Maternity Clothes

[SpeckledFrog2014]

Has anyone had any luck finding comfortable, nice fitting and well wearing maternity clothes? I'm sick of buying leggings and tights that just fall down and tops and dresses that just rub up after a few washes.

I'm a size 16, 5'7" and carry low so can't go for bottoms that are normal trousers/ jeans with added bump band. Unfortunately bigger size in non-maternity clothes doesn't work for me either as I get a big bump.

I don't mind paying a little more if I can make a nice capsule maternity wardrobe that fits well. Thankfully I don't go to work so only need casual clothes. So any suggestions please? 😊

---------------------

Hi! This thread is a little out of date. If you're looking for comfy maternity wear, take a peek at our round-up of the best maternity dresses - as chosen by Mumsnetters. MNHQ

I've always found h&m good, have you tried their things?

I did buy a pair of leggings from there, but they fall down, admittedly not as bad as Next and I had an unflattering jumper from there haha. I was looking at M&S stuff recently. I didn't have chance to try it though, any experience of it?

I've found I've had to buy a couple of sizes down with stretchy maternity clothes like leggings to get a good fit. I've bought from most of the places that sell mat clothes and they're all much of a muchness, tbh.

Boden maternity leggings are amazing (with at least 20%off and free delivery! )

Good
Isabella Oliver. Good quality and flattering, tho pricey altho there's a sale on atm. FittaMamma do great pregnancy sports leggings.

New Look range is limited but there are a few things I thought were pretty good.

Bad
Avoid Seraphine like the plague - cheap, crap clothes that disintegrate after one wear (before you've even washed them!). I might have been unlucky, but I've complained and haven't heard back from them so I suspect not.

Topshop was cheap but crap quality - sent everything except a pair of tights back. Tights fell down and laddered immediately, simply by wearing shoes over them despite costing about £10.

M&S looked great online and had good reviews, but I sent everything back except two vests.

I've got 2 lovely pairs of over bump jeans from jojo maman Bebe. One of which I had in my first of too and are still going strong.

Never tried Boden clothes. Must say Why have all the shops decided to produce normal clothes right up my street the year I'm pregnant haha

Thanks for suggestions all, I will do some ordering and trying. May get a little depressed along the way haha, thank god I don't have to find work clothes too this time round!

You'll only find Boden maternity on things like ebay now, they've stopped making the maternity range. Worth looking though, quite a few bits appear in their. I bought a pair of M&S maternity leggings and they go thin on the knees (and presumably arse) and I wouldn't buy again.

I bought dungarees this time, from jojo. They've been great and don't fall down!
Mothercare tights laddered almost immediately. ASOS do tons of maternity stuff and it's cheap and cheerful. I have a couple of tops/a jumper from cos which are not maternity but work and have worn well.

I also bought a bundle of tops on eBay which worked out very cheaply, and two new ones from h&m which are good and stretchy! I also carry low and become enormous.

Buy Isabella Oliver. Personally I'm trying not to spend too much and it's pretty prices my but I've managed to find a couple of 'brand new with tags' items on eBay

Although we're the same size

Oh dear God, I hate autocorrect, their??!! Sorry...

I'm not much help as I'm carrying high and mainly wearing normal stretchy/loose clothes 2 sizes up but I'd like to sing the praises of h&m maternity tights, much better than my constantly falling down m&s ones.

Gap!
Their t-shirts, long sleeved crew necked tops and jumpers have been amazing. I was wearing their jeans until I got too big, which were also just as good as their regular ones. And so cheap in the sale. I didn't pay full price for anything.

Isabelle Oliver are great but pricey...

Some people have recommended asos to me but I haven't tried them.
I've basically not really bought many maternity clothes, just v long vest tops to cover bump plus larger sized jumpers etc over. Leggings I have, John Lewis and they were crap, so I've just bought larger sized high waisted leggings from a local shop.
I have two wrap dresses from Isabel Oliver and a long maternity skirt. I would rather save the clothes buying till after baby is born!

Bought most of mine used on eBay

Only wearing them for a few months! All the trousers I bought from Mothercare have gone bobbly though.

I had trouble with any maternity jeans staying up, so bought knee length denim skirt with over bump band from Jojo and it's been brilliant! No issues! Wearing to death with Mothercare leggings (mat tights are so blooming expensive!) and all washing well too. Tunic tops I've bought 2nd hand on eBay, has kept the cost right down and all good quality from High st stores.

Asos maternity leggings are far and away the best I've bought

I wore those and jeans from h and m (which were good) on the bottom. On the top I found a surprising amount of normal clothes fitted. White stuff do stretchy jersey tunics that are empire line and I fitted them fine all the way. Look for things that are stretchy and empire line - wrap dresses are great. The boden jersey maxi dresses are great too - they did me through summer.

I had a huge bump!

And I second seraphine being crap. Really poor quality stuff

Found new look and ASOS cheap but crap quality, dresses bobbled, horrible synthetic fabrics.
M&S leggings and a dress better quality and fabric.
Got GAP maternity jeans that have been hard wearing lasted two pregnancies, comfy fit.
Found Dorothy Perkins also ok for jeans and did get some work clothes from them.
also bought Zara waterfall cardigans that are not maternity but are large and wrap well over the bump, not too expensive and can wear when not pregnant.

I definitely would recommend Isabella Oliver- well made & cut items, make you feel so much better & seem to 'style' the bump so much more than other stuff that can be tent like!

Definitely agree with Seraphine being a bit crap- I ordered a load of stuff & sent it all back so I never had the experience of washing it.

All the clothes I'd ordered seemed flimsy & poor quality material/finish.
It was the Kate effect at the time as she'd just had baby number 1 & was photographed in a beautiful looking purple dress from Seraphine.

I was not convinced!

I really haven't rated JoJo this time around; the leggings wore through after 2 months and the jumpers keep going baggy under the bump, creating an apron effect.

I've been really liking GAP's efforts - I have some great skinny jeans from there (overbump) and it's really reasonable with the discounts they offer.

H&M are a bit hit and miss - as always excellent for basics (vest and jersey tops), but their 'fashion' items are a bit polyestery and I've found the fit to be a little odd.

I lived in Asos over bump maternity leggings I found the sizes quite big so that's something to be aware of ie.even not pregnant I would always be a size 10 in leggings but at 7 months preg had to send back the 10 for an 8 provided me with a bit of an ego boost when I was feeling huge mind you
They also do multi packs of maternity vest tops and tshirts which are handy tbh I bought mostly basics/plain black and just wore with say a non maternity denim shirt left open with converse or Chelsea boots it was by no means glam but it was comfy and I didn't see the point in spending loads when I'd never use them again
I also had a really low bump so couldn't wear the bump band jeans they just constantly fell down or dug in when I was sitting down it was so annoying. I got a jeans extender thingy from amazon and bought a pair of boyfriend jeans in river island so nice and loose on the legs etc and just used the button extender with a long vest and a jumper over it job done

I really liked some bits I had from Seraphine, Isabella Oliver, Harrods maternity boutique, JoJos and some non-maternity clothes from Anthropologie (long tops, tunics, maxi dresses etc)