Maternity wear that stretches with you.... and you can use afterwards?

[Lindalove]

Hi - just wondering if anyone has come across any genius type clothes which can expand as you get bigger - and then ideally also get some usage afterwards, even if its just in the first few months after baby is born.

I will be getting some essentials but am keen to know if anyone has come across trousers, wrap dresses, dungarees etc that look as good if you're pregnant at 8weeks to almost popping... would really rather buy one set of stuff that lasts if possible...?

May be that some of this is recommendations about non-maternity clothes... I guess wrap dresses work whether you're preggers on not in theory, just depends on the design...

I would say anything in jersey! H&M do lovely basics, skirts and tops etc that you can layer with jumpers and stuff.

I've not had much luck with wearing non-maternity clothes in pregnancy - for me they have seemed ok at the time, but I have found them stretched beyond being wearable afterwards (e.g. jumper dresses). The one exception to this is Hush harem pants, which are fine when pregnant and don't lose their shape (probably because they mainly sit under the bump, and have a tie so that you can tighten them up afterwards).

I've got a few wrap / maxi dresses which have been ok for the first 5 months or so, but nothing that's lasted the whole way through (and actual maternity-cut dresses tend to be far more flattering).

The wrap tops that you can get from Isabella Oliver and JoJo are wearable after pregnancy (but faffy). Non-maternity cardigans are my 'warm layer' of choice: I wouldn't personally spend money on specifically 'maternity' knitwear.

I have reluctantly ordered a coat from JoJo which has a removable panel down the front (only when I realised that it was getting cold already, and it isn't really feasible, with 2 small children / park trips / school runs it just not have a coat for the next 3.5 months). It is meant to convert back into a non-maternity coat, but it's not here yet so I don't know if it will be nice.

I have a lot of jersey dresses that I reckon I'll be able to use for quite a while through pg.

Also I got some stuff in the Isabella Oliver sale and there are icons on the items online to say whether you could potentially use it after pg which I thought was useful. It is quite dear but there were some decent reductions in the sale.

I had a few bubble hem tops which I wore while pregnant and still looked okay afterwards. I also had a couple of maxi and midi dresses in a heavy jersey which I still wear now.

Leggings with jumper dresses in the next size up allowed room for a bump but don't look overly big without it. I didn't wear them in the last few weeks of pregnancy as I didn't want to stretch them and I was too warm even in the winter.

Anything that has a natural stretch or is flared over the waist should be good for this or things that are supposed to be loose fitting.

New look had some nice maternity dresses similar to the midi ones I bought a few years ago which I've worn every summer since and don't look like maternity clothes.

another vote for jojo maman bebe's wrap tops. definitely can be worn afterwards, although after wearing them SO MUCH in the last 9 months, i don't think i'll ever want to see them again...

Cheap stretchy maxi dresses. Either 'one size' or 2 sizes bigger from Primark or those 'everything £5' websites. I am at 36+6 and mine accomodates the bump well. Because they're meant to be quite voluminous, I'm hoping they'll hide the belly till it reduces post partum and they're very comfy... like a big nighty.
This summer I've used 'shrug' cardies quite a lot because they kept my arms warm but don't interfere with bump. Not sure they'd work for winter.

Also Harem pant trousers with elastic waists (Primark, Next, H&M, New Look) a couple of sizes too big worn as under-bumps - again can still fit into them now (with long mens plain Primark tshirts worn with a belt or shrug cardie to girlify) and hope they'll come in useful in months to come.

In fact all the maternity I actually bought was 2 jersey dresses, 3 pairs of maternity leggings, 2 maternity trousers, 1 maternity jeans and some bump bands. Plus many, many comfy granny style bras.

Ooh someSunny I've been musing about getting that coat - let us know what you think when it arrives?!

Agree with the maxi dresses. And I had a few stretchy H&M tops that I wore with normal leggings, so I could still wear them afterwards.

Bought gap, h & m & Seraphine. The seraphine dresses and jeans were brilliant & lasted till now (38 + 4). Gap was mixed. H & m good, but material quality not anywhere near as good as seraphine.

There are lots of things on isabella oliver that can be worn both during pregnancy and forever. Theres a guide that tells you about each item before you buy.

Have bought two fab dresses from there recently.

this grey dress

and this one

Must be having a grey phase

I'll let you know, Shetland. Hope it's ok otherwise I'm going to be cold until December!

I got a couple of pairs of cracking yoga type trousers from sainsburys, they're a tenner and in the Tu range not maternity specific at all, bought them when I was about 8 weeks and at 38 weeks they're going strong, they have a fold over part which I left folded down in the early days and now comes up over my bump all lovely and supportive, they will hopefully do me for a good few months whilst I attempt to get some normality back to my midrif region lol!

Nothing genius about this... But primark vests and tshirts. Beauty of them is that they are so cheap that you don't mind them getting stretched and they looked fine for the few weeks after birth while bump went down.

I wore my top shop maternity jeans till DD was almost a year and the knee ripped after almost constant use I debated getting another pair too but it just felt wrong but I g maternity and not being pregnant!

It is worth checking out Purpless online store. They do some 2 in 1 maternity and nursing tops. I started wearing them at five months pregnant and am due in less than a month with still room to grow in the tops. Still plenty of wear in them, and I think they will be great for nursing. They are v comfy, and I ended up buying more as they are by far my favourite maternity wear. Styles 7005 and 7006 are the ones I've liked best, and I've got a few in different colours!!!

Yes I also vote Purpless. I have one of their v neck jersey dresses and it's going well at 36 weeks! I got my leggings there too: quite long (I am short) but just as good as more expensive branded versions.

I mostly wore stretchy ruched waist non-maternity dresses - plenty of room for belly and wearable afterwards too. this type, in various styles and colours:

I have a maternity skirt from GAP that is stretchy and has a fold down bit that went over bump and i wore it every second day when pregnant (right up until 41+2 - evil late baby) and can still wear it now and it looks smart (8 weeks post partum!)

I bought an IO top but never got past the stupid wrappy bits and the insanely small sizing!

Almost all my maternity clothing that fitted me at 12 weeks was WAY too small by 30 weeks, plus we had winter followed by extremely hot summer so no way I could have worn the same lot throughout. I luckily borrowed a summer load from a friend in a bigger size and in the first few weeks after baby was born I wore the clothes from first part of pregnancy including some stretchy boyfriend jeans I bought at 12 weeks from Tesco which are great for now with a still bloated belly and extra weight on thighs and bottom! Must stop eating biscuits so my old clothes fit!!

I wear a lot of non maternity clothes during pregnancy - basically skirts or shorts with elasticated waists, looser tops, cardis, dresses with some stretch. Pyjamas! And bought the usual mat jeans, and a couple of vest tops to go with them, couple of nice occasion dresses, leggings, tights.

Couldn't face wearing any of my maternity gear AFTER pregnancy though - it went straight in a box!

I didn't get bigger early though (19 weeks first pregnancy, 17 this time round) and my bump wasn't that big.

Sorry to barge in on thread.

I just wanted to say I was in sainsburys today and they have a half price sale on plus a further 25% off at the till - I got 3 maxi dresses today with a drawstring waist, twin of them were £4.05 each, the other was £6. They would be perfect for a growing bump with the option of wearing after the birth too.

two of them... Sorry for my typos.

Shetland - jojo coat arrived (this one). I'm keeping it. It is nice and snuggly, and even though I have quite a big 3rd baby sized 24 week bump, I still don't need the middle zip-in portion yet, so I'm confident that it will see me through to the end. It's not the loveliest or most flattering coat I've ever seen, but it's practical and warm (but not so ridiculously warm that it won't do for autumn). I think it will be useful post-birth too - lots of room for a baby in a sling to snuggle .

The reviews suggested that the sizing came up smaller than usual for JoJo, but I ordered my usual JoJo size 8 (I'm more of a 10 in normal shops, but I find their stuff huge) and it's a good fit.