Maternity wear is boring .... any secrets or tips?

[newbabyinthestow]

I am pregnant with my second baby, and have realised (again) how uninspiring official 'maternity' clothes are. I remember I actually wore many things that were not proper maternity wear, but high street things that worked for a pregnant shape. I particularly hated all the big baggy, bump hiding stuff, as it just made me look massive, and I unexpectedly preferred to wear more figure hugging things. My biggest tip is American Apparel, a store which is SOOOOO not going for the maternity market but I have found some excellent things in there, as it is mostly stretchy and hugs the bump, so flattering and great for basics. Here are my two top buys so far....anyone got any other high street non-official-maternity secrets to share?

Randomly, this is BRILLIANT for pregnancy and then for breast feeding due to the wrap over top bit: store.americanapparel.net/product/?productId=rsa8344

Love this dress and got it when I wasn't pregnant, but intend to wear it and accessoriese with bump: store.americanapparel.net/product/?productId=rsapo300

Just wanted to add that Primarni have some nice long sleeved stretchy tops at the moment up to a size 20. They come down quite long so I reckon they'd cover a bump for some months, £3.50 or £4 depending whether you like a stripe or not

Hi just wanted to add that I have bought some lovely maternity clothes from New Look, very reasonably priced. You can buy online then pick up in store for free I've also bought lovely fitted tunics (not maternity) which are elasticated under the boobs and then fit over my 38wk bump, these are very comfy and can use afterwards too.

I have bought lots of non maternity clothing from the likes of phase eight, boden, next, Dorothy Perkins .. Mainly tunics, trapeze style ..still fit into them at 31 weeks despite huge bump... Will still be wearable after pregnancy too. It's a good idea to look around at non-maternity clothing and think about what might work.

I bought a lovely tunic in the Seasalt sale

Doesn't non maternity stuff end up shorter at the front when you're in full bloom?

redandyellow you are right,normal tops do end up too short but longer line things are generally still ok,I've only got 4 weeks left and although I could not be without maternity jeans I'm still wearing some normal tops that were long in the first place

Hi. I have found some great "non baggy" things, including skinny jeans in Mamas and Papas. Plus the sale is on!

I also treated myself to one lovely evening dress from Tiffany Rose. I like it because the fabric means that it looks good with the bump but I can wear it afterwards too (especially during the "waiting for tummy to go back down" stage)

TheEndTisHere that site you recommended is pretty good, it had most of the major brands on there, I wish it was around when I had my first - would have saved me trawling through/comparing all the sites.

What about getting a belt band expander, so you can just add a bit of extra width onto your jeans? I always find it so hard to find decent jeans so my first time around I tried to stay in my comfy jeans for as long as possible! Then a basic vest top?

I got some fairly cheap isabella oliver products of ebay, then resold them after too!

So glad I found this thread! Having real issues with clothes and feel like my prego shape is very weird! I was always a slim size 8 and 8 stone pre-prego, with a tendency to gain weight more on thighs and hips (curse of the pear shape). So, now I'm pregnant with my first, at 25 weeks I still have quite a small bump but feel my boobs, arse and thunder thighs are huuuuuuge! Gutted as I was hoping to be all bump, but alas no. So normal clothes now cling in the wrong places, and maternity wear hangs off my front and is too long, as they seem to be designed for people with more prominent bumps :-/

Have just ordered a few maternity range things from New Look, mostly dresses for over tights, so will see what they're like when they turn up. I have a funeral to go to next week so also bought a black shift dress from Seraphine which looks lovely on the website, so hoping it'll fit ok when it turns up :-/ Seraphine have some lovely dresses and tunics.

Gave up my jeans a long time ago, even maternity skinny jeans are way too uncomfy for me!

A friend recommended Morph maternity to me recently. So I decided to give it a try and believe me, their maternity wear is fantastic! The stretchy fabric accommodates the growing belly and is extremely comfortable.

asos.com is your friend! loads of great stylish stuff, not too pricey. and there's always maternity stuff in the sale section.

i've got some nice body con type dresses from there and some swing ones for work. not a tent in sight!

Asos is by far the best place for nice unfrumpy stuff, plus H&M.Primark are doing comfy maternity jeans now too, for under 20 quid.

I'm 22+2 and on Saturday I bought the first lot of maternity wear from Topshop.

• Bleach jeans - very comfortable (and great to have something that isn't leggings!)www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=1&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=33057&storeId=12556&productId=10378106&langId=-1&sort_field=Relevance&categoryId=208537&parent_categoryId=203984&pageSize=2000&refinements=category~[209831|208537]&noOfRefinements=1
• Maxi dress - not maternity so can wear it again www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=0&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=33057&storeId=12556&productId=10366755&langId=-1&categoryId=&searchTerm=maxi%20dress&pageSize=200
• Pink dress - good material and cut for covering lumps and bumps www.topshop.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?beginIndex=1&viewAllFlag=&catalogId=33057&storeId=12556&productId=10290251&langId=-1&sort_field=Relevance&categoryId=208537&parent_categoryId=203984&pageSize=200&refinements=category~[209827|208537]&noOfRefinements=1

Also, I bought a maternity denim shirt which I can wear post baby and a blue top with rolled up short sleeves that I can also wear after baby. Great stuff but quite expensive for the sake of 3 and a bit months...

Asos has loads of maternity wear and it's not expensive, but still on trend :)

It's not proper maternity wear but if you like American apparel try monki.com for the loose equivalent. They're the same company as Cos but a bit younger.

I hate official maternity clothes. And why is it that maternity jeans all seem to be skinny jeans? Skinny jeans didn't suit me when I wasn't pg, and they don't now! I am also too tall for most maternity stuff, so I have been living in maxi dresses in the hope I will still be able to wear them after.