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Original poster

To think someone should have invented this by now....?

25 replies

Flatasapancakenow · 27/09/2018 07:13

....a range of fully adjustable clothes to get you from very early pregnancy to full term and back to your normal size again (hopefully while also being BFing friendly).

I have just found out that I'm pregnant again. Like a lot of people my maternity package isn't great so I'm very aware that in 6 months time our household income will take a hit and there will be plenty to pay for.

I am a petite pear, so my wardrobe wouldn't usually contain a lot of floaty tops as they tend to emphasise my lower half and make me look chunkier. I tend to try to wear my every day wardrobe as far into the pregnancy as possible and then as I get bigger buy maternity items. I am always reluctant to spend big money on these as I'm aware that I will only be wearing them for 3 or 4 months or so.

Is it possible to create high quality clothes that could be both every day non-maternity and maternity/nursing. I wouldn't mind paying more for them if I knew I could wear them for years.

I was thinking of pinafores and dresses with buttons or fastenings at different positions along the waist so you could tailer them appropriately, perhaps jumpers and things that wrap and tie cleverly so they can be adjusted etc.

If this sort of thing already exists please point me in that direction, I'd love to get my hands on some flexible pieces!

OP posts:
TheBrilloPad · 27/09/2018 07:17

That £11 jumpsuit from amazon that everyone raved about on the S&B threads works really well for casual use. It's not maternity but fit me right up to 40 weeks, and I'm still wearing it breastfeeding, I just have a vest top underneath I pull up and the jumpsuit I pull down.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B071CJDCNW/ref=cmswwrcppapi_WvhRBb4V8H6R5

MrsStrowman · 27/09/2018 07:17

I feel the same! Bought some things when I was first showing, now too tight, have had to buy other things which will swamp me after birth. It sucks. Also people say, just buy cheap clothes ie Primark in a bigger size, doesn't work as I'm still pretty flat chested. Also why do most retailers only stock maternity wear online! Surely it's the time you need to try things on most, thank God for h & m

MrsStrowman · 27/09/2018 07:19

I need professional work clothes, so jumpsuits or leggings and oversized t shirts etc are just not possible for me

IWannaSeeHowItEnds · 27/09/2018 07:26

I remember fondly the 2 wool tube skirts I used to own, that weren't maternity clothes but saw me through 3 pregnancies without losing shape. They were from Richards, which is long gone, although you could probably still get something similar.

CaptainCorrigan · 27/09/2018 07:31

It's a good idea but isn't that what elastic waists are for? To be honest, I just got a few stretchy tops and maternity trousers for work, and a few h and m mat t-shirts and leggings for at home, a lot of my normal clothes still fit until later on and after I had the baby I went back to normal clothes. A lot of maternity stuff is pointless if not adjustable anyway, I bought a lot of stuff I then returned as it drowned me. You don't generally need an awful lot for a couple of months, just a few basics. A lot of people I know have just worn maternity trousers etc after if they needed to. A lot of dresses you can get away with bump or not.

ATowelAndAPotato · 27/09/2018 07:34

I lived in stretchy pencil skirts from Primark, they used to have longer length (below knee/mid-calf) ones, so as my bump got bigger, I just pulled them up to sit over the bump. Combined with their stretchy vests, and then a few sleeveless floaty tops that were a bit big to start with. Chuck a cardi over when it’s cold and some maternity tights, job done. I think I only bought maternity tights, one pair of jean, and a pair of black trousers that were comfy, but just passable for work if I didn’t fancy a skirt.

scaryteacher · 27/09/2018 07:34

I bought some long sleeved tops when I was pregnant in bigger sizes; I think they were men's tops. 23 years,on, I use them as pj tops.

Onlyhappywhenitrains1 · 27/09/2018 07:40

Dress with decent stretch in a couple sizes too big and legging/tights did me through two pregnancies. Vest underneath if too big around the bust. I bought jeans second hand from ebay. I had to buy like a million bras though.

Original poster
Flatasapancakenow · 27/09/2018 07:41

I always find non-maternity dresses ride up at the front as your bump grows and look a bit strange. I have a small waist normally, so far i haven't found any elastic that keeps trousers up pre-baby and expands enough to cope in the final stages of pregnancy. Maybe it's a bit down to body shape too and what style of clothes people's pre-baby wardrobe contains.

I just find I'm buying floaty stuff early pregnancy, maternity stuff late in pregnancy and then nursing stuff for post pregnancy (which strangely sometimes still have huge bumps built into them).

OP posts:
EwItsAHooman · 27/09/2018 07:41

I got some jeans from Vertbaudet that had panels to zip in/out. They started off as normal jeans then there was a hidden zip that folds out and a mid-width stretchy band that attaches to it to make a pair of under bump maternity jeans. For later in the pregnancy there was a wider band you could zip on the make them over bump maternity jeans. Then when you're all done, the band's zip back off, zip folds away, and they're normal jeans again.

EwItsAHooman · 27/09/2018 07:43

I never bothered with nursing tops, a normal top with a vest underneath worked just as well. Vest pulled down on the relevant side so the baby can get to the boob, outer top lifted up.

Kidneyvback · 27/09/2018 07:44

Hair band through your button hole for as lonely as you can... And not sales for a few clothing items h and m are always good for basics. Or buy larger things from primark

Original poster
Flatasapancakenow · 27/09/2018 07:45

Oh ewlts I will definitely be looking into those. That was the type of thing I has been thinking of.

I did sometimes do the 2 tops for nursing, but i found after birth I was so HOT and sweaty Blush it sometimes felt like too many layers.

OP posts:
Original poster
Flatasapancakenow · 27/09/2018 07:45

Oh ewlts I will definitely be looking into those. That was the type of thing I has been thinking of.

I did sometimes do the 2 tops for nursing, but i found after birth I was so HOT and sweaty Blush it sometimes felt like too many layers.

OP posts:
Original poster
Flatasapancakenow · 27/09/2018 07:50

Awk I know I can wear mens t shirts or t shirts that are 3 sizes too big plus leggings, but I was aiming for more dressy, smart/casual type options. In the house I will definitely be mooching around in oversized stuff.

Love the bobble through the jeans trick. Actually taught my SIL that one!

OP posts:
Redken24 · 27/09/2018 07:55

I bought stuff from the charity shop before - like tops and stuff. Just in bigger sizes.

DunesOfSand · 27/09/2018 08:00

This is pretty much what I did...
Wear normal clothes til about 3 months, buy 2 pairs of black trousers for work, a pair of jeans for the weekend. Half a dozen tops. Continue to wear existing cardigans. Nick DHs fleece for winter. Wear til about 1 month post partum, then back into old bottoms, with some new tops for feeding in. Repete fir DS2. Frankly after weekly use for a year, 2 years apart, most stuff was trashed! And as you say, lots of stuff you wear over the maternity period isn't stuff you would wear normally anyway.

shearwater · 27/09/2018 08:03

I wish all clothes had some elastic and give in them tbh, to allow for hormonal water retention.

MrsMaryMooFace · 27/09/2018 08:04

Isabella Oliver used to do tops and dresses with huge wrap pieces that would fit all through a pregnancy. They don't seem to do them any more but they were such a good idea!!!!
I realise this is unhelpful but what about Jersey wrap dresses and tops in a size bigger??

MrsPatmore · 27/09/2018 08:06

When I was pregnant I used something called a Belly Belt (or Belly Band). It was a couple of pieces of elastic waistband with buttons and fasteners at either end so you could wear your normal trousers/skirts for longer. There was also a panel of material you could tuck in to cover any exposed gaps.

BikeRunSki · 27/09/2018 08:06

I did once see a range of expandable clothes. It was basically very crinkled fabric that stretched out. I think it was JapAnese. It was kids clothes, but the same principal could apply to maternity clothes.

MsMotherOfDragons · 27/09/2018 10:07

I bought black skater dresses from Seraphine and they have seen me through pregnancy, post-maternity and breastfeeding!

worriedsister2 · 27/09/2018 10:12

H&M Jersey.

BikeRunSki · 27/09/2018 11:07

It won’t help for maternity wear, but this are the expandable kids clothes i saw. Though i’m not sure if anything would manage years 0-3 without becoming irrovacally stained!

Cuddlykitten123 · 27/09/2018 11:19

Ive got a proper maternity Parker with toggles to let out as you got bigger and a zip in sling cozy bit but its nice enough to wear post baby wearing stage but pulling in the waist again. Not sure how flattering that principle would be on other clothes though

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