Maternity wear from Isabella Oliver

Another brand I’ve been lucky enough to work with during this pregnancy is Isabella Oliver, from whom I received a fantastic black maxi dress. I already had a pencil skirt from this wonderful maternity brand and knew that it was well made and with the changing body in mind, so I didn’t hesitate when ordering. Here are my thoughts on maternity wear from Isbaella Oliver.

It’s worth noting that the sizes at Isabella Oliver do come up slightly bigger than you might expect, so do order your pre-pregnancy size, no matter what trimester you’re in. I ordered my skirt in size 3 (12) and it is still a little on the larger size now at 31 weeks. My dress I ordered in size 2 (10) and it’s a perfect fit. If unsure, give the girls at Isabella Olive a call because they are lovely and only too happy to help.

So here is it, the maxi dress snap I first shared on Instagram:

You can see from this photo that the dress is fairly tight fitting, but don’t let that put you off. While it is supportive, the ruched sides more than allow for the belly to grow, hang out, whatever you want it to do. But it really does hold you nice and snug and the result is really flattering. I love the ruched sides actually, the pencil skirt I have is designed in the same way and it helps to create a more slimming silhouette as well. The dress has a vest top and goes right down the the floor, but because the fabric is stretchy and ruched, you can hitch it up a little to your desired length without changing the look or shape of the dress.

The dress can be worn either casually or a little more formally too. In Sicily I wore it with a chunky bead necklace and flats to go out for dinner; I’ve also worn it for dinner in the slightly (!) cooler city here at home, again with a necklace and blazer. On other occasions I’ve worn it with a simple cardi and flip flops on hot days too. It’s very versatile and extremely easy to wear!

You can see from this photo that the dress works well with a blazer or jacket, which is why this dress is still a current favourite as my pregnancy progresses. Because it is so well made and so comfortable I don’t see any reason at all why I shouldn’t keep on wearing it through Autumn too! The ruched sides and stretch fabric means that it really does grow with your changing shape, as all of the clothes in the Isabella Oliver range promise.

So having had this dress since I was around 15 weeks pregnant, I was still wearing it at 24 weeks:

and I’m still wearing it now at 31 weeks- same goes for the skirt too.

Verdict

Isabella Oliver’s maternity range is slightly more expensive than I would normally spend on clothes, let alone items that I may not wear for very long, BUT they are more than worth every penny you spend. Over four pregnancies I have tried many different ranges and found that some of the cheaper ones really do fall short when it comes to comfort and style. Some maternity clothes seem to be just over sized clothes that have not been made with pregnancy in mind at all. Not so with Isabella Oliver. Each item I’ve worn from their range is made perfectly for a pregnant woman’s body and you can tell that the designers have really put a lot of thought into their work. The finished articles are wonderfully comfortable, stylish and extremely well made. The fabrics are luxurious to touch and they look great on too. And for me, that is so important. You cannot put a price on self confidence, especially when you are pregnant and your body is constantly changing. I highly recommend Isabella Oliver for one or two key pieces in your maternity wardrobe, certain that you won’t be disappointed at all.

Here are my top picks from the current range at Isabella Oliver (featuring the skirt I already own, since it can be worn through all seasons) :