Hi folks,

I have my viva on Thursday morning and I am stressing about what to wear as I am 34 weeks pregnant and finding clothes that look smart but are also comfortable seems to be impossible. Just wondering what people typically wear for their viva - whether they go fully suited and booted or whether it's ok to be quite casual? I think it's set to be quite hot on Thursday too so I want to take that into account. I'm a bit reluctant to go and buy a maternity shirt and suit that I'll only wear once, but I don't want to run the risk of making a bad impression by looking to informal. Any advice would be so gratefully received, especially from ladies that have recently had their viva - what did you wear?!

Best,
Hannah

Quite casual is perfectly fine. The most important thing is you are comfortable.

I had to use my manual wheelchair at my viva, so had to wear clothing that was suitable for that, and comfortable. I ended up wearing my usual fairly-smart-but-casual stuff.

What you wear is not the most important thing. It is how you present yourself in other ways that counts.

So feel free to be comfortable but casual 8-)

Hi Hannie! I have my viva next week and am planning to combine smart and comfortable. I'm really not comfortable in starchy suits and it's too hot for that really, so I'm planning to wear a (fairly formal and plain) dress with a black cardigan over with tights and heels. Kind of something I might wear for a smart-ish office job. I think you should go for something you're comfortable in- I'm assuming it's obvious that you're pregnant by this stage, so no-one will blame you for going with a smart and tidy but comfortable outfit! Good luck with it! KB

I wore a skirt suit as it was made known at our viva training that this formality was expected. However, I think that there are exceptions to this rule for medical/comfort/feasibility reasons.

Thinking about my maternity wardrobe which was very casual, there were a couple of items that were smart casual. Have you a pair of smartish maternity trousers such as a summer linen pair that you could add a nice top or a summer maternity dress with a cardi? These can be dressed up with a smart handbag, document case and shoes (slip-on sandals if your feet were like mine lol). I think at your stage it is important for you to be comfortable, not too constricted or too hot. I wouldn't suggest jeans for such a formality (I had a lot of these and combats lol) but smart casual would be perfectly acceptable. I think the examiners might be more concerned of you going into labour in the middle of your viva than your attire!!!

Good luck on thursday (up)

I have no idea what 34 weeks pregnant would look like, but how about black maternity trousers with a smart empire line top, or a smart empire line maternity dress with leggings and smart shoes?

Thanks for the replies ladies, it sounds like something smart-ish but comfortable is the way to go :-)

I have a plain dress that I think I can smarten up with the right shoes, bag, jewellery etc., I'm just relieved to hear that no-one has said "you have to wear a suit"!

I'm pretty obviously pregnant now, as much from my waddle, swollen feet and massive eye bags as the hefty baby bump. Still, I'm hoping to be as discreet as I can possibly be about the whole pregnancy thing as I don't want it to influence the viva in any way, so the dress I think I'll wear is very loose fitting and hides the bump in the best way possible. As long as the stress of it all doesn't trigger labour, at least until they've said the result, then I'll be happy!

Thanks again for the advice (up)

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Haha, Sneaks you do make me laugh!! 34 weeks would look likely to pop any minute in my experience (40 weeks is full term assuming only one is in there, 34-36 weeks for two or more!!). Definitely no chance of hiding it :p

I think you would find a very limited supply of maternity suits available, Next directory maybe. I know that I wouldn't have fitted into one with my twin pregnancy as I was full term size at 28 weeks and the size of a house at 34 weeks. As for shoes, well I couldn't reach my feet so no chance of fancy shoes unless they were slip on :$

Sounds like you have the perfect outfit in mind (up)

hmm, that sounds like me, but I'm defo not pregnant :p

tbh, I'd be all out to influence the viva haha! I had a discussion with my hubs this weekend actually about maybe using some cleavage-hypnosis to influence the result, but we couldn't work out if it would raise the mark (they'd be too distracted to be nasty) or lower the result (thinking I'm a low-IQ hussy). and then we decided that one of my examiners may be gay and therefore the whole strategy would be wasted anyhow. If I put this much effort into doing my thesis, rather than thinking up these crazy plans I'd be sure to pass!

Oh yes, I'd do whatever was required :p I made it to 37 weeks with my twins with the result that 13 years later I think I still look 5 months pregnant :-(.

What you have in mind sounds perfect Hannie, the best of luck with it.

In my airline days I had to call medical assistance for a lady who did go into labour in front of me - and I was pregnant myself at the time. I can still see the look on the airport policeman's face when he thought he was faced with two women about to pop!