What To Wear To A Baby Shower
Getting invited to a baby shower is inevitable, and yes those dumb games annoy us too, but it's basically a rite of passage that you're required to show up for. And, not like you have to twist our arms or anything, but we're going to show up in a fabulous outfit that we can definitely re-wear.
But, because you're unsure, or just need some validation, you've come to the right place to sort out your baby shower ensemble.
From A Guest's Perspective
We already know the mom-to-be will 99% be donning a maternity dress, and we always advise to overdress (as a guest or not) for any big milestone in life.
We've been invited to, and seen both the very best and the worst baby showers; hence now it's time to dish out our best baby shower outfit ideas— from a guest's perspective.
A Modest Dress
Now isn't the time to show everyone your new body, save that for the beach, or the club, whatever.
A maxi dress or a midi dress are both great options to show up in. A lace dress, a floral print dress, a wrap dress, even a cocktail dress (depending on the invite) is appropriate. You'll know if you should wear a cocktail dress, because the invitation will always mention the dress code. And if it doesn't, choose a middle ground between a chic denim look vs. a cocktail dress look.
But, these are our favorite midi and maxi dresses, in modest but super high fashion styles, all available on our favorite designer sale site— Shop It To Me:
When it's a Casual Baby Shower
No matter how "casual" the mama-to-be is (or how casual she tells you to dress), you still need to show up wearing something other than jeans and a t-shirt.
Jeans are okay. A t-shirt is not. Skinny jeans are cute, especially white jeans, which are acceptable to wear to a baby shower, unlike a bridal shower.
Of course you can always wear a casual dress to a casual shower, but we'll show you some tops to wear here, because cute tops are always harder to find than dresses. Even though this is a casual affair, it doesn't mean you can show up in yoga clothing or sloppily dressed. Effort is still needed and much appreciated.
By wearing a blouse, you can opt for distressed jeans. We like our distressed denim not super tight, but tailored. However, each of these carefully curated tops pairs well with any type and color denim:
Dressing for a Semi-Formal Baby Shower
A semi-formal anything always sounds fun, because champagne. It's also super fun because you get to purchase a new cocktail dress! What girl doesn't want an excuse to purchase a new cocktail dress? Don't answer that.
Btw, if you're strapped for cash, or just a savvy shopper, or just a fashion-forward in-the-know shopper, than you'll be pleased to hear about a money saving designer sale site called Shop It To Me. Sign-up for free, select your sizes and your favorite brands such as Stella McCartney, Frame Denim, LoveShackFancy, Stuart Weitzman, and hundreds more. Everything is sold from reputable retailers including Saks, Neiman Marcus, Intermix, Shopbop, FWRD by Elyse Walker, Nordstrom Rack, Matches Fashion, The Outnet, and tons more. You purchase with confidence, and once you sign-up and try it— you'll be hooked and totally aware of all designer sales.
OK, now you know where to shop when dressing for a baby shower! Btw, in today's world, semi-formal really means formal. Not like black tie formal, but definitely more formal than semi. These are exactly the types of cocktail dresses you should be aiming for, for your semi-formal baby shower outfit:
Country Club Chic
To be honest, we can't really imagine an invitation to a baby shower reading "business casual", but then again we've heard of stranger things. If this is the case, a pencil skirt is your best friend, because you can make the look your own.
Making the look our own, we would wear our pencil skirt with an oversized, cropped right at the waist, sweater or cardigan.
You can also opt for dress pants, and under dress pants we love to rock a tight ankle bootie. You can also take the opportunity to wear an ankle boot with your pencil skirt and sweater look.
Last but not least, no country club outfit is complete without a blazer. (Except for the above look, which doesn't need a blazer. A dress, blouse, or thin sweater can be topped with a blazer to give the outfit character— country club chic.)
Baby Shower Realness
At the end of the day, as long as your baby shower outfit is cute, you've won half your battle. But, you still want to dress appropriate, because pictures and respect. We probably wouldn't wear something that we'd wear on date night, and remember it's always better to overdress than to underdress, and if anything, just pretend you're going somewhere better later.
Side Note: in case you were wondering, no you don't need to worry about the baby's gender, dress in whatever colors you want— except we generally suggest shying away from full black because it's less joyous. If it's black floral or polka dot, than it's a yes!