logo
Maternity dresses: Pregnancy glow meets wardrobe wow; Top 8 picks for motherhood

Maternity dresses: Pregnancy glow meets wardrobe wow; Top 8 picks for motherhood

Hindustan Times19-05-2025
Being pregnant doesn't mean pressing pause on personal style. In fact, it's the perfect excuse to upgrade your wardrobe with flowy fits, zippered ease, and feel-good fabrics that flatter every curve, baby bump and all. And when function meets fashion? That's where these maternity dresses shine.
From feeding zips that actually blend in, to prints that pop and fabrics that breathe, these maternity must-haves are designed for comfort during pregnancy, postpartum nursing, and every mama moment in between. Because your bump deserves a bit of glam too.
If ever a dress screamed 'effortless mama,' it's this maxi from SKY FAB. Made from ultra-soft viscose rayon, it glides over your bump like a dream. The concealed feeding zips are cleverly camouflaged, making it both functional and fab. Plus, the ankle-grazing length adds that elegant edge you'll love for everything from brunch to baby shower.
Styling tip: Add chunky earrings and comfy flats for a polished but practical look.
This dress is all about fit, flare, and flair! The empire waist sits just right on your bump, while the soft fabric gives you room to breathe and move. It's feminine, fuss-free, and ideal for both casual strolls and baby bump photo ops. And bonus—it transitions beautifully into post-delivery wear too.
Styling tip: Pair with a soft cardigan and ballet flats for an everyday ensemble.
This cotton beauty is your all-day maternity BFF. It doubles as a feeding dress and a breezy Western silhouette. The dual zippers mean nursing access is a breeze (even with a squirmy baby in hand). The best part? It works like a charm through pregnancy, postpartum, and even long after the baby's crawling.
Styling tip: Throw on a messy bun and sneakers for that mom-on-the-go vibe.
Maternity dresses on Myntra:
Who said maternity wear can't be ethnic-chic? This Jikonet kurti has desi vibes and modern details, thanks to the discreet feeding zippers and breathable fabric. It's perfect for family get-togethers or those days when you want a break from Western silhouettes. Baby bump? Totally complimented.
Styling tip: Team it with leggings or palazzos and statement bangles for a glam desi touch.
If you're after drama and comfort, this Anarkali-style maternity dress is your pick. The flare is flattering, the cotton blend is breathable, and the nursing zippers are seamless. It's the kind of dress that makes you feel instantly put together without squeezing into anything uncomfortable.
Styling tip: Add drop earrings and a bold lip for festive days or casual events.
Floral, functional, and fuss-free, this JAIPURFAME kurti is all you need for everyday wear. The soft cotton ensures you stay cool, while the zippered feeding access adds practicality. Whether you're lounging at home or running errands, it checks every box for maternity comfort with style.
Styling tip: Add comfy kolhapuris and a crossbody bag for a relaxed, ready-to-roll look.
Twirl your way through every trimester with this flirty fit-and-flare dress by MomToBe. The silhouette flatters your growing bump while giving you enough room to breathe, move, and glow. It's sweet, stylish, and perfect for casual outings, virtual baby showers, or just lounging in glam.
Styling tip: Pair with pastel sandals and a straw hat for picnic-ready vibes.
Another beauty from MomToBe, this dress is all about keeping it cool and classic. With its fit-and-flare structure and ultra-soft fabric, it's made to move with you through all the bump stages. It also pairs well with pretty much everything,from sneakers to shawls.
Styling tip: Layer with a denim jacket for a casual mom-core vibe.
From baby bumps to breastfeeding, these maternity dresses are designed to keep up with your journey, comfortably and fashionably. Whether you're stepping out or staying in, each piece brings together flattering cuts, soft fabrics, and zip-smart design. Because mama, you deserve to look as amazing as you feel.
8 best cotton suits under 1200 that will make you go WOW!
Yellow kurtis for women: Top 8 picks to brighten up your wardrobe instantly
Anarkali suits starting from ₹499: Spin into style with these stylish picks
Yes! Most options include discreet zippers for easy breastfeeding access—perfect for pre and post-pregnancy wear.
Layer with jackets or shrugs, add stylish flats or block heels, and finish with accessories to suit the mood.
Breathable fabrics like cotton, viscose rayon, and cotton blends are ideal for comfort during pregnancy.
Absolutely. The silhouettes and zippers make them great wardrobe staples even post-pregnancy.
Disclaimer: At Hindustan Times, we help you stay up-to-date with the latest trends and products. Hindustan Times has an affiliate partnership, so we may get a part of the revenue when you make a purchase. We shall not be liable for any claim under applicable laws, including but not limited to the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, with respect to the products. The products listed in this article are in no particular order of priority.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Izakaya nights in Mumbai
Izakaya nights in Mumbai

New Indian Express

time3 hours ago

  • New Indian Express

Izakaya nights in Mumbai

An informal, vibrant setting serving sakes and beers with an array of small, tapas-style dishes, designed for the love of sharing. That's Otoki, the new Japanese izakaya having a moment in Mumbai. The new Japanese restaurant also features one of India largest collections of sakes curated by Maia Laifungbam. Food: Japanese comfort dishes shine in the menu the most. Take the chicken sando, a Japanese-style sandwich with pillowy milk breads snuggling a piece of golden, crispy fried chicken, and cabbage slaw. Or the chicken nanban—Japanese style fried chicken tossed in vinegar-based nanban sauce. But the main event here is the sushi. Each palm-moulded bed of fragrant rice is draped with a glorious freshness of fish, from bluefin tuna, to Hokkaido scallops, Hamachi and salmon belly. The grilled eel unagi with the sweet soy kabayaki glaze is a must try. Don't miss on to take it all with a glass of sake. Otoki has 32 varieties of sakes from the crisp sparkling to rare dessert sakes. Try the delicious Umeboshi which marries gin with pickled plum, if you are not a sake fan.

A Kaleidoscope of intricate embroideries
A Kaleidoscope of intricate embroideries

New Indian Express

timea day ago

  • New Indian Express

A Kaleidoscope of intricate embroideries

Jorah, the contemporary Indian menswear brand's latest collection, The Kaleidoscope is inspired by the ever-changing patterns of a kaleidoscope. Intricate embroidery, textural layering, and innovative fabric techniques elevate the garments, making them ideal for modern-day festive dressing. 'The pieces blend heritage textile techniques with contemporary tailoring, offering versatility for both traditional and Indo-fusion styling. Some of the heritage embroidery techniques such as French knots, resham embroidery and dori work have formed a major part of this collection,' shares Keshav Gupta, founder and lead designer at Jorah. Some of the standout pieces from the collection include a peach and Ivory kurta set with a matching stole, a black and olive kurta jacket set with resham embroidery and the olive and maroon Indo-western outfit. The colour story of The Kaleidoscope traverses a spectrum of soothing pastels and rich jewel tones, striking a balance between subtle sophistication and regal boldness. Muted blues, soft ivories, deep midnight tones, and blush hues form the base of the collection. 'This collection is designed for men who embrace style as an extension of their personality. Whether it's a wedding, a festive gathering, or a refined evening soirée, the collection allows wearers to exude confidence while staying rooted in heritage,' he says. Are there any menswear trends that are likely to blow up in the near future? Gupta responds, 'Menswear is moving towards expressive elegance, with embroidered ensembles taking centre stage over basic solids. Shawls and stoles are being reimagined as statement accessories, adding depth and flair to every outfit. The future also leans into opulence, where bold cuts and experimental silhouettes redefine traditional classics.'

Ritu Kumar at 80: How she drew Indian fashion out of the colonial yoke by rescuing block prints and lost textiles
Ritu Kumar at 80: How she drew Indian fashion out of the colonial yoke by rescuing block prints and lost textiles

Indian Express

timea day ago

  • Indian Express

Ritu Kumar at 80: How she drew Indian fashion out of the colonial yoke by rescuing block prints and lost textiles

When Ritu Kumar moved from Kolkata to Delhi, she chose to stay far away from the feverish bustle of south Delhi and bought a farm in Bijwasan, the city's southwestern frontier. Giant terracotta horses from Tamil Nadu lead the way up to her sprawling farmhouse with wraparound greens, pergolas and sitouts, daylight slanting through their sun-baked silhouettes. 'The potters came here every three years, brought the maati (clay) with them and made the horses here. They still come to layer the horses with clay. It's all about the earth,' says the doyen of Indian fashion and textile revivalist, who has dug deep into her roots and supplanted the colonial legacy of what we should wear and who we should become. Much before 'Made in India' became a scream, she gave us a label that we could literally wear on our sleeves. 'Even now, no matter where I go, I pick up a garment made by locals,' says Kumar, who is archiving India's textiles, building an online library and finishing her new book. She has even threaded her life into tradition as evidenced by the block-printed panels lining her walls. Having just returned to the ramp with the Fashion Design Council of India's (FDCI) couture show last month, Kumar showed how artisanal traditions could be effortless and relevant for the Gen Z woman with sharply tailored separates, corseted jackets paired with delicate sheers and vintage florals on flowing silks and velvet scarves. 'Did you know that the printed silk scarves I began with in the 60s became a cult fashion statement in the West?', asks Kumar, who had stores in Paris, London and New York in the late 80s and 90s, much before globalisation and the retail boom came to Indian shores. She even dressed royalty like Princess Diana. Later, she may have shifted most of her international business online and to collaborative showcases but her annual turnover at the time ran into crores, the highest for any Indian fashion outlet. An art history major from Briarcliff College in New York, Kumar moved to Kolkata where her husband Shashi was based and took up museology at the Ashutosh Museum of Indian Art. 'I was fascinated by how Western art had been preserved. But back then, none of India's rich repository of sculpture, painting, crafts and textiles was documented. Besides, the colonialists took away every collectible with them. So I started researching Indian art heritage,' she says. She would take the tram to College Street, climb the old, dilapidated building and never miss a class. 'The faculty was brilliant and we were just three students in a class. I got an opportunity to study the dig site of Chandraketugarh, an ancient port city near Kolkata. Archaeological evidence suggests it was a thriving trading centre with connections to the Mauryan and Gupta empires. Excavations unearthed terracotta artefacts, Roman coins, remains of Greek ships and fine pottery. Villagers would find terracotta figurines and bead necklaces far away from the dig; I still have some of them. I would go there in an Ambassador car, work through the day and come back at night. There was me attending races over the weekend and rushing back to the dig on Mondays,' recalls Kumar, now 80. In between excavations, she would explore nearby areas. That's how she chanced upon charred wooden blocks carved with intricate designs. That led her to Serampore, which was the block printing hub of Bengal in the 1800s. 'We had an indigenous block printing industry which had been wiped out by colonialists so that they could sell their cheap Lancashire-printed cotton textiles. The wood carvers of Serampore burnt their blocks after losing their livelihood. The British had killed the memory of Indian designs, leaving us with no references. My blood boiled and I found my calling. I would revive the textiles and crafts of India, beginning with Bengal,' says Kumar. She set up her first design unit in Serampore in the 60s — an old British fish godown with high ceiling — with some tables and all the hand-block printing and the Murshidabad silk she could lay her hands on. She would hop house to house to find artisans who remembered a design. 'There was just endless waiting on charpoys under a tree and having cups of chai and conversations in the heat, but I had to find the keepers of legacy,' she adds. The Ritu Kumar story began under the trees — the fabric was washed in the Ganga and sun-dried, the vegetable dyes were mixed and the sheesham wood was chiselled up. She also had her sweet revenge for all the cultural appropriation that had happened till then. 'The British would import fabric from India, mimic Indian designs, print them in Lancashire and then sell it back to us. They did the same with chintz, block-printed or hand-painted textiles that were wax-polished. These became very popular in 17th and 18th century Europe but then the mill-made imitations took over. Since it was the mid-60s, the age of flower power and The Beatles, we exported printed dresses, silk scarves and bags to Paris. They became hugely popular,' says Kumar. So much so that everybody began copying them. She recalls meeting a garment exporter from Surat on a flight from Varanasi to Delhi, who sold fake Ritu Kumar merchandise. 'He asked me who Ritu Kumar was. We were a baby enterprise but somebody had seen potential in our designs and had decided to copy them. Just because we did not learn to value our handwriting, fakes seemed to be an acceptable idea,' says Kumar. Copying became so prevalent that units in Surat began producing 2,000 saris a day. Varanasi and Ahmedabad followed suit as unit after unit came up. Of course, there was a silver lining. From printing polka dots and stripes, Kumar slowly observed Indian designs creep into fabric borders and house linen. There was a subtle assertion of Indian identity. That's when she decided to make identity an aspiration as she criss-crossed the country to document the costumes and textiles of royal India. That continues to shape her couture collections today. 'That awareness of identity really triggered an energy in this country to go into our own roots. Suddenly we saw alternatives to buttons, bows and laces, even fasteners and chappals. Things that had completely gone out of a nation's collective memory,' says Kumar, who toured the country extensively to rescue dying textiles. She worked with culture revivalist Pupul Jaykar, who founded the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in 1990. But it was the women embroiderers of Rajasthan and Bhuj, Gujarat, who overwhelmed her. 'They would keep imagining the most vibrant of designs with their needle and thread despite their spartan existence. They would stitch sitting atop the hump of a camel or in the open fields. They would line their mud huts with mica pieces which reflected the light from their evening lamp, bright enough for them to finish their patchwork bedspread. They chose design as their everyday language and saw beauty despite a life of denial. It was the best example of art for art's sake,' says Kumar. She had knowledge of textile history, they had the skill. That's how she began work at crafts clusters promoted by Jaykar. 'Most craftsmen knew about their inherited legacies. I was just a catalyst as it all came back to them. They had conversations with their fathers and grandfathers who tapped into their leftover memories and oral history,' says Kumar. Working with craftsmen in their villages, Kumar was the first designer to decentralise her operations. 'Take the craftsman and weaver out of their ecosystem and buttonhole them in urban slums, and you would not get the best work. All my units are in and around Kolkata. There's a separate design unit, a printing unit, a tailoring unit, an embroidery unit and a finishing unit. Nobody has to leave their homes. I would rather have them do their work surrounded by coconut trees, pukurs (ponds), and rice fields. It's still an organically rich life. A happy mind means happy designs,' says Kumar who laid the template for the wedding market as we know it — designer lehengas, cocktail gowns and ceremonial wear. Kumar's unwavering focus on crafts, textiles and drapes like the ghaghra inspired a generation of designers who became custodians of craft — from Rohit Bal, JJ Valaya, Tarun Tahiliani to now Sabyasachi Mukherjee, the latter even describing her work as 'wearable art.' What she also bequeathed was a business model, having opened her first store in Defence Colony in 1966, lending an address to Indians unused to a bespoke experience beyond their tailor. This was at a time when fashion weeks had not happened; the first was held in 2000. 'We did showcases. I had the Tree of Life exhibition series with a film on kalamkari and chikankari. Then we had six models come on the ramp to reinterpret the same with modern outfits. We had similar showcases through the Festival of India series abroad. This generated tremendous curiosity in the West about our hand-made textile legacies,' says Kumar. As export orders for her hand-block prints came from all over, her husband stepped in to help her manage the business. Post-liberalisation, India's beauty boom and string of pageant winners from India meant Kumar got to define the look for Miss Indias that got global attention. However, that early mover's advantage also made her aware of the challenges of running a couture store in the West. 'For brands like Dior, couture is a lot about public image on the ramp. Their actual sales come from perfumes, lipsticks, shoes, bags, accessories, ready-to-wear. Our designers are only about bespoke experiences, so sustainability overseas is a concern,' says Kumar, who has often been stereotyped as catering to the bridal market. 'Things have to move off the shelves to make sense. The bridal market is not just about designers, it is about the parallel hubs like Farrukhabad, which is one of the biggest wholesale markets for bridal wear and has managed to keep the craft of zardozi alive. The wedding market will continue to be a conduit of our crafts,' says Kumar, who still privileges the craftspeople over her label. 'Who am I to label heritage?' However, she has left hard business decisions and innovation to her son Amrish Kumar, who has helmed the Western pret line, Label, for 20 years. Young urban Indian women have taken to its boho chic Parisian appeal. Amrish has been focusing on creating entry-level, pret sub-brands of accessories like Ritu Kumar Homes to look beyond couture. Recently, Reliance Retail acquired 52 per cent in the fashion brand. 'We've had private equity before but corporatisation helps us scale up the brand, unlock its value and create a larger market,' says Amrish, who imbibed his mother's sensibilities while accompanying her to Serampore and Kolkata. Much of Kumar's life has been about travelling on the road. 'Both my sons were in Doon School, so I would plan my travels in such a way that I would be mostly home during their vacations. No mother is ever satisfied but I tried to do the right thing. I would take them to the units, give them little blocks and colours to play with and let them daub on waste cloth. They would come home all black and blue. Some sort of osmosis happened here as both my sons have chosen creative disciplines,' says Kumar. Her other son, Ashvin, is a filmmaker. These days, she is to be found mostly in her library, working with her archivist on her book. 'If you don't give the next generation any access to what we already have, we will lose our heritage. More cultural misappropriations, like the recent Prada take on Kolhapuri chappals, will happen. The West doesn't have a textile heritage of its own. Ours cannot be patented because it is centuries old, the common wealth of communities and has just too many designs,' says Kumar, breaking off to go over some sketches. She looks out the window, like she would if she were seated in a tram in Kolkata many decades ago. 'It's the most fantastic transport there ever was. Ashutosh Museum is now a gorgeous new building. But the old bookshops are there as is the Coffee House. Last time I was in the city, I had a coffee,' says Kumar, who still likes to remind herself everyday what made her.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store