What are the problems with maternity wear?

[Sgibb113]

I'm Wanting to start a business and was looking at what problems women had when they were pregnant with maternity clothes and what they wanted to be available at the time?

Don't forget short people. I also second the comment about skinny jeans. I already feel like a whale, I do not need everyone to see every ounce of flesh, so trousers with a bit of moving room in, And no flipping stripes! I ended up with 5 tshirts all with stripes on. Sick to bloody death of stripes!

My biggest issues were lack of stock on the High Street and the fact that they all looked like something my mother would wear.

Topshop we're pretty much the only place I could tolerate and I'm not generally a fan.

I have not grown 3 feet by becoming pregnant. I am still short. asos maternity (generally very good) I'm looking at you.

6.5 years ago when I was pregnant with DC1 many shops stocked maternity. Now none. I live in a major city, what happened?!

For me, jojo mamma bebe is a shop to emulate. Good quality, not too ££ and reasonably smart for work. No slogans, no cutesy designs, just normal clothes cut for the pregnant body please. Some decent black trousers please and wrap dresses which are not too low cut for work.

I agree with some of the pp's about leg length. Getting jeans and trousers long enough for a tall woman is easier now than it used to be but I found it almost impossible to find affordable longer length maternity wear. Sounds like there's a similar issue for shorter women so maybe you could have a range of lengths and/or make longer length jeans and offer a service to hem these to an appropriate inside leg length (long tall sally do this with some of their trousers).

Similarly I found that most tops were on the short side. I'm not unusually tall but found that once bump was fitted in most tops rode up showing off my stretch marks (I tried buying a bigger size and this gave me the same issue but with very wide arms.shoulders).

Definitely skirts - the only maternity one I had I bought on holiday in the states. And clothes being available for the actual weather right now rather than next season - it is impossible to know whether that sundress will still fit over your bump when it is actually hot enough to wear it, and I could have cried at the sight of woolly maternity dresses and jumpers in the shops in July. Also - step away from the sequins and stick on bows. I'm pregnant not Pat Butcher!

I think everyone has said it all, I'm just commenting because I bloody love stripes

But; I don't wear anything 'maternity' until about... now! (I'm 23wks with #4) and so you are very aware that it is a short term thing. I nearly always buy the 'maternity AND nursing' option for this reason.
Some of my maternity wear has come from friends and is just being hauled out for its 6th spin and it still looks good- but that is Seraphine and Jojo stuff. H&M and TopShop haven't fared so well.

Have just trawled all the maternity websites as I need cold weather clothes (will be back in uk for my first cold Christmas in 10 years..!) and the coats and jumpers are abysmal...

Good luck!

Agree on shops and actually being able to try stuff on!

• I find jeans (under or over bump) all end up riding down and you get a saggy arse. I'm forever hoisting them up which isn't very elegant.

• Big boobs need catering for, whether it be tops, dresses or bras. Those with big busts in the first place are buggered when they grow even more. Means you have to buy bigger sizes and look frumpy and fat. (Bras are just like granny ones!)

• Also more stuff that doubles and nursing-wear post baby arrival

• More winter stuff, everything even at this time of year is armless or similar. It assumes you're always hot as a pregnant woman, I'm screaming out for some long sleeves and decent jumpers!

• Coat options that can be used post maternity also

• Generally better value for money, nice-non-synthetic material for similar price to "normal" clothes. Why should we have to pay a premium for something which is temporary?

• finally more exercise gear, found it difficult to find anything nice or suitable for wearing to the gym (us pregnant folk exercise too!)

Just being able to try things on in a shop would be a luxury.

Being for the weather as it is NOW would be the biggest thing. I ended up in loads of stuff off ebay and loads of non maternity stuff as in July, when I was the size of a house and sweating like a pig, all the shops were sold out of the summer stuff and starting to get autumn stuff. Decent non transparent fabrics - no one needs to see my granny pants and I am too damn sweaty to wear a slip as well. And COLOURS. jesus christ, why was everything black, grey, navy or beige?

I went shopping for the first time on Saturday for maternity wear - everything was just so bloody boring! None of it would look out of place in cheapo old lady shop bon marche! I'm glad I don't really need formal wear for work as think I'd struggle more than already did. I just want some nice tops and jeans - I also found vanity sizing at its best but I get that, need room to grow etc but sizes were all out!
Good luck in your new venture

One thing that annoyed me was that over the bump stuff always had thick ribbed stuff over the bump. Add a top to that and you were sweltering. Can't the bump bit be made out of something finer and breathable?

On trousers hook an end through the buttonhole and loop the other end around the button (am sitting in a pair that have four looped together I added one ever time I get bigger. To tighten a top I just tuck the top neatly around bump and gather up the excess material in hair bobble thing at the back.

Everything is stripey or has crappy slogans on

I just wanted to wear normal looking clothes. Not a stripey tent with 'hands off the bump' written on it

I want to walk in a shop and buy it.

I want dresses that aren't wrapover or with nursing bust. Normal everyday dresses with space for a stomach.

I don't see the point of items that double as nursing afterwards. 6 days after babies arrival I am back in my normal clothes and maternity stuff would be too big on me.

Please do a nursing range in normal sizes though. Less boring plain t-shirts and more nice tops.

Less flowers and frumpy patterns on maternity clothes.

Clothes for earlier in the pregnancy when your skinny jeans no longer fit but the maternity over bump ones has enough space to shoplift water melons!

Dunno if places would do this buy if you could also offer a second hand section - post baby women can send their items back in good used condition to earn credits and you could resell "pre loved" items too.

Most met wear of mine was worn for small periods of time and was in excellent condition once the baby arrived.

diva - with you. I'm 5'11. I do not want to live in a single pair of cropped trousers when I work in a corporate environment and have a bump to cover.

Also, make decent jeans in longer length too. Don't make me spend hours scrawling through websites (ASOS, GAP) to find frumpy bootcut jeans that aren't to my taste at all, and then not sell them in my leg length. Then the one pair I do buy works its way down my legs so that the crotch is by my knees. Never a good look.

Agree with PP on fabrics - I'm constantly hot. I want to be in cotton, not sweaty jersey.

Also agree on the stripes. Don't wear them normally, why do I want to wear them when pregnant? Could I go to a shop and try something on too please?

Due next week. Literally cannot wait to be able to wear normal clothes again.

Too many horizontal stripes.

I agree with PP that Jojo maman Bebe is the shop to emulate. You can try on clothes in store and the quality is pretty good.
I think I ordered 8 items from Next and had to send 7 items back. You really need to try clothing on in store.
Too many bloody stripes!

Proper high impact maternity running/sports bras - not the crappy stretchy ones that are only good for yoga

I found it very difficult to get evening wear that wasn't black. I was going to a wedding and absolutely didn't want to wear black.

Everything is too frumpy and too stripey.

Jojomaman - great quality, available to try on in a shop (yay!!) but mostly depressing frumpy designs, like the Breton maternity cardi/top combo I bought but never wore because it depressed me so much.

Need more warm stuff. Jumpers especially.

Need more clothes that would still look ok in the post birth year or so - so for example dresses which hang from a high waist, or ruched tops.

And yes yes yes please stock CURRENT SEASON clothes. We can't buy autumn clothes in summer, we've no idea what size we will be by then.

Jeans..hate them. Have a Mothercare pair that are under bump and can't keep them on. Bought an Overbump pair from H&M (they cost me £50!) and I can't even get a leg into them the sizing is so out. Returned.

The slogan tops make me look about 12.

Stripes round make you look fatter. So we put a lady with burgeoning bump into stripes and make her seem whale-esque. Excellent.

Availability. There isn't any. I used to have a Mothercare in my town. But it closed. Ditto m&s (although they've never done that much maternity wear) we have a next, new look, Debenhams, topshop and h&m. They all do maternity clothing but none of them have it in store.

Shoes. I have to have wide fit these days. This is my 6th baby and over time my feet have spread and never returned back to normal.

Underwear. Ghastly. All of it. And getting someone who knows what they're talking about to fit it, is virtually impossible. The knickers are rubbish too. Support vests and things should be cheaper. Those of is unfortunate enough to have spd/pgp/sciatica need all the help we can get!

I struggle with tights, plus lots of leggings and smocks.

Am not massively into fashion but would be nice to see more of the high street trends in maternity wear