You asked for it: Evening Gowns for the Plus-Size Pregnant Woman
By FrancescaOur internet friend Nicole writes:
I am expecting my first child in August. I have just started searching for maternity clothes and I’m getting a little frustrated. There seems to be very little for the Superfantastic Pregnant Woman. Of the many retailers you often feature, only Lane Bryant offers maternity (and only online). Their selection is somewhat limited. During my seventh month I will graduate from my residency program in Anesthesia and need to have an evening dress to wear to my graduation. I would appreciate any help you can provide.
Francesca wishes congratulations and best wishes to the superfantastic Nicole, both for the impending baby and the impending graduation! I assume that Nicole is a Big Girl and that therein lies the difficulty in searching for superfantastic maternity wear.
Luckily, Francesca has already researched this conundrum. You can see her previous post about plus-size maternity here. The news is not so good, but hopefully Francesca has been helpful. Be sure to read the comments for the many helpful tips from other readers.
Francesca has the feeling that, what with the cold weather driving everyone indoors, there will soon be many new pregnancies to drive the Big Girls to the maternity post!
As for evening gowns, Francesca’s first-stop site for plus-size maternity, Maternity Clothing Fashions, offers a wide variety. Here are two of Francesca’s favorites for the intelligent, sophisticated, and reliable anesthesiologist who wears up to a size 3XL. (Do not worry, they also offer knee-length fancy dresses. But Francesca always veers to the formal when she has the teeniest opening to do so.)
Lace gown. They also have something similar in a strapless version, in several colors.
A pink summer evening gown (below), for the prettiest doctor in the room. Francesca recommends this dress if you have dark coloring, so that you can go for the “Catherine Zeta Jones being strong enough to get away with pink” look, rather than the “Calista Flockhart looking a little too cute” look.
Francesca also appreciates –for the right person– the daring nature of this very dramatic peacock-themed dress, but feels that looking like a peacock might not be the best idea when attempting to fit in with medical professionals.
January 15th, 2008 at 8:32 am
I’m jealous; at the end of my anesthesia residency, my (large) class of 180 had a nice dinner, but nothing formal worthy. However, I did get to experience that night the ultimate cliche moment for a doc. A waitress approached me and said, “Is there a doctor in the house?” I (having had a couple of cocktails by that time) turned to her and said, “Honey, there’s fricken’ hundreds of us here; what do you need?” [A girl had collapsed in the parking lot, and turned out to be fine.]
January 15th, 2008 at 10:24 am
Omg, that peacock dress is gorgeous!!
January 15th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Ann Taylor Loft has maternity clothes!
http://www.anntaylorloft.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=8876&N=1200142&pCategoryId=619&categoryId=1160&Ns=CATEGORY_SEQ_1160&defaultColorNameFromCategory=Black&defaultSizeTypeFromCategory=Misses
This dress comes in up to a size 18 – not a huge range, but definitely a start!
January 15th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
I also saw some simple cocktail-y maternity dresses at David’s Bridal when I was there the other day. Some of them are pretty ‘precious’ but there were a few that might work well.
January 15th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
Unfortunately their version of a 3XL is only 16-18, not 22-24 like most 3XL’s.
January 15th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I have no experience this, but have wondered what our sisters do when they’re expecting. Maybe you could buy something a few sizes larger than you usually wear, and then have it tailored down to fit and flatter your pregnant body. I was thinking maybe something soft and drapey, brought in at the sides and with a silky ribbon tied above or below the belly. I used to own a stretch velvet dress with lace sleeves and I think it would have been perfect for this. You couldn’t go wrong with a black velvet or soft silk skirt as a base. The continued styles that a lot of people think look like maternity clothes (baby-dolls, shorter swing jackets) should give you some options for things that fit in the upper body and sleeve, but bell out over the belly. All the best to you!
January 16th, 2008 at 1:57 am
Wow, that peacock thing is gorgeous- but a little too rich for my blood!
January 16th, 2008 at 4:12 am
[...] You asked for it: Evening Gowns for the Plus-Size Pregnant Woman [...]
January 23rd, 2008 at 8:43 pm
Good Day, what made you want to write on Manolo for the Big Girl!? I was wondering, because I have been thinking about this since last Wednesday.
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