just want some nice feel good maternity clothes

[mummytobejuly2014]

completely fed up. almost 21wks and have bugger all to wear. fed up of vest tops & long sleeve stretchy tops. pre pregnancy I was a size 6/8 on top and 8/10 on bottom. none of my local New look, Next, Dorothy perkins, H&m, topshop have any maternity sections. I hate the new look range also, tacky tshirts etc. im quite small busted and any maternity tops ive tried just swamp my bust making it look even smaller and has this extra bit of material flapping about because of the under bust elastic. im in my mid-late 20s. I just want to find some clothes that make me feel nice, finding this almost impossible. its either very dressy or very casual, no inbetween. or else a lot of it is aimed at the more mid to late 30s styles. if any one can offer any suggestions id be really grateful. its just wearing me down now that I have so little choice what to wear. I splashed out a wasteful £38 on topshop leigh maternity jeans in a bid to feel nice but they're tight on the legs and droopy/baggy under the bump & round the bum, new look jeans were even worse.
sorry for the long winded post

So agree with you mummytobe! It's either cheap jersey 'I love my bump' t-shirts, or frumpy dresses in dark colours. I'm 30 and work in a design studio, and have really struggled to find current maternity clothes.
Topshop was really disappointing - took my Leigh jeans back today for the same reason.
Like others, the best I've found is ASOS; bought some dresses and took them to a seamstress to have 8" taken off the hems. Not sure why pregnancy means hemlines have to be below the knee?!
There's definitely a gap in the market here...

I felt exactly the same a few weeks ago.
Finally found a couple of 'non mumsy' style things in Debenhams as part of their Red Herring Maternity range, trousers etc, although some of the stuff is the typical wrap over dress etc. Also picked up a few things in just bigger sizes in their concession sections like Warehouse and normal Red Herring, normally a size 10 but found their 14 worked well on my bump with space to grow, I'm 25 weeks currently.
Also invested in a couple of things from Top Shop Maternity range online. 2 tube skirts, a bump band and a lovely shirt, almost identical to one I picked up in a non maternity range at Debenhams.
The biggest pain is that so many shops seem to have moved all their maternity ranges to online only, which I think basically defeats the purpose as this is probably the most important time if ever for being able to try things on before you purchase. Also they seem to think it is an opportunity to add an extra £10 to it all and as a few people have mentioned, make it all drab colours this time of year.
I'm just glad I have now got a choice of comfortable clothes to wear, although this won't help me for work as I teach PE and my current gear is beginning to get a bit neat.
Minithemoocher try a Nike outlet if you can, I find their trousers the best options as the material is soft and there are different styles and lengths for the legs, Dri fit or something I think they are called. I'm currently wearing a M (10-12 I think) and one looser style is still fine as it sits under the bump, but my others need replaced as the style is different. Also cheaper to by all the gear through the outlets. Hope that helps

Thanks for the advice Rombo and Waiting

I thought the topshop maternity range wasn't bad during my last pregnancy. Have a look for them on eBay.

I am mid-late 30s and also find most maternity ranges drab and frumpy. I've ordered a few basics from Jojo for work, and a couple of dresses from Seraphine. They've just arrived and I haven't tried them yet. I think my next purchases will be from Asos as they have a good selection.

Normally I buy from Reiss, Zara, Mango, Banana Republic and so on, and all of the mat stuff seems really poor in comparison. I guess it's a good incentive to get back in shape afterwards, so I am only in it for the minimum time!

Agree about H&M sizing being hit and miss. Last week I bought two tops, one M and one S, but mat jeans a total fail when the fucking size 18s were snug. I'm 5'10 and a 12/14 and haven't put on much weight at all, at 31+5. After trying four pairs, in a tiny cubicle with a massive bump, heartburn and SPD, I was most unamused

My only mat jeans are Gap (stupidly named) Always Skinny and they're fine. (Always skinny unless you're in H&M, natch)

tbh I didn't bother with maternity clothes at all last time, I stuck to ultra low rise hipster trousers which went under my bump, long tight but stretchy tops with a belt under my bump & wrap dresses. I went from a 6-8 pre pregnancy to an 18 in normal clothes which fitted very well as maternity clothes. Also meant when it was coming off on the way back down again I had clothes in each size to get me through.

Topshop non-maternity fit and flare/skater dresses as long tops? Or just as dresses if you get a bigger size than usual. Fit and Flare dresses I've got a size 10 blue Aztec print cotton dress (from last year) that is doing nicely as a pretty top just now - my boobs and bump have grown a bit so what was a fairly short dress is now definitely top material only. It does mean you need to solve the jeans conundrum - I f*cking hate maternity jeans - they just fall down. I've got a pair of Asos biker chick underbump mat jeans which refuse to stay up, and a pair of Gap overbump skinnies which are slightly better because I can tuck the overbump bit into my bra! I'm only 18+5, though, so I won't be able to tuck them into my bra for long. I've ordered a couple of pairs of skinny braces to try with my jeans because they were driving me demented - not sure whether that will look ridiculous or not, but I was so fed up. I'll attach the clips to the pockets at the front rather than the waistband and see how that looks.

Dresses are much easier to find, I think. I've got some Topshop dresses and some Asos ones and I love them. The one problem is that the Topshop ones are pretty low-cut for work, but I tried a camisole underneath and it looked silly. Bloody tights keep falling down too, though - my old non-mat ones and the one pair of mat ones I bought from Asos are exactly the same. A friend told me to try putting my pants on over my tights. I thought she was mad but tried it in desperation after my tights nearly fell right down at work one day and it works!

non-black Topshop dress

It's all quite frustrating isn't it?!

I'd recommend Isabella Oliver and certain pieces of clothing from Mothercare eg tops & vests

IO is expensive but they often do reductions, special offers over a weekend. I was lucky that only needed to return two items out of about ten that I ordered.
Nearly all the IO I bought will be worn post-pregnancy; they are well designed & not at all frumpy .

In fact 2 months post-partum I am still happily in my skinny maternity jeans & all my IO tops, cardigans & dresses!
I feel like I look good in them- this helps make me feel good!

During my pregnancy I quickly accepted that online ordering was the way forward as my job was v busy & I did not want to spend the weekend trekking off to try on maternity stuff.

I'd say that there is so much variation in what works- for example I found Topshop Leigh skinny maternity jeans amazing whereas you haven't got on with them.

Can be disheartening as it's quite hit and miss but you've still got time to work out what works for you.
I sympathise- frustrating to be hunting for clothes that fit & look good when you should just be enjoying your pregnancy!

Re ebay I bought an IO wrap top but ended up sending it back as it smelt awful & had a weird damp feeling to it.

The selling took ages to refund me & was really funny about the whole thing.

Maybe I had a bad experience but that put me off buying ebay maternity clothes- on the flip side ebay is great for selling off maternity stuff, the items go for pretty high prices which I was quite surprised about esp after my experience with the seller.

ASOS all the way.
They are LARGE though, i was a 10 pre preggo, all the 10s i ordered had to go back for 8s.. i may regret that when i'm 36 weeks- but i seriously doubt my bump was ever going to be big enough for them! (Am i deluded??)

Vertbaudet is good too?

www.vertbaudet.co.uk/

Best buys for me were from asos, h&m for odd basics and next for jeans. When I was between 12-20 weeks with smallish bump I found fat face non-maternity tunics were fantastic, as were the dresses that twisted under the bust. They are also serving me very well post pregnancy!

Isabella Oliver on ebay. Nobody wears maternity clothes for that long and you'll never want to see them again once you've given birth. Two pairs of comfy trousers, some long Mary Jane vests and waterfall cardigans with a few scarves. Its a strange time of your life when you only have 2-3 outfits but as long as you've got a washing machine and some comfortable lounging clothes you don't need a lot more.

Not so much maternity so far (but have got an IO dress at a bargain price) but I have bought lots of clothes via eBay and never had a problem - generally everything I have bought has smelled freshly laundered.

Obviously the downside with eBay is you can't return what doesn't fit, so safest to go for brands you already know the sizing for (or be prepared to sell on - sometimes I've actually made a profit doing this!)

Have to add- think I just had a duff first experience buying clothes on ebay!

Just couldn't be arsed after having the faff of sending item back at my expense & chasing up a refund!

Much preferred ordering online & having the option to rerun for a full refund.

At first considered just buying clothes in larger sizes but this didn't work for me- I just looked crap in most stuff, as if I was in a sack! Am 5 foot 3 and size 8-10

So I knew maternity clothes were the way forward, felt 100% better once I got into some lovely fitting maternity jeans, dresses & tops!!

It was important for me to have clothes I looked good & felt comfortable in, especially as I worked up til nearly 38 weeks.

Also JoJo Maman bebe- I found a lot of the dresses totally frumpy, cut/style and pattern- returned everything I ordered from them!

Well Asos completely failed for me - got my dresses today and they were all hideously frumpy. All gotta go back. Too long for my shortness and made me look 80. Dunno what the hell to do - off for a week away on Monday and have next to nowt to wear. Help!!! Dresses for short people that aren't frumpy but are designed for bumps?

I think I'm going to do what didireallysaythat suggests, and save my money for some lovely clothes once I've just the baby weight. It's only for a few months, after all.

Hi, I moved again - this time down under, with the hubby and really loving it! Clear blue skies, fantastic beaches and great coffee! I couldn’t have asked for more. It has been a bit challenging shopping-wise - I really miss my brands and bargain shopping. I get so excited when I find out my brand/store has started shipping to Australia too.

Very recently, a whole bunch of my friends have gotten pregnant (or have given birth) and had so much trouble finding maternity wear, such a pain. And when they found some stuff - it was either boring or unflattering, something even their mum’s wouldn’t want to wear. So I have put together some ideas for pregnancy friendly clothing for my dear friends on my personal diary; which I thought I should share here too - untitledfornoww.wordpress.com/2014/09/26/more-than-eight-months-along-bump-2/. These are items that can be shopped online or borrowed or simply picked from your current wardrobe, keeping you comfortable and attractive throughout your pregnancy and beyond.

Do you find this useful? What else do have trouble with? I have a lunch celebration with a girl-friend tomorrow - she only just found out she is pregnant, it is sooo exciting!

If the thought of wearing "maternity clothes" is adding to your nausea, "preggie-friendly" clothing recommendations... everydayissodifferent.wordpress.com/2014/10/21/awkward-orchid/#more-102

I'm fed up too looking at party dresses for Christmas :-( everything is dull boring colours and wrap around long dresses. I tried to squeeze into some of my pre pregnancy dresses this morning but failed so definitely won't fit in 2 months time! I just want a pretty party dress for a 26 year old, not 86 year old! Xx