"Nice" maternity ware?

[youokayhun]

I'm struggling. Can't find anything that doesn't seem frumpy. Any hidden gems I don't know about? I thought ASOS would be good but still can't find anything I like

Topshop tends to be quite good but I think on the whole there is a massive gap in the market for fashionable maternity wear...or even better maternity wear that you can actually buy in store!

I got quite a few decent bits from New Look and was given some nice hand-me-downs from Next and Dorothy Perkins. Also got a decent maternity coat from Gap (winter baby). Agree with pp that none of it is ever in stores these days!

I found some nice bits in New Look and H&M during both of my pregnancies, I had one baby in June and one in December so I’ve pretty much done all the seasons. Boohoo also had some lovely bits but that can be a bit of a risk as it’s online only.

Nope. It's why I've just bought maternity bottoms and on top/dresses I'm wearing normal stuff that's stretchy/a-line. I'm huge - 33 weeks with twins but with three weeks to go I'll reckon I'll make it.

Can't believe I've written "ware" in the title - forgive me!!

It's doing my head in! Im going on holiday as well so heaven knows how I'll find holiday clothing! I want require a full wardrobe and have only ever needed a few bits previously as I'm quite small anyway so can get away with swing dresses and what not but am struggling this time around!

i got some great maturnity tops off gumtree

I do like my maternity swimsuit from Next, bright red and fit at 22 weeks and 30 weeks as it's kind of ruched.

But I'd still just go for A line floaty dresses, some maternity shorts and normal long line/stretchy t shirts.

Peacocks have loads of cheap and cheerful maternity wear.

Teen mum in the family spent her pregnancy in maternity skinny jeans (found online) with slit knees and any loose top she liked the look of.

Boohoo for dresses but their leggings are crap. Best leggings I got were from h and m

It is quite tough, particularly in the early stages when you aren't full on bump as they're all cut for that.

I've picked up some gems from eBay (it doesn't feel as bad when you're paying much less). Gap has some nice bits but be aware that they come up huge! Asos I've found quite hard to wade through. Top shop have some good bits and are a bit more on trend.

I picked up some light shorts from asda (online only) which are perfect for holidays.

Mamalicious are a bit more expensive but have some really nice summer skirts that you could pair with cheaper tops (either size up from somewhere v cheap or new look have good maternity vests at a reasonable price)

Good luck - and share any gems.

I have found maternity wear really frustrating! When your body shape changes this much it is much easier to try things on in the shop but nowhere does anything!
I got the comfiest maternity jeans from Mothercare and leggings from New Look. New Look did have a small selection of tops that were ok too. Mostly I have just been wearing stretchy tshirts tbh.

No. There is none. I’m in despair at the moment. Please post any you find!

I quite like Gap for basics like leggings, and the rest has come from ASOS and Topshop. If you ever see anything you like in Topshop then buy it straight away because it sells out so fast.

It’s been rubbish for me as I LOVE fashion and clothes... but now I just channel that into buying bits for the baby!

I’m just wearing maternity jeans with tops I’d normally wear but in a larger size, I like fat face, white stuff tunic tops etc so they look ok at the moment. Bought a next maternity top from eBay that looked pretty and it is hideous - it’s massive and looks like a tent so have up on actual maternity tops!

I hated what was available so much that I mainly resorted to wearing my regular jeans/trousers with a hair bobble looped through to fasten and then a bump band to cover the open gap. Which when paired with a top just looked like I had a vest under the top or couldn’t be seen at all if the top was long.

I think part of the problem is many of us feel frumpy and huge when pregnant so even though some companies are making reasonably stylish maternity wear, we don’t feel good in it or it costs more than we want to pay given how short a time we’ll be in it.

Agreed it's a bit crap. The biggest surprise for me was a fab pair of jeans from Topshop but mostly I lived in semi frumpy blooming marvellous stuff. Nice and comfy but not stylish.

ASOS was ok but they tended to be in not so nice or cool fabrics.

Getting past 7 months however I think I lived in a large oversized t shirt and my blooming marvellous leggings. Nothing nothing in the shops for a super huge preggo..

I have bought stuff from New Look, H&M, Asos and Topshop. By far the nicest stuff is H&M. Much nicer quality than anything else.

Found Topshops sizing was completely off and had to return my whole order from them. I certainly wont be buying anything more from them

Are you sure that you need maternity clothes?

In both my pregnancies, I continued to wear all of my regular sized clothing throughout.

I usually wear leggings with fitted jersey dresses, or stretchy pencil skirts with tops, and I was still wearing all of these comfortably up to giving birth - even when I was overdue.

In my first pregnancy, I wore a maternity bra and a bump band to help support my ligaments, but in my second pregnancy, I wore my normal bra up until 1 month before giving birth, and only had to occasionally wear the bump band.

Early in my first pregnancy, I assumed I’d need maternity clothes, and bought 5 dresses, but only wore 2 of them once. They were baggy, and made me feel bigger than I was.

Maternity clothing is expensive, and often not very stylish. If you want/need a bit of extra space in your clothes, why don’t you just buy a size up in regular clothing, or looser fit styles? This would be cheaper, and you’d have lots of variety. You could always buy maternity leggings and a bra to wear underneath.

George at asda is good for essentials and every day wear, I got a few T shirts and my swimsuit from there and they lasted really well from 20 weeks.
Dresses were a bit trickier but I went with maxi dresses that fitted at the bust.
Check out some charity shops as you can try on bigger sizes to see if they can work- I picked up a lovely dress bnwt for £6 in an 18 (I'm normally a 12) that I wore so much!
Only thing I spent a lot on was a good pair of mat jeans (from mother care).
Not often recommended but I really rate maternity pyjamas! Still wear mine (7m pp )

Last time I was pregnant I found H&M really brilliant for maternity stuff! I had a few new look tops and leggens too, but a lot of new look stuff are so grumpy, I'm only short so some of the things really drown me!

Haven't started shopping this time around as I'm only 14 weeks but I did pick up some black maternity jeans from new look for Work, I got over bump for when I'm bigger but I've just been folding the bump panel down in the mean time, with maternity jeans from new look I've found a size down is better

Seraphine for smarter stuff/work wear, especially dresses, and for their leggings which are fab. I had their London “bump kit” (dress, skirt, vest top and leggings) and it was excellent. New Look or mothercare for plain t shirts Jojo for nicer tops.

^you said it, PrawnBhuna.
Op, it's definitely worth shopping around and considering non maternity stuff too. I'm feeling LARGE and not great in most stuff but it does definitely get increasingly important to be comfy, obvs. Have found lots from H&M, couple of Seraphine things (in sale) and been given a couple from Jojo, seen lots of nice - looking things in their catalogue recently too. As PP have said, definitely worth getting stuff second hand. Damn, now I want to go shopping! Good luck.

Ive just bought some bits from Seraphine and Isabelle Oliver. A bit more expensive but good for office wear as I work in quite a corporate environment. They look like they've also got some nice casual bits but haven't tried them yet.

Oh and re holiday stuff, I found some lovely maternity summer dresses in h&m last time which I plan to re-wear this summer. Will be much bigger this summer though (further along and second baby) so remains to be seen whether I like them on anymore