Maternity wear buying- good or bad experience?

[Clareyfairy24]

Has anyone else found maternity wear shopping hard work? H&M shoved in children swear section- note...I am not a child!

It seems like retailers struggle to get the balance between good quality, at a price you can justify for such a short period of time. It seems no one has got it quite right and if they have then there isn't enough of it or its in the place you can't be bothered to buy it I.e. Shoved somewhere in the shop or online where you have the faf of sending it back

Bad. I hate everything. I had DS 14 months ago and I'm currently 6 month pg.

I refuse to buy anything this time so am just making do with what I already had, but because I was working in an office full time during my last pregnancy and now I'm not, most stuff doesn't suit.

I have 3 pairs of H&M leggings and one pair of over bump jeans. I wear the leggings around the house and then put the jeans on when I go out. Every day

Tops are mainly long vest tops and then I just put a shirt or cardi over. When I leave the house I have my coat open and a massive scarf hanging down over the bump.

Last time I was pregnant I got married and had to find a maternity wedding dress. Now that was hassle

Generally seems negative. Like my own experiences when pregnant. DS 4 now and a lot has changed since then Primark have a range- anyone shopped there? I got an idea whilst pregnant and now I'm researching whether it's a viable one- if anyone has a child under 5 or is pregnant could fill out this questionnaire I would be very grateful...it might provide the answer! www.surveymonkey.com/r/KH8ZMK9

Primark have maternity things?! I've been living in a bubble. Hate shopping :(
I've only bought one pair of work trousers from new look... They're not amazing but they're smart (now I've turned them up!) and comfy and were less than £15 so can't complain :)
Just wearing long stretchy vest tops and long cardis with them... Although I have started to watch some warmer things on eBay now it's getting chilly and bump is too big for my coats!

Absolutely bloody awful. My bump appeared on September soon wanted autumn winter stuff not summer stuff. Could I buy any basic long sleeve t shirts? No. Eventually found some in Gap- awful overpriced see-trough shite.

Fed up with not being able to try things on in store and spending my life waiting for deliveries and then returning it all at the post office. Have gone to Next a lot for that reason as can collect in store, try, and return immediately. Only problem is Next think that size 6 people don't get pregnant, so a lot of stuff doesn't fit me right. Their stock levels are also rubbish- the panel for their winter coat has been out of stock for ages and it's not even winter.

I've ended up buying stuff on amazon as their delivery and returns are so good. They stock a lot of Mamalicious stuff, although I have one Mamalicioius dress which is so horrible and thin and creases so much it makes me angry every time I look at it.

Mothercare is VERY nice quality, and you can try on in store or order to store anything they don't have in. Have some really good quality and very reasonably priced tops from there. Their jeans are amazing and really flattering and lovely material as well EXCEPT for the small issue of the bump band only coming half way up bump . I'm 5 foot 3, a size 6, and was only 6 months when I tried them on. How the feck don people actually get into them comfortably later?

The whole thing is a total pain. I like the look of JoJos but my store never has the size/style I want in stock and the one thing I did try was pretty dubious quality for the price.

DD is 18 months and I found maternity shopping awful. I'm pear shaped so I felt my shape had changed massively and there was almost no choice in shops to try things on. I went to The U.S. At around 20 weeks and got several things there including some fantastic maternity jeans with a band that completely covered bump even at 41 weeks!

I'm with PPs on ebay. I bought a load of trousers and tops, I only like 25% of what I ended up with, but it was all cheap and it's enough to see me through. I'll sell most of it once I'm done too.

OMG it's awful isn't it? Hardly any shops have got maternity ranges in store so you have to order online which I hate doing as I can't be bothered with the faff sending the stuff back when it doesn't fit.

Topshop on oxford st does have a really quiet dedicated maternity bit that's separate from the main shop, but you have to go into the main shop to pay which is always rammed. I like topshop maternity stuff the best though I have to say. Have also got some quite nice things from Dorothy Perkins. I prefer over the bump rather than under the bump stuff but under the bump seems to be a lot more prevalent - do people generally prefer under?

Nightmare. Pretty much everything I have bought has been sent back as it's too short. Do retailers think tall people don't have babies?

I think I've browsed every online shop that does maternity wear! If you want skinny jeans, tight-and-long vest tops, and wrap dresses, you're okay (as long as you're not too picky about price and quality). So far I have acquired one dress, which I probably would have sent back for being frumpy except I haven't seen much else that I like, and it was only £39 for decent quality. (It's the Lara dress from Tiffany Rose, in case you're interested.)

I like a good whinge and could go on for ages, but I thought instead it might be useful to share the list of online maternity wear retailers I've got. I've come to the conclusion that online is the only place to get a half decent selection.

Much of this was cribbed off another Mumsnet post - I'd credit the member, but can't be bothered to go find it. (I'm too busy deciding whether I'm having baby-flutterings or trapped wind. :) )

I've commented where I think I have something helpful to say, and tried to give a price range where I think I've browsed enough to judge. But I haven't commented on style or anything, because I could say something snarky about so many of these and I don't really want to diss anyone else's style. I know I'm picky, and fair play to anyone who is having better luck than me finding things they like!

ASOS
£-££

Babes with Babies

• Closed.

Bonprix

Boob Design

• Apparently good for taller women.

Bumps Maternity

Cos
££-£££

• Not maternity wear, but some of the shapes might as well be - they're very generous!

Dorothy & Theodore
£££

• Pretty loungewear, nice occasion dresses, and some more casual clothes.

Dorothy Perkins
£-££

Gap maternity
££

George at Asda
£

H&M
£-££

Heavenly Bump

Isabella Oliver
££
JoJo Maman Bebe

Mamalicious
£-££

Mamas and Papas

• People keep mentioning their maternity wear, but nothing is listed on the website at the moment.

Marks and Spencer
££

• Small selection.

Matalan maternity
£

New Look
£

Next

Nine in the Mirror

• £££ and up!
• In my opinion, this is Proper Fashion (eg, Valentino dresses) – like Net-a-Porter for the pregnant.

Picchu

Pretty Pregnant

• Closed.

Purpless

Red Herring maternity at Debenhams
££

Seraphine
££-£££

Tiffany Rose
£££

• Mostly occasion wear – cocktail dresses, gowns, also maternity wedding dresses.

Top Shop
£ - ££

Vertbaudet

Zalando

• Lots of different brands, some of which aren’t available elsewhere.
• You can’t search within the maternity section, so it’s annoying to have to scroll through T-shirts when you want to look at dresses.

I found simply buying bigger sizes just didn't work at all, the fit was all wrong- I didn't want to spend my pregnancy looking like I was wearing a tent!

Mothercare was great- you can try on in store, ok so not the most fashion forward brand but it was so nice to stock up on tops & vests.
Plus they were having a sale on when my bump popped out around 22 weeks.

Isabella Oliver was fabulous- really helped make me feel good & comfortable when dressing for work.
I found the brand true to size so ended up only sending 1 dress back that was too long.
The dresses were lovely and made me feel amazing!

Not forgetting Topshop Leigh maternity skinny jeans. The relief when I finally bought a pair was immense!

Have you got a debenhams near you. I think it is red herring in there that looks quite nice.

I've bought basics from Mothercare, and whole they're not going to wow in the style stakes I can dress all the bits I bought up with accessories I've already got.

My sister also gave me tons of stuff (for which I am soooo grateful. Three stand out items are a Jojo Mama Bebe tweed skirt which is very comfy and great for work, a Jojo wrap top (I love this and would wear it even if I wasn't pregnant!) and a pair of Next Maternity trousers - great quality, very smart, perfect for work and they wash brilliantly. These brands also seem to be okay size wise and perhaps slightly generous.

As I've got bigger I've gone through my wardrobe, anything adaptable I'm wearing, anything else is up in the loft for the foreseeable future.

I've had a rage in Dorothy Perkins this afternoon. Ordered a shirt dress, it resembles a nightie from the 80s. Trekked into town to return it only to be told I have to return by post as it is a 'concession' line. The whole maternity wear thing is a joke.

I have work trousers from h+m which I love. I also like their 3/4 tops and maternity vest tops, they are long enough and the quality is good. The leggings are too long for me but I have quite short legs but the maternity jeans I got were perfect and really soft.

I have new look maternity tights which are nice and thick and washing really well (always in the wash actually!) I bought a few vest tops from there in the sale but the quality is lacking compared to h+m I feel.

I've got a black maternity tube dress from matalan and also a work shift dress (not fitted) in the next size up and these are 2 of the best things I've bought. I just pair them with a long waterfall cardigan for work.

Also have the Debenhams maternity lounge pants which are the comfiest things ever and I can see these being used a lot after baby arrives - the bump band folds down. There's a sale on online at the moment.

Everything I've bought from asda has not fitted or they've sent the wrong item! Not impressed with them.

Thanks for the tip about new look maternity tights. I'm on the hunt for some to wear with my denim skirt.