Smart work clothes

[GreenwichB]

I work in the City and I have to wear a suit for work. The dress code is v formal and I live in trouser suits and shirts/blouses. Wrap dresses and semi smart wear is simply not an option unless I have a meeting free Friday - not exactly a strategy to hide away for the next 7 months.

Am I alone in not being able to find a single source of decent smart work wear? I don't want to sound like a raging snob but everything seems to be polyester and really cheap. I appreciate not wanting to spend a lot of money on clothing with a limited shelf life but I don't want to buy something that will be shiny and horrid after a couple of drycleans either.

Isabella Oliver is about the only website that seems to stock anything remotely professional and even that is madly limited in terms of fabric and styles. eg: one white shirt.

Rant over - recommendations for London (Zone 1-2 preferred) shops would be really appreciated. How has everyone else managed ? Regular clothing in bigger sizes every other month or found anything that grows with you and doesn't give a static shock?

[MumNWLondon]

I just bought a great black v smart trouser suit in the maman jojo sale. It was less than £80 for both bits and I don't care about the quality as I am 25 weeks now and only just into maternity clothes so will only get around 12 weeks wear before i go off on maternity leave!

However if you find any smart work shirts let me know!

[GreenwichB]

Maybe I'm panicing because I feel like a blimp at 12 weeks Most of my clothes are quite tailored and I'm a size 8/10 so I don't know how long I will get away with my regular work clothes for. Everything seems to be online rather than a physical store and I like to try stuff on before I buy it. Maybe just an interim suit - bound to need a bigger size afterwards anyway.... !

[MumNWLondon]

yes i have a skirt suit from austin reed that has been fine even after other clothes too tight, interim suit is ok investment as you may well need it when you first go back to work! there is a jojo store in nw11 so you just order online its free delivery and if i need to return just pop it back to the store (open at weekends, but doesn't have full range)

Not as smart as what i'd usually wear but fine for pregnancy!

link

[VeronicaCake]

I found some good smart maternity trousers in Crave Maternity: www.cravematernity.co.uk.It is probably worth visiting a shop, the trousers I got looked a bit dreary on the hanger but were fine once on.

It is hard to find properly smart maternity clothes, I suspect because very few workplaces expect women to continue to wear suits throughout maternity leave. Would a dress under a matching jacket be OK? Isabella Oliver do some quite smart shift dresses which would look good in black under a black jacket.

On shirts have you thought about getting some made-to-measure? You would need to find a dressmaker willing to measure you up properly, but I did this a few years ago (when not pregnant) and it was much cheaper than I expected. They might even be able to cut them so that a tuck in the back would make them wearable after pregnancy too.

[VeronicaCake]

Oh and I think there is a hiatus between the point where you feel like a blimp and the point where your clothes tell you you are a blimp. I felt big at about 14 weeks, but it is only since about 22 weeks that my old clothes have stopped fitting. So you should have plenty of time to find stuff.

[VeronicaCake]

That should be 'up to maternity leave' not 'throughout maternity leave'. I don't imagine many employers want their employees to wear suits during maternity leave though will now start looking for a trouser suit with an open crotch to deliver in just in case.

[GreenwichB]

Should raise some eyebrows in the delivery suite if you turn up suited and booted with a blackberry in one hand !

[emsyj]

I have given up on smart and am wearing Next cheap polyester maternity trousers and a cardigan. I'm sure this is frowned upon (we have a 'tailored suit' dress code too) but I couldn't care less as I'm so comfortable and so far nobody has been brave enough to challenge me.
I'm astonished that you have to still follow the dress code when pregnant - I am a solicitor and til May this year worked at one of the most conservative (small c) Magics in the City and even they are totally unfazed by wrap dresses and smock tops during pregnancy! What a nightmare. It's hard enough finding cheap tat to wear, let alone smart City attire.

[MadameCastafiore]

Blooming marvelous have some lovely dresses in their sale that would be fine for a formal environment.

[emsyj]

There is a fab website with designer maternity wear that has some gorgeous pieces (that I am too tight/poor to buy) but I can't find it. Will post it if I can remember it later.

www.seraphine.com have a few things, but not bought anything from there.

[Tigresswoods]

GreenwichB I was in exactly the same situation, I work either in the city or Canary Wharf and have to give presentations etc and am expected to be in a suit.

The best thing I ever bought during this pregnancy was a bump band, the first day I wore it it was a total revelation.

I wear my normal suit trousers witht he fly done up and then put the band on over the trousers. I was then weaing normal jumpers for a while then upgraded to maternity shorts or jumpers/tops under my normal jacket which clearly I could not do up.

When I pointed out my bump band to people they had no idea and just thought it was a stretchy top under my normal clothes.

I am still wearing this garb now and am 33 weeks.

Good luck!

[GreenwichB]

Hi ladies
Dress code is partly self imposed - it's strict but they are not unreasonable. My role involves a lot of external meetings though and I find being well dressed gives me a lot of confidence. I probably just need to figure out a new style/uniform and get on with it. Have been on a self imposed shopping ban for 3 months now and skipped all the sales so I'm sure my rant has something to do with withdrawal symptoms too!

[pinkpeony]

www.mama-la-mode.com
www.blossommotherandchild.com

[CMOTdibbler]

I do a lot of customer presentations, and when pg, I had a suit from Crave that was v v nice. I then mixed and matched maternity trousers from Blooming with my normal black suit jackets, and had a very nice plain black wrap dress from Melba that was fine for customers - I was waddling round the country till the week I had DS, and no one was going to argue with the size of my bump which stopped fitting in shirts

My colleague had a total spending spree in Formes, and got some lovely pieces.

Well worth a look on ebay as there are often a lot of suits there