Summer dressing is very much different when you’re pregnant.

Last pregnancy, all of my obviously pregnant months were during the cold winter. It was fine and dandy. I just never wore a coat (well, maybe a couple times when it snowed!). I rocked the layered look with sweaters, scarves, skirts and leggings. It wasn’t horribly difficult to keep feeling cute and stay a comfortable temperature at the same time.

It was actually pretty fun.

But I’ve been kind of dreading this summer for obvious reasons.

90+ degree days combined with pregnant self?

Yup. I don’t even know what I’ll be wearing.

It’s easy to feel put together when the weather permits layering and scarves and loose hair; a little harder when one layer of cotton is more than adequate.

So in order to motivate myself to continue dressing attractively and to not fall into a habit of frump, I’m introducing a new series: Summer Maternity Style (or “what I really wore” depending on the day and motivation levels). I was considering a weekly or biweekly post with pictures. We’ll see how it goes :)

To kick it off right we’ll start with a review.

As you all know my mom, mary, blogs at Owlhaven. She nets a sight more traffic than me and regularly review various products or interest on her blog.

This time my sister, Amanda, and I lucked out and have each been given a dress to review from Mikarose, a company specializing in modest fashions, and are sharing our individual reviews on our own blogs and with my mom’s readers.

These dresses are made in normal sizes but some styles are also great as maternity options. I ordered my dress in my pre-pregnancy size and have been quite happy with the fit.

I was given the Serena in the color cinder to try. I was initially attracted to it because it would also work well for accommodating breastfeeding later on, it had a few fewer ruffles, and it came in a more neutral color.

When I first threw it on with a black cami underneath I was a little nervous about how the color looked with my complexions and the strange way the bodice fit across my chest.
Those problems were easily fixed. I just removed the few stitches (purposefully few, I think) used to tack the two crossover sections of the bust together so that it would sit more gracefully and then wore a light pink camisole underneath for a little color near my face.
I was fairly happy with this dress overall. I felt very pretty and well-dressed when I wore it to a friend’s wedding and then again to church the next day.

I appreciated that it is light and flowy, but also heavy enough to stay down while I was chasing my toddler all across the kingdom.
The fabric is very soft and stretchy which makes it quite comfortable to wear. The only thing that really bothered me about the dress is how clingy it is in the back. I had to search my wardrobe high and low to figure out the best thing to wear so as to have as few revealing undergarment lines and bulges as possible. I know there are things you can buy specifically for that purpose, but I was short on time and don’t like to buy things anyway. So I made do. :)

I think the dress would be less clingy in the back if my pregnant belly were not using up all the extra fabric in the front. In that respect a dress made specifically for maternity wear would be a better option – though I do love the fact that I’ll still be able to wear this when I am not pregnant.

I’m hoping it washes well since my clothes staying pristine is a thing of the past..thanks to the little sticky hands that love me :)

It is a beautiful dress! Thanks to Mikarose and my mother for the chance to review it :)

Make sure you check out Amanda’s review of her dress and the Mikarose website for more beautiful dresses.

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