Dissapointed with maternity clothes

[newmumtb]

Anoyone else finding that the few shops which sell maternity clothes have such a bad selection, I checked out h&m and new look from the cheaper ones,and although their normal collection has loads of interesting things,the maternity selection is dowdy and old-fashioned, especially the jeans.. Its so unfair, I wouldn't normally spend more than £20on a pair of jeans,but it seems i'll have to spend double that just for the luxury of being pregnant:(

[1Catherine1]

39w+3 and still in non-maternity jeans - how? Low cut ones that lie under my bump anyway. I have maternity trousers that I bought for work, I bought a pair that are for over the bump and a pair for under - my under the bump ones are rather uncomfortable and my over the bump ones are ok and if in the next week I find I can't get in my jeans anymore I'll have to live in them.

As for tops - the selection is limited but I did pick up 3 nice maternity/nursing tops in mothercare on Monday - they are on 3 for 2 atm if you have a look. But they were the only 3 I liked. They did have some jeans that looked ok but I didn't really pay much attention as jeans shopping is always a mission anyway and at 39+4 I really don't see the point :)

[1Catherine1]

-> and to clarify, I'm 39+3, I'm just wishing the days away... bored of being pregnant now!

[newmumtb]

Oh 1Catherine1 I envy you as I'm only 16wks :), you're almost there! I think i'll need to try low cut normal jeans as I've lost hope , and I have 1 pair of over the bump ones and I find they are too high up my waist. Thanks for the mothercare tip, I got a bra there after getting 3 m&S ones which didn't fit but the mcare one is great( already up to E cup :(). Good luck with your baby, hopefully you won't have to wait too long now :)

[NewMummy5July2011]

Yeah I've had a rant on here before about maternity clothes. I've found some basic plain t-shirts from Dorothy Perkins, a top from ASOS, and Red Herring at Debenhams. Haven't managed to find a single nice tunic/dress and everything is VERY plain. (And SO dull...grey, black, etc.)

I've started getting a few more accessories to try to dress up my tops - at least then can wear them long term!

I feel your pain though - I've been so frustrated by it I've actually cried - I love clothes and hate not having much to choose from!

[Vassia]

Primark. I refuse to spend money on maternity clothes, waste of money and they are sooo expensive.

I did try to find maternity clothes at the start but the price and dowdyness of them put me right off. I recommend looking on the internet (topshop and ASOS are good) as the selection in store in pitiful. The bigger New Looks are ok, but depends if there's one near you.

You can always try buying normal clothes in a size or 2 bigger than normal. Or stretchy stuff from Primark!

[midori1999]

I'm wondering if I am dowdy and old fashioned now, sat here in my New Look maternity jeans. I prefer boot cut styles as I have big calves compared to the rest of my legs, so skinny type jeans don't suit me (or fit me) at all. They did have a variety of styles at the New look I went in though, including skinny and boyfriend in a few different colours. I have to say, these jeans are the most comfortable of my maternity ones as they are sort of stretchy.

I found Serpahine or Isabella Oliver good for tops online.

[GeorginaI]

I'm coming up to 27 weeks and have only bought about 1 actual maternity top... one of my friends advised me just to buy normal clothes in a bigger size, so I've just been buying tops/dresses in a size 14 and living in leggings!

[newmumtb]

midori1999 lol maybe I just gave up too easily,i'll have to track down a branch with a bigger selection next time :) , I also found the new season stuff from H&M normal clothes really well cut for pregnant ladies, a lot of the dresses and tops are cut below the bust and come out quite a lot underneath, I got the same size I was before and fitted me with lots of room to spare, considering other shops I've already gone up from a 10 to a 14 in tops and dresses :)

[bonnymiffy]

I have one dress (tunic style, so wear a top underneath) from Mothercare in the sale, one pair of trousers, George at Asda, and one top (M&S I think, a Christmas present). oh yeah, 2 pairs of Debenhams tights to wear under the dress. Other tops are regular ones that now I'm 28 weeks are getting stretched. Will try Peacocks at the weekend. I agree, maternity stuff is so DULL and lacking in inspiration, still, at least we've moved on from 1980's Lady Di style smocks with large bows! I wished I could add something positive but I just can't!

[jazz412]

you could get a bump stretchy thing so you can wear your old jeans and wear a top to cover the button/zip :)

[greenzebra]

I managed to get some tops in new look not in the maternity section but in the normal section they were floaty nice colours with butterflies and skulls on them and they fit perfect, all through pregnancy and they were a size 12.

Maternity stuff is really limited though, and really styled bad. Im surprised one of these celeb mums at the moment isnt campaigning about it, but I suppose they never put on too much weight so probably dont need them.

[newmumtb]

thanks jazz412 , i'll try that, I;ve been wearingmy old jeans with a rubber band, but I dins them slipping round my knees sometimes when I'm walking too fast lol

[lilly13]

I fully agree. I find the selection completely appaling. If I normally don't wear clothes from H&M and topshop, I certainly wouldn't do so in pregnancy when I feel and look ten times worse... And I absolutely refuse to spend GBP180+ on a pair of jeans or tops sold by high end maternity shops in Chelsea and South Ken. Their selection is also horrendous, despite being sold at astronomical prices... I bought everything at Destination Maternity in USA (lots of affordable clothes of high quality which are trendy and don't make one look and feel like you a construction worker)... It's a shame they don't have it in this country.

[jazz412]

hahaha :)

this tells you about them:
www.bumpband.co.uk/

but this one is where I've ordered mine and is the cheapest I can find:
www.bellybandwebshop.co.uk/

[onadietcokebreak]

Have any of you tried funmum? I got done great trousers from them.

[rrreow]

I found the jeans selection from H&M quite good. They have ones with really skinny legs while still accommodating enough space for the bump which makes them look at least semi fashionable.

Overall though I have found maternity wear to be quite overly 'I am pregnant so am now reduced to wearing a sack'-like. I got some maternity long sleeved shirts and am just wearing regular jumpers over them. I dunno if that makes me look silly but I prefer it over investing in overpriced sacks!

Good thing though is that it seems like spring fashion this year has quite a lot of roomy/flimsy tops so should be able to get some non-maternity stuff that fits!!

[argylesocks]

I've made it to 29 weeks in normal tops that are a size bigger but now they're starting to be too small and I need to spring for maternity ones. Normal tops don't seem to be long enough, they don't cover the bump anymore!

I ordered some bright plain shirts from Dorothy Perkins online that were all really cheap, about £6 - £9

Gap seems to be the best for jeans, I bought a pair of nice skinny jeans, it was a splurge at £35 but I wear them like every other day.

[del1]

This is my third pregnancy in 3 years, and even though im still only 15 weeks, I have been out looking for clothes. ( threw all my others away, thinking we had finished our family)

I must say that this year is pretty crap. Hopefully its just due to the change in season, and there will be some nice summer stuff!?

With my other pregnancys, I got some 'normal' longer tops, with ties at the back, that show you still have a waist. I found that some of the tops were so big to accomadate the bump, that they had no shape and just made me look fat instead of pregnant.

In summer, on days off from work, I lived in loose floaty dresses. The ones that are sort of stretchy around the boobs, but the rest of the dress floats.
They cost about £10 from markets and cheap little unknown shops.

I have also looked on ebay under the maternity section. Some really good bargains on there!

Its jeans I always struggle with, they either fall down past my bum, or rest uncomfortable on my bump?

[jellyhead188]

yeah me too - I am 33+4 now and I went and bought some stuff just normal tops yesterday - I think teh maternity stuff is just awful I refused to buy it! I got a couple of pairs of jeans from Next which I live in and a cheap pair of leggings from matalan and a nice pair of skinny jeans from DP and just chopping and changing what I wear. I hate maternity stuff, its so frumpy and uncomfortable!!! I live in my joggers at home too!

[jollyjester]

I was stuggling also but got some black work trousers and plain tops in peacocks. They have 3 for 2 on all items at the moment and have a few different types of jeans and some nice shirts & summery tops.

Good luck, I've a couple of items but at 18 weeks and just starting to need bigger things! Can't wait for a bump and not just feeling bigger!!

[PrincessScrumpy]

I got most of my stuff for pg with dd1 from Blooming Marvellous (in their sale) but now it's closed as Mothercare took it over and ruined it. Really struggling to find nice things with this pg.

[Coppernoddle]

THERE CRAP!!!!!! Enough said!!!!!!
I had a rant on here about two weeks ago and was sooooooo frustrated I just hit fat face and bought the shop!! None maternity!! I'm only 19 weeks and the fashions this year are ace as all t shirts are long, skirts are elasticated, fat face jog pants are exactly like maternity and leggings work the same too only cheaper! Try and buy as much high street stuff you can get away with and m&s sell plain vests that you can mix with stuff. But jeans are tricky, you can't get away with none maternity but do try them on as I found so many pairs in my last pregnancies to fit differently! My sister works for george head office and she gives me sample clothes for free (bonus!!) and she gave me a pair of indigo skinny jeans maternity and the were lovely! And, I'm not sure that there out in shops yet but they were only going to retail at £16, definitely value for money! Never shop at asda as don't have one near us but maybe have a go with their jeans, these were a lovely fit!!

[MrsMooky]

I've never shopped there before in my life but I've found Dorothy Perkins surprisingly good, I'm only 20 weeks and still mostly in 'normal' clothes for now but I've bought a few really pretty tops and I have it on authority that their maternity jeans are really good ..

[marie14]

has anyone found a decent place for maternity tankini's? I'm 20 weeks and 34H! (was a 34g pre-pregnancy) all the specific maternity ones are in sizes, i'm only a size 12 and would need a 20 to go over my boobs, which would be too big everywhere else!
Only ones i've found are £40-£50

[marie14]

also i've been living in leggings and big floaty tops from primark. much nicer than all the maternity clothes that make me feel about 40! leggings give you a bit of shape aswell x