still fit my huge belly. Look for empire-waisted things and you might be able to get away with just regular dresses.

 

I am not a smaller person, either, so I don't know if that made a difference either way. I was probably a size 12-14 at the time.

[gerif]

Check out HSN - they have a designer named Antthony who makes some very pretty caftans in a variety of colors/patterns in silky polyester that doesn't wrinkle. They are on sale now - very inexpensive. Not specifically maternity but will definitely work.

[092306]

I cruised at 21 weeks and wore a black wrap dress (not maternity) which worked well.

[kellieann5]

I bought a black knit wrap dress on the clearance rack at Old Navy for $14. I wore it with a dressy beaded cardigan that still fit (unbuttoned, of course!), nice jewelry, and heels. Dressy enough! If you have a Pea in the Pod outlet near you I'd check that out too. I bought a ton of sundresses and work clothes (some of which could have doubled for formal wear in a pinch) for $8- $25 each.

[Mom2B&Z]

I'll echo the comments about finding a versatile dress and jazzing it up with great accessories. When I was pg with DS2 I had a black and white dress that was plain enough that I could wear it to work ,but with a few accessories I also wore to a black tie wedding. It was pricey but I wore it every single week, then sold it at the consignment store.

The other thing I did was borrow a black maternity skirt from a friend, then got a fancy sequined mat top from a regular store, just in a bigger size. I wore it out on New Years Eve and it was fine. So if you can't find anything at the maternity store, begging and borrowing works too!

Congrats btw ;)

[Woodmnky]

I had one stretchy dress that I bought at the begining of my pregnancy and wore throughout. Not as dressy as some that I have worn, but it worked.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I was at about 4-1/2 months along on my preggers cruise. I did find a long dress in the maternity dept. at JC Penneys and wore that on the one formal night of the cruise. I must not have been showing as my tablemates didn't say anything until I turned down an offered glass of wine, saying my little one wouldn't like it. The others responded by looking at my stomach with surprised looks. I guess none of them saw me in my maternity bathing suit by the pool.

 

If you know others who had been pregnant, you can always ask if they had to put together an outfit for a special occasion. It could be that they might still have that object packed away in storage and are willing to lend it to you. But you can always take non-maternity tops and pair with a black skirt or black leggings and wear that. Just wear accessories to dress it up. Not everyone wears black tie objects to formal nights nowadays unless they are on a Cunard cruise or a similar line.

 

My personal preference then (and now) is clothing in natural fabrics. Unfortunately some maternity stores make their clothes in polyester, which never felt comfortable for me to wear, especially when pregnant. A friend of mine was working for a clothing manufacturer at that time and they were starting a maternity line and I complained to her about that. She did give me a couple of their rayon dresses.

[queenL]

I'm in the same boat! We sail at the end of the month. I'll be 20 weeks then. I started trying on my clothes last night trying to figure out what I will do. Some things I can wear, some I can't. This weekend I'm going to try looking for something that can work. I figure since the seasons are changing I might be able to find something on clearance. If I can find something cheap I'll dress up if I can't than I just might go casual for formal night.

[Aelsantokie]

Check out Target maternity. I noticed all of the summery maternity dresses were on the clearance rack!

[B_Mc]

Can you borrow from anyone?? Check second hand stores? I'm in a similar predicament, I have one borrowed dress and plan to buy 1 more and hope to get some wear out of it over the holidays as well as the cruise!

[ashley0826]

I was 22 weeks my first cruise. I bought a simple black stretchy dress from motherhood and threw on some jewelry and called it a day. I even wore that dress after i had my son.

[IttaBit]

Motherhood Maternity always has some cute dresses that you can dress up. I have a 3 mos old and I found a great semi-formal dress there that I wore for an event.

[lgionet]

I cruised when I was 24 weeks. I had a nice pair of black maternity pants that were super comfortable. So I took 4 different tops and wore the black pants and changed my top. Then I brought 3 summer "stretchy" dresses that I bought at Walmart. You can also check blog - tons of moms sell their maternity clothes.

Congratulations !