Power Shoulder Bardot Animal Print Mini Dress via ASOS ($103.00)

As APW’s resident shopper, it has fallen to me over the years to help source our yearly roundup of nursing friendly dresses. No problem! I said. I have boobs! I understand the basic mechanisms of needing to access them. Let me at it! Then this year, I had a baby. And as I found myself in a restroom stall in the middle of a friend’s wedding reception pumping with the fury of a person who is about to miss “Living on a Prayer,” I thought to myself, HAHAHAHAHAHAH how little I knew then! Thank god I had a senior editor who was actually nursing. Because as any of you with a baby attached to your chest right now can attest, it’s not exactly that simple. There are, in fact, other things to consider when choosing nursing-friendly dresses (or jumpsuits, or any formal wear) besides nipple proximity. Such things may include:

• Do I care if everyone here can see my whole boob? Like, the whole thing? Do I want to wrestle with a coverup if I do care?
• Can I wear this with a nursing bra? (Or any bra at all? Will gravity be thine enemy, is what I’m saying.)
• What are the odds that the baby destroys this garment in some fashion, and how much do I care? (Can we have a conversation about the staying power of baby poop and the related unreliability of diapers?)

All of which is to say, there’s no one perfect nursing dress for everyone. Meg, for example, prefers a wrap dress for ease of access. I prefer a crop top or two-piece dress for the sake of not having to show my best friend’s dad my boobs. And it’s also to say, I apologize for my past errors, and to my editor who tried so hard to explain. And also that one time I told you to buy velvet. (Though, can you get baby vomit out of velvet? Maybe I don’t take that one back.) So here is the best of the best that 2017 has to offer in the way of nursing-friendly dresses. I call it “atonement.”

Price ranges and sizes vary, but as usual, we tried to find a little something for everyone.

Wrap Dresses

Floral Wrap Dress via Mango ($99.00)

Katina Gathered Midi Dress via Alice + Olivia ($395.00)

Jersey Wrap Dress via Rachel Roy Curve ($139.00)

Joe Fresh Print Wrap Dress via Spring ($29.00)

Long Sleeve Knit Wrap Dress via Diane Von Furstenberg ($498.00) 

ASOS Maternity Nursing Batwing Print Wrap Dress via ASOS ($51.00)

Color Block Velvet Wrap Maxi Dress via Anthropologie ($312.00)

Nursing Jumpsuits

Faithful Tie-Front Jumpsuit via Anthropologie ($168.00)

Velvet Cold Shoulder Jumpsuit via TopShop ($90.00) (FINE STILL WITH THE VELVET)

V-Neck Wide Leg Ruffle Jumpsuit via Express ($79.90)

The Embolden Age Jumpsuit via ModCloth ($129.99)

Kasey Wide-Leg Jumpsuit via Anthropologie ($238.00)

Gray Drape Shoulder Slinky Jumpsuit via Miss Guided ($48.00)

NUrsing-Friendly Dresses with Front Closures

Flared Sleeve Dress via Mango ($45.99)

Celinda Metallic Jacquard Dress via Nordstrom ($798.00)

Sleeveless Deep-V Button-Up Dress via Diane Von Furstenberg ($348.00)

Haute Hippie Ivory Tux Sheath via Rent the Runway ($65.00–$85.00 rental)