To wonder why it's so FUCKING difficult to find maternity clothes offline?

[kinkytoes]

I live in a large town in the south east and only one shop here sells maternity clothes. None of our department stores do them any more. I get told by everyone to go online instead.

But I don't want to go online and pay for loads of stuff that will end up not fitting me and I'll have the hassle of returning it and then waiting for a refund.

I want to go and pick things off the shelf, try them on in a changing room, leave the ones I don't want and buy the ones I do want.

Why is that so hard? Why are shops discriminating against us pregnant ladies? There are enough of us to warrant stocking some clothes for us, surely? There are many places that sell baby clothes so why not maternity?

I know it's a bit of a first world problem but I'm hormonal and I just had a wasted afternoon 'shopping' and I want to enjoy being pregnant (as much as the sickness will let me). I just feel stressed out and pissed off and I need some new clothes!

Just remembered George at Asda had some great stuff. I had a Black Maxi dress and two Black Maxi skirts which were great and really flexible. Again online but easy enough to take back if you have an Asda nearby.

Don't all the supermarkets stock maternity clothes?
The main problems are bras and expandable trousers. I found that the rise in obesity had sorted both those in issues in most stores.

^ Come back to me when you've found a really good maternity bra that doesn't cost the earth in a 28, 30, 32 band with a H+ cup.

TriJo, they don't exist. You've got to fork out for the Royce ones from Bravissimo IME (32H when bfing last time round) but they're not cheap...

That's exactly my point. I'm a 30HH-J at 15 weeks and clinging to underwires for as long as I can because the maternity and nursing choices are terrible. A rise in obesity doesn't make it any easier at all to get small band/very large cup lingerie.

It's annoying but if I was running a business to make money I don't think I'd give a lot if any space over to maternity wear. It's worn for a very short amount of time and the only people who need it (women of child bearing age) are generally a demographic who do shop online. It's not discrimination, it's not that pregnant women are not expected to go out. Other low demand items - tall, petite, large sized footwear etc - have also been excluded from bricks and mortar stores as the amount that is sold doesn't justify the expensive retail space required to display it.

I've had 3 pregnancies and never bought a maternity bra, or any other special underwear. I don't think any of the other women I know did either.
I can understand why women who have to dress smartly for work might need maternity clothes, but otherwise, why bother? Just improvise.

Noeffing idea - I can't just "improvise", none of my clothes fasten up! I can understand how you could improvise if you live in jersey dresses and leggings, but if you're someone who wears tight jeans, tailored clothes and anything non-stretchy, a bump makes ordinary dressing impossible...

It's mildly irritating, but you can get loads of mat friendly tops and dresses in the standard sections of shops as bess says, and is online shopping really that hard when it costs nothing to receive/return? Just order, like, 20 things on your credit card and send them back if they're rubbish. Try on in the comfort of your own home.

I can recommend ASDA maternity leggings and H&M / Primark standard range for tunics and tops etc

TriJo, you do not need to surrender your underwires at any point so long as your bra fits well. Ignore the midwifes and dodgy fitters. I was a similar size in pregnancy, no chance were these girls going wireless. Not a chance.

In the UK the Freya Pure goes to a HH and gets pretty good reviews (you might find that you'll be out of range for a while then come back in once your milk settles), and otherwise look at Ewa Michalak - their KM styles are underwired maternity bras. Not had them personally but have loads of their non feeding bras and they're fan fricking tastic. I think that they'll also make any of their other bras with a drop cup if requested. Or buy conversion kids on ebay and normal bras which fit, there's lots of tutorials online.

My personal bugbear with maternity wear was the assumption that none of us need work clothes when pregnant. Want jeans and slogan t-shirts? Nae bother. Want to still look like a professional at 30+ weeks? Dream on! I got through with a couple of jersey dresses (non maternity) and I didn't work in a super smart office. If I had done I would have been in trouble.

OP if you are petite you may well get by with very few maternity clothes. The only things I had were a pair of maternity jeans and a few t shirts(h & m) and a jumper dress and a black dress, both from Seraphine. I got by in normal leggings and vest tops, sized up, a couple of stretchy pencil skirts in my normal size (h and m) which I wore below the bump, and some swishy wide leg trousers with elastic waist, again in my normal size, from M&S. Quite a lot of my normal clothes (the stretchy / baggy and empire line ones) fitted almost till the end. I'm a size 10, and short, and have needed maternity clothes for 3 pregnancies. I definitely agree with the PP who said that there was much more available on the high street a few years ago: was spoilt for choice with DS1 (born march 2010) and really didn't bother to buy anything beyond lycra for DS2 (dec 2012) or DS3 (bor 3 weeks ago).

My top tip is to order loads of different sizes of the same things and click & collect.

Take it all into the changing room where you collect it and try it on. Immediately return the 25 items you don't want and keep the three you do.

You don't even have to wrap it up again.

I abused Next's click and collect system like this throughout my pregnancy.

(Although Seraphine does nice reasonably priced work dresses if you can bear some proper online shopping).

Thanks for all the tips everyone. Today I travelled out and found a H&M with a massive maternity section! So many jeans etc (I'm usually a skinny jeans wearer). I have bought pretty much everything I need from there. I feel much better now.

I refuse to reward those who only stock online by buying online. The stores which make the effort to get my custom are the ones who will receive it. Simple market forces.

But I still think a maternity superstore would be brilliant.

noeuf - I really popped quite early for all 3 pregnancies and non maternity clothes - trousers in particular - simply did not fit me from about 9 weeks onwards. Didn't help that all the shops had decided at the tie I was first pregnant that all women were interested in wearing was hipsters.

Before I knew I was pregnant for the first time, I went out to find a top for a special occasion. I ended up with some floaty polyester thing from Evans (I was a 14, at the time, just as I am, now) because absolutely nothing else I liked even fitted around my already bloated belly. I hadn't even got to a point where I could test positive, yet! (I was asked if I had long to go when I went shopping for my second set of new bras at 9 weeks)

And agree bout the superstore idea. Mothercare might just survive their inevitable demise if they become more of a department store and stock concessions such as Next, JJMB etc. As it is, Mothercare is more likely to become a concession in the Next directory. Or Tesco.

To be fair i went to an out of town shopping centre near Edinburgh yesterday and there was a small rack of maternity clothes in mothercare, next, H&M, Topshop and New Look. The downside is I didn't like almost any of the fabrics aa they were cheap and nasty and would be out of shape in minutes.

I forgot. Phase Eight. God bless them and all who sail in them.

Gap jumpers are brilliant.