Must-Have Maternity Dresses for the Office in 2024

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Sure, we all know what wardrobe essentials for work professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. (It’s even harder if you’re seeking maternity workwear essentials!) In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have.

It’s been a while since we featured a roundup of must-have maternity dresses for the office, so today we’re recommending office dresses for your maternity wardrobe at various price points, and with sleeve lengths and necklines that will work for all seasons.

(Hey, that would be a fun topic for a future post: Which seasons are the best to be pregnant or give birth? Stay tuned…)

(We’ve talked about work dresses a lot here, including rounding up our favorite work dresses in general, as well as the best plus size work dresses. Other specific roundups we’ve done include work dresses with pockets, day to night work dresses, fit and flare work dresses, work dresses with matching blazers, colorful sheath dresses for work, and work dresses with built-in shapewear.)

Readers, which brands and styles did you find to be the best maternity dresses for work?

If you’re a mom-to-be, you’ll also want to check out our maternity wardrobe checklist, and if you need extended sizes in maternity wear, click on over to the best plus-size maternity clothes for work. If you’re working from home right now and not planning to buy a lot of maternity workwear until you return to the office, see our posts on four companies that rent maternity workwear and where to get used maternity clothes.

{related: check out our roundup of maternity workwear essentials!} (recently updated!)

What are/were your favorite maternity dresses for work? What were the most comfortable and versatile, and what were your favorite styles — wrap dresses, sheath dresses, or others? How far into your pregnancy were you able to wear your non-maternity clothing? 

Must-Have Maternity Dresses for the Office

Must-Have Plus-Size Maternity Dresses for the Office

It’s incredibly difficult to find plus-size maternity dresses! Some of our latest favorites include these brands:

Some of the Best Maternity Dresses for the Office 

The Best Affordable Maternity Dress for the Office: La Clef

If you need an extremely affordable maternity dress — one that’s appropriate for a lot of offices and also casual enough for weekends — LaClef is a great brand to know about. I first heard of LaClef when I was looking for nursing-friendly clothes, but they have a bunch of maternity dresses proper, and they’re all incredibly well priced.

This chic knee-length midi dress comes in seven colors (and in a sleeveless version) for $29-$35.

If you’re looking for something even more affordable, this basic T-shirt dress is under $20 and is the #1 Maternity Nursing Dress at Amazon. (You can see the full list here.)

The Best Faux Wrap Maternity Dress for Work: Kimi and Kai

Brand Kimi and Kai has been around for a few years now, and in addition to fancier gowns, they also make a handful of work-friendly maternity dresses.

This faux wrap dress has been in their stable for a few years, and it comes out in new colorblocked combos and pretty prints every year. It’s $78-$98, but goes even lower when it’s on sale.

The Best Maternity Dress If You Like Duchess Kate’s Style: Seraphine

Seraphine is a very popular maternity brand (for good reason), and, as you may know, was a frequent choice of Kate Middleton and others in the royal family. (Kate even wore this particular knot-front dress.)

Available at Seraphine.com, this looks really comfortable yet stylish. It’s machine washable, too. The dress is $75 and available in sizes 2–14, and Seraphine’s website offers free returns.

The Best Elevated T-Shirt Maternity Dress for the Office: Stowaway

Stowaway Collection is a newer, but I think the name is so cute. It’s also nice that all the clothing is sewn in the U.S.A. (Long Island City) and that the brand uses U.S.A.-made fabric “whenever they can.”

This dress comes in black and purple (in both short sleeves and long sleeves) and is getting really high praise from the reviewers. “Obsessed” and “my favorite maternity dress” are two sample comments, yet a third reviewer noted “Material is breathable and quality. Design is very flattering.”

Nice. The dresses are $85-$89 at Nordstrom.

The Best Sustainable Maternity Dress for the Office: Isabella Oliver

Isabella Oliver is another popular brand that’s a reader favorite for maternity dresses for the office, and I really like this black jersey style.

There aren’t a ton of reviews yet, but almost all are very positive, noting that the dress is flattering and comfortable. It’s $135 and available in sizes 0–5 (U.S. sizes 2–12/14). Note that Isabella Oliver has (for several years now) focused on sustainability and using eco-friendly fabrics — their sustainability impact is 82%! Nice.

Psst: This $65 dress looks like an Isabella Oliver dupe for Isabella Oliver’s former bestseller, the IvyBridge.

The Best Bump-Friendly Dress You Can Wear Later: M.M.LaFleur

Reader fave M.M.LaFleur doesn’t make dresses that are explicitly “maternity,” but they do have styles that are maternity-friendly, like this pictured one, The Emily Dress. In fact, it’s also labeled full hips-friendly, bust-friendly (definitely nice for a maternity dress!), middle-friendly, and petite-friendly — and sizing goes up to +3. (See their size chart for measurements.)

(Their “maternity friendly” clothing was more clearly marked in the past — if you’re buying MMLF dresses second hand, this article gives you a good starting place for which styles were considered maternity friendly.)

The fabric, “WonderTex,” is machine washable, wrinkle-resistant, stretchy, and treated with an anti-odor finish (apparently “so you can wear your piece multiple times before tossing it in the washing machine” — hmm…). Plus, the dress has POCKETS! It’s $165 and available in five colors.

Along similar lines, we were surprised to see that direct-to-consumer brand Quince is now making maternity dresses for the office as well! This maternity wrap dress looks like a great basic, and is only $44.

Readers, do tell: What do you think are the best maternity dresses for the office? What are the brands that you think best combine comfort and style?

Like this feature? Check out other recent installments here and at Corporette!

Social media images (seated woman wearing maternity dress, in chair at office desk) via 123rf.com/yacobchuk.