Help! What do I wear when pregnant?

[PurplePizzaCake]

So this is my second pregnancy and first time round I lived in jeans and T shirts/jumpers but I'm v bored of my old stuff and I want some more exciting things to wear. They don't have to be maternity specific as ideally I'd like to be able to wear things for longer than the next 6 months. Can anyone suggest some nice outfits/places to buy maternity clothes that aren't all polka dots and flowery prints please?

Ebay - lots of nice barely worn maternity clothes at much lower prices than new 🙂

Thank you. Any particular brands/styles you'd recommend?

I haven't bought any yet (11w6d today) but I've been browsing. I think I'll need to get some jeans soon though as I'm now living in leggings!
Apparently Seraphine are really nice, I'm keeping an eye out for one of their coats which work for both pregnancy and carrying a baby in a sling.
I might just pick up a cheap bundle and see what works for me - then donate what doesn't. I've seen a few bundles of basics, jeans and tshirts, that went for £10-15 so I figure it's worth a gamble!

In my second pregnancy, I found a lovely pair of smart, slightly cropped black trousers, which had the maternity waist band thing. I think they were from Topshop, in the maternity section.

I got a nice dressy top from Warehouse (but could be anywhere) just in a few sizes up from my normal size and wore them together. Looked really smart.

I would definitely spend the money on some maternity jeans and trousers.

Dresses and tops can be bought in a bigger size than you usually take normally. Empire line is good! Also those maternity waist bands you can buy on their own, for anything that doesn’t meet in the middle but otherwise fits

Got mat jeans from Boden. They lasted well into post pregnancy too!

Oh do not get me started on this. All maternity clothes are shit. If you actually like fashion then you're stuffed. I don't want to wear a jersey wrap dress with a floral print, so it's been tricky.

I've found the following really helpful:

Spanx leather look maternity leggings (great with trainers & an oversized jumper)
Sized up dungarees with a striped tee underneath, cardigan on top.
Bump band from Amazon (or Mamas and Papas) so you can keep wearing your normal jeans for as long as possible. I do the hairband trick too.
I bought one very tight, stretchy black dress from French Connection which highlights the bump, I wear it for everything smart.
I sized up and bought a couple of shirred long sleeve dresses from Topshop at ASOS.
T-shirts I think probably do actually need to be maternity, ASOS does good ones, as does Gap.
Maternity coats are universally hideous, I just bought an oversized wool camel coat.

Basically, don't buy maternity other than leggings and tights. Buy normal clothes which are stretchy over the bump, or floaty over it.

Yep get a couple of decent pairs of maternity jeans (even this is quite hard to get if you don't want skinny jeans!!!) and buy loose fitting non maternity jumpers, tops dresses etc. I basically lived in loungewear but then again half my pregnancy was in lockdown.

I agree that maternity wear is shit, apparently as soon as you get pregnant you lose all your fashion sense and become mumsy, dreary and twee. And its so overpriced.

Have a look at New Look i got a fair amount from there. I also tended to just size up in non maternity clothes which often worked well depending on the fit.

I got a lot for work from JoJo and a lot of maternity tops from new look. I hated it all by the end and hated some of it from the start tbh. But.. lockdown happened after my mat leave and I’ve spent far longer than I’d have ever hoped in maternity leggings while working from home

Completely agree, to get normal clothes that suit a bump, they fit nicer to IMO. There are loads of nice over sized / boxy shaped jumpers and jumper dresses atm that are in, and work well.

For non maternity clothes, Smock style dresses, elastic waist skirts. Jumpers and tops with side slits or open backs, cardigan coats, wafty summer dresses, oversized shirts.
But some key pieces of maternity clothes makes a big difference - a decent pair of maternity black work trousers, jeans (I admit mine are skinny), a few leggings, some Isabella oliver and seraphine dresses, a blazer, the Isabella stretchy tops…it’s the one time in your life it’s ok to go look at how HUGE my tummy is and after a certain point I personally think it’s better to look like a walking Swiss ball than a walking lump, so… (bonus that people are less likely to walk through your bump /allow you enough space if they can see it’s there)

Tbh I'm living in Asda maternity leggings or to shop maternity skinny jeans (17+5)
But I have found H&M and new look have nice maternity shirts & blouses as well as long long sleeved t shirts which don't break the bank.

Seraphine and Isabella Oliver do lovely maternity stuff but they're pretty expensive for the amount of time you will wear them.

Second pregnancy and not many maternity clothes yet. Cos has some nice dresses that work in a size up. Gym leggings in large look nice and are generally comfortable. Then jumpers in a size up over leggings.

Second hand is great for maternity clothes as most stuff will have hardly been worn.

I didn’t buy a massive amount of maternity clothes. Got some great jeans and leggings from Asda, plain maternity tees, and layered them with non-mat shirts and cardigans. In the summer, I had a couple of very comfy jersey maxi dresses that I rotated between. I added colourful accessories if I was feeling the need to dress up a bit.

I think I bought one special occasion dress for a wedding, which was worn once and given to the charity shop!