The Dress That Does Not Need a Zip

The best baby shower dress for the mother to be is one that takes its shape from the shoulders or ties at the waist, not one sized to a bump. A wrap skirt, a linen button down set or a full length slip will photograph beautifully, stay comfortable for four hours of standing, and still fit you the month after.

Almost everything sold as a baby shower dress is cut for a body you will have for about six weeks. That is the problem with the category, and why so many women spend money twice.

What makes a baby shower dress actually work?

Three things, and none of them is the silhouette in the photograph.

It has to adapt from the top or the middle. Anything that fastens at one fixed circumference is betting on which week your shower falls in. It has to breathe, because pregnancy raises your core temperature and a room full of people raises it again. And it has to be something you would wear at eight months and again at four months postpartum, without thinking about it.

None of the pieces in our maternity and nursing collection were designed as maternity clothing. That is deliberate. They were cut generously, tied instead of zipped, buttoned from the collarbone down, by the same roughly thirty Balinese artisan families who make everything else here, each paid a real living wage.

Four pieces that work on a bump, and what each one is

Every piece below is handmade in Bali, in fabric named piece by piece rather than as a blanket claim.

• Spirit Top and Shanti Wrap Skirt Set, from $276. The Spirit Top is hand woven Tumanggal cotton, not printed. The Shanti Wrap Skirt is 100% linen in most colourways and 100% silk in Turmeric Gold. The skirt wraps and ties, so it accommodates the body you have today. One customer wore it through a pregnancy and wrote to tell us so.
• Nidra Button-Down Linen Set, from $183. 100% French linen, certified OEKO-TEX Standard 100. A longer structured button down over wide leg shorts. The Rainbeau colourway is botanically hand dyed over seven days. It opens from the collarbone down, which is what you will want later.
• Suka Button Down Set, from $200. 100% French linen, stonewashed before it reaches you. The top is generously oversized through the shoulder and body, the trouser sits high and easy. The most forgiving cut we make.
• Everyday Linen Slip, from $187. 100% French linen, full length, adjustable straps, one size. The closest thing here to a dress, and the simplest answer if you want one piece and nothing to think about.

All four sit in the maternity and nursing collection, alongside the gowns and kaftans that hang from the shoulder.

What to skip, honestly

Skip anything with a fitted waist seam, however generous the fabric below it. Skip strapless, which needs a bust to hold it and spends the afternoon being adjusted. Skip anything heavy if your shower is in warm weather, and that includes one of ours: the Spirit Top runs warm by design, so for a hot room choose the Shanti skirt with a lighter linen top, or the slip on its own.

The piece that makes you forget you are wearing it is the one that photographs well, which is the whole argument for a garment that hangs from the shoulders.

How far ahead do I need to order?

Ten weeks, and I would rather say that plainly than have you disappointed. Every piece is made to order by hand. It leaves Bali 3 to 6 weeks from order to shipment, then 5 to 15 business days with DHL, tracked.

If your shower falls in December, 22 October is the last date we can promise delivery before 24 December. After that I would not let you order one and hope.

On fit: order your usual size. The pieces are one size or adjustable and the ties do the adapting. If the fit is wrong you have 10 days from delivery to exchange, unworn and with tags, for store credit. We do not offer cash refunds, and you should know that before you order rather than after.

What you will still be wearing afterwards

The fourth trimester needs clothes too, and more urgently than the shower did.

Button fronts and wraps are the ones that survive. They open where you need them to open, quickly, in the middle of the night. We have written the longer version of that in nursing friendly dresses that do not look like nursing clothes, and the honest account of what the first months actually ask for in postpartum essentials nobody puts on the list.

Common questions about baby shower dresses

What should the mother to be wear to her own baby shower? Something that takes its shape from the shoulders or ties at the waist rather than fastening at a fixed point. A wrap skirt, a button down set or a long slip will all still fit the week after the shower, which a sized bump dress will not. Natural fibre matters more than usual, because pregnancy runs warm.

What size should I order while pregnant? Your usual size. Our pieces are one size or adjustable, cut generously, and the ties do the adapting. If you are between sizes or late in the third trimester, write to support@myrahpenaloza.com with your measurements and how far along you are and we will tell you honestly.

Is linen a good fabric to wear while pregnant? It is the fabric we would choose. Linen breathes and moves moisture away from the skin, which matters when your body runs warmer than it used to, and it softens with every wash. Ours is certified OEKO-TEX Standard 100, tested for harmful substances from fibre through finished garment.

How far ahead should I order a baby shower dress? Ten weeks. Every piece is made to order in Bali and leaves 3 to 6 weeks from order to shipment, then 5 to 15 business days with DHL. If your shower falls in December, 22 October is the last date we can promise delivery before 24 December.

Can I wear a baby shower dress again after the baby comes? That is the whole test, and it is the reason to avoid anything cut for a bump. A wrap skirt re-wraps. A button down opens at three in the morning for feeding. A long linen slip fits at seven months and again a year later. Nothing here is a four month garment.

Buy for the year, not for the afternoon. The photographs will last, and so should the garment.

With love from Bali,
Myrah.