The shower is on a Saturday afternoon, the photographer is booked for the week after, and you would like one dress that handles both. It has to sit comfortably through two hours of gifts and cake, and it has to look right when someone asks you to turn sideways in a field at golden hour.
Comfort for a long afternoon
Look first at how the bodice is made. A smocked bodice is stitched with rows of elastic thread, so it stretches across your bust and back when you sit, laugh or reach for another gift bag. A dress with a soft elastic waist or an empire line does the same job lower down. A fitted woven bodice with a back zipper has no give at all, and it tends to feel tighter by the second hour.
Sleeves matter in a warm living room full of people. Short and flutter sleeves keep your arms cool and still cover the top of the arm in photos. If the shower is outdoors in spring, a long-sleeve dress or a light cardigan over your shoulders saves you from shivering in every picture.
Choosing a size while your body is changing
Order the size you wear now. Trying to guess a size for three weeks from now usually leaves you swimming in fabric on the day. The construction of the dress is what makes room for change: smocking stretches, an empire waist sits above the bump, and a flowing maxi skirt has space built into it.
Read the fabric line under Details. Our maternity and shower dresses are mostly 100 percent polyester or viscose, and a couple add spandex. Polyester and viscose without spandex do not stretch, so on those styles the smocking or the elastic is doing the work, and the size should match your bust.
Color and pattern for photos
White, blush and light blue are the colors that come up most for shower and maternity dresses, and they photograph softly in daylight. A solid color keeps the outline of your silhouette clean in a full-length shot, which is the picture most maternity sessions are built around.
Florals work too, especially for a garden shower. A small print reads as texture from across the room and as a pattern up close, so it suits both the group photo with your friends and the portrait of you holding the ultrasound picture.
If your photographer has a location in mind, ask about the background. A white dress in front of a white wall disappears. The same dress in a green field or on a beach stands out.
Length for maternity photos
A maxi that falls past the ankle draws one continuous line from shoulder to ground, and in an outdoor session it moves when the wind catches it or when you walk toward the camera. Ask your photographer which length they plan to frame before you order.
For the shower itself, a midi is easier. It stays clear of chair legs, a crowded kitchen and the cake table, and it still looks dressed up in the photos your friends take on their phones. If you want one dress for both days, a maxi with a smocked bodice is the practical middle ground.
A dress that keeps working afterwards
A smocked or flutter-sleeve dress without a separate bump panel is simply a loose sundress once the baby arrives. The same styles suit a bridal shower, a graduation or a Sunday service, so a dress bought for one afternoon has a long summer ahead of it.
Choose a color you like on its own, not only in the theme of the shower. A blush maxi or a light blue midi with flats and a denim jacket is an ordinary summer outfit, and nobody at the farmers market will know it started at a baby shower.
Two to three weeks before the shower
- Settle the color with whoever is planning the shower, if there is a theme.
- Ask the photographer about location and background.
- Measure your bust and waist on the day you order.
- Check the fabric line and look for smocking, elastic or an empire waist.
- Choose a length: maxi for photos, midi for the party, or a smocked maxi for both.
- Pick shoes you can stand in for an hour and walk on grass in.
- Add a light layer for an outdoor shower or a cool evening shoot.
Unsure about a size, a fabric or a wash? Write to occasion@pin-up-fashion.com and the Pinup Fashion team will answer.