"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

I quite liked top shop and some H&M stuff. Luckily I don't get massive so managed ok with a few stretchy tops and jersey dresses from oasis/warehouse etc. I actually bought them off eBay to avoid stretching the waist of my normal clothes.
Strangely I also found Zara really good for button down/oversized/smock style stuff that fits pretty well at over 36 weeks and might do afterwards too!

Isabella Oliver dresses from eBay. I bought loads and lived in them!

H&M and new look for actual maternity wear, jojo for maternity swim wear.
I also bought a few skin tight (not sure what he proper name is) dresses from primark for over the summer and a couple of maxi dresses. They didn't stretch too much either so I can still wear them now.

IME the only things that absolutely have to be from maternity ranges are trousers and jeans. Otherwise you just have to look for looser tops, tunic dresses etc, from the shops where you usually go. Cos, Finery, and Toast are good for pregnancy-friendly shapes

e.g. this Cos dress and another.
Zara top (probably needs a thin vest underneath to cover a larger bump)
Finery top and dress.

Seraphine and jojomamanbebe for basics. Tbh 2nd time I sized up in tops from non maternity ranges quite a bit, and even my tracky bottoms were OK under bump. Go for bf styles where you can, only get things you will get the use from!

Seraphine have a sale on at the moment. The stuff I've had from them so far looks really nice (expecting my sale order to arrive this afternoon):
www.seraphine.com/en-gb/maternity-clothes/promotion.html

As PPs have said, H&M has great maternity wear. Stylish, decent quality and cheap. And all the stores I've been in actually have a section (by the underwear) whereas a lot of brands only have it online.

*frumpy

Seraphine

I find it frustrating that evening seems to be black, grey or navy. Or completely not my style. I bought a few vintage bits from eBay as I felt they were a bit more colourful and interesting and a few ASOS secondhand bits. Tbh although I’m very much in maternity jeans, everything else is still massive on me.

I got 2 pairs of seraphine jeans, the over bump ones are fine, but I've had to mend the under bump ones in about 10 places.

And they came up enormous so I added some elastic to the waistband too.

I have lived in Gap stuff mostly as it's so comfortable, but I'm still wearing quite a lot of "normal" clothes in bigger sizes (but I don't have an office job or anything that requires me to look smart!

I'm finding primark long line t-shirts and vest are a great ATM (30 weeks)
lots of different colours and really cheap, h&m maternity legging and Matalan maternity jeans

I do have an office job but honestly by third trimester you stop caring. My feet have swollen so much I can only wear my gardening trainers unlaced!

I think whether you can wear your usual stuff depends a lot on what your usual style is. I'm only 26 weeks and don't fit in any of my normal tops or dresses - but I'm very pear shaped, so everything I own is fitted on top/around the waist with looser bottoms. If I wear big, floaty tops when not pregnant it makes me look much bigger than I am. A friend of mine told me she only bought maternity bottoms and then just wore all her normal tops throughout pregnancy, which really confused me - but then I realised that she's apple shaped and so used to wearing floaty/skimming tops and tighter bottoms, whereas I do the opposite.

I also find that because I'm tall, and find it hard to get tops long enough when not pregnant, nothing non-maternity actually covers my bump - vest tops, etc., even if bought a size or even two up finish halfway down it.

I got a couple of nice dresses from the Katie Piper maternity range on wantthattrend.com. Haven’t worn them yet as only 6 weeks (don’t laugh, I bought them when ttc as a sort of positive thinking thing) but they are lovely.

I moaned to dh the other night, as he kindly encouraged me to go and get some new clothes if I’m not feeling very ‘nice’, “the problem is... nothing goes with fat!” Humph!

I'm hoping my normal wardrobe will see me through the summer as I tend to wear a lot of loose tunics and leggings.

I reckon I'll need some maternity vests to layer under tops, a pair of maternity jeans once my current ones won't do up under the bump, and a pair of maternity shorts.

We have loads of weddings this year, so I have a slightly stretchy dress from Monsoon that will do me for most of them, and this one from Amazon for when I approach planetary proportions
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0721MC9WV/ref=twister_B01GXBYT4W?tag=mumsnetforum-21

I found jojo maman had some nice dresses

Maternity wear is absolutely fug.

I have bought 2 pairs of Topshop jeans + one pair of leggings and am pairing them with Bassike (Aussie non-mat brand) t-shirts a size up. They are expensive but nice cotton and I can wear them afterwards.

Have also splashed out on a couple of pieces from a U.S label called Hatch.

Why is so much preggo wear synthetic, I'm fat & sweaty enough as it is...

"Nothing goes with fat" 😂 So true

I don't mind the bump so much, and the fat arse I can camouflage, it's the gigantic boobs that make me look like the prow of a bloody ship. Grrrr

I went maternity clothes shopping yesterday, why are pregnant women just plagued with stripes, it's all they ever have in the maternity section, striped tops and striped maxi dress 🙄

I know!! And not just any stripes... horizontal stripes. Like I need anything else to draw attention to my rotundness!

H and M have non striped offerings in store.

Asda are great for leggings but you have to order online.

Otherwise, I just bought bigger sizes from Mantaray in Debenhams in tunics and wear them with leggings ell as a vouole of wrap over type dresses.

As well as a couple of wrap over type dresses* - sorry typing fail!

Another vote for Seraphine for casual, work and occasion wear.