Diana Lively: Mum-to-be’s plunging wedding guest dress sparks TikTok backlash

There are some unwritten rules when it comes to outfit etiquette for wedding guests — don’t wear white, don’t rock jeans — but the internet may have uncovered another one, with a mum-to-be coming under fire for her eye-catching outfit.

Diana Lively from Georgia — who is in her second trimester of pregnancy — took to TikTok to share an Outfit of the Day video, showing off her and her husband’s outfits as guests for a wedding.

While her husband was styled in a light blue blazer with a deep purple tie, it was Lively’s outfit that raised eyebrows.

In the video which has since gained more than two million views, Lively can be seen wearing a light purple gown with a plunging neckline, revealing bare skin down to the naval.

Ms Lively described the ensemble — which she purchased for $180 AUD from US designer Naked Wardrobe — as “the best maternity, non-maternity dress in the market”.

Some comments praised the dress and compared her maternity style to superstar Rihanna’s, however the fashionistas of the internet were swift in handing down their verdict on the dress.

One commenter accused Lively of choosing the dress solely to “outshine the bride”, claiming she had main character syndrome — an online term referring to self-centred behaviour akin to protagonists in movies.

Another comment said: “I shouldn’t see your belly button at someone else’s wedding...”, while a third comment suggested it was a cute dress but “would’ve been more baby shower appropriate”.

“A safety pin could’ve easily saved this,” another commenter shared after seeing the gown.

Many creators even began making their own videos about the viral video, further criticising the outfit choice.

“The conversation quickly descended into terrible scrutiny about my body, presumptions assassinating my character, baseless claims about my marriage and children, conjecture about the newlyweds, and even threats of violence,” Ms Lively told People about the public outcry.

“I felt I needed to advocate for my body, my integrity, my husband and the bride. Seeing the avalanche of negativity, I was truly in fight-or-flight, but I had to stand up for what I knew to be true.”

Lively did just that — posting a follow-up video to address the backlash her dress sparked.

Her response began by addressing a TikTok post claiming she had been “removed (from the wedding) for attacking the bride’s mum” — an allegation Lively declared was “1,000% a lie based on absolutely nothing”.

The mum-to-be then broke down three points that bothered her the most about the backlash she had received: the body-shaming, questions about her integrity, and swipes being taken at her marriage.

“I’ve been called Barney (the purple dinosaur), big back, people have said I look nasty and disgusting... I’m pregnant with my daughter right now and I’m not going to allow my platform to be a space for people to comment on my body like that,” she said.

“There is no way, in no universe, that my $100 dress and my pregnant belly could ever outstage ANY bride on her wedding day.

“Somehow you guys took a dress, and used it to make accusations and assumptions about me and my marriage that are just completely baseless.

“Ultimately I’m just tired of you all telling me who I am... I’m not a ‘purple dress lady’, I am Diana, I am multifaceted, I am no different than you.”

After the video and the viral discussions about wedding attire blew up, Lively revealed how the discourse over her dress — and her body — impacted her.

“I felt like a lot of people were projecting their insecurities onto me because they wouldn’t wear a dress like that and didn’t feel like I had the right to feel good or confident in it,” she said.

“Thousands of strangers were telling me who they thought I was based on a few seconds of my life depicted in a couple of videos.

“My husband, my family and my greater community kept me grounded in my character. My faith in God reminded me of the woman I am in real life.”