Maternity clothes! Where to buy?

[wondering7777]

I’m 16 weeks pregnant and will probably need to buy some maternity clothes in the next month or so.

Does anyone have any recommendations for shops in London that sell nice (and affordable!) options? Or is it possible just to buy a size or two up in clothes you’d normally wear?

Also, does maternity clothing tend to come in different sizes depending on how pregnant you are? Obviously my bump at 20 weeks is going to be a lot smaller than when I’m 36 weeks!

I'm not in London so can't comment. I usually use New Look or Boohoo (both online!)

I buy either my usual size 8 in Maternity, or I still sometimes buy size 10 normal. Just depends what kind of clothing it is and how you feel I guess.

Also I find the maternity clothes I've bought has a lot of 'growth' room in, so my size 8 maternity jeans don't actually fit me 'snuggly' yet but they are comfortable, I'm only 23 weeks but I'm guessing by the time I'm say 36 weeks the over the bump part will fit much better. Same with maternity dresses, usually just a little baggier than I'd normally wear, but guessing by the time my bump grows they will still fit me nicely and I won't need to purchase new ones again!

I’m not sure about London but I got some good work trousers from JoJo Maman Bebe. They weren’t on display but had to ask. Also the changing room was full of bra advice FYI!

Actually some of my favourite dresses are from Mothercare so get in quick!

Got some low cut jeans with bump bands too.

I do see lots of smaller brands pop up ads but haven’t had a chance to try any of them out as it was all a bit of a rush realising I had no clothes that fit over the course of about a week!

New Look and H&M were where I got most of mine from. Check the sales too, I don’t think I paid full price for most things. eBay is another good bet, most people obviously don’t wear the clothes for very long so often in good condition.

I bought bundles from Ebay. Washed them before wearing and so pleased I didn't end up buying new as now they are straight back on eBay!

It's only a phase, there are plenty of clothes on there that have only been worn for a few months.

I stuck to size 8 and the clothes grew with me.

Wishing you all the best in your pregnancy.

Buy big pants. You will feel much more comfortable with the belly band type adjustments on maternity clothes.

I got some amazing maternity jeans from lidi. They were only £8 and fit amazing. I keep going back to try and get more but they never have my size. If I do find them again I will literally buy 5 pairs. They also have nice tops and nursing bras and tops.
Xxx

I got most stuff in H&M, the jeans in particular were brilliant! Which is hilarious because when I'm not pregnant I dont fit in anything in H&M!

Do buy yourself proper maternity wear, even if it means living out of a tiny rotation of clothes for six months. Next size up often looks weird because they'll be too big in the shoulders and back, although Zara's run of oversize shirts and cardigans last summer were dead handy. It's so much more comfortable to have clothes that stretch to accommodate the bump rather than wake up one morning and discover Baba has flipped round and you've somehow doubled in size overnight.

I trawled the ASOS sale section, ended up with five Mamalicious dresses and a maternity coat and hit H&M for a couple of pairs of jeans, shorts and tops for the summer stretch (the chino shorts with the low bump band are heaven, by the way). That did me from December until June and to be honest I was wearing the shorts well into September. Everything has now been handed on to a friend due in February and if I need it again it'll come back to me.

There's very very few shops stocking their maternity wear in store though, it's nearly easier to order and return as needed.

I do! these are the main ones I found near Oxford St

The New Look by Tottenham Court Road has a maternity section on the 1st floor

H&M Regent st (pretty sure it was that one, there are about 3 near each other) has quite a large maternity section downstairs

John Lewis has a maternity section upstairs, picked up a few bits in the sale there

Topshop has a separate maternity section/shop round the corner from the main entrance

Thanks for the great tips! I notice Topshop has a dedicated maternity section at the Oxford Circus store, which also looks promising!

That’s perfect, thanks Tickle!

Asos do some nice wedding occasion style dresses In maternity and carry a few brands like mamalicious ect ! I found the gap sale section online to be fantastic too for work and casual wear ect. I was in maternity before 20 weeks but my bump was huge even then😂 I know most people still fit into normal clothes at that point but I hadn’t a hope😂😂😂 usually they say go with the same size in maternity as you wore your normal clothes pre pregnancy!

@wondering7777 I would recommend H&M and Boohoo I love my maternity jeans! They've done me well since 13 weeks and still going strong at 29!

Now I need to find tops/jumpers that will cover the bump - does anyone have tips on doing this for cheap? Any way I can use my existing wardrobe? I only have 5 weeks left at work so don't want to spend a lot of money on it!

I've managed to only buy 3 pairs of mat leggings and 3 pairs of mat tights everything else is what I always had the tops stretch round your bump but I've loved living in tights and a long top so comfy and have done all way threw now 35 weeks, I found h and m best x

I think it's £10 for unlimited free delivery from boohoo - I did that as they had loads of maternity stuff and you can just send back anything that doesn't fit!!

I highly recommend Hot Milk pregnancy and nursing bras :) Great quality and so pretty/sexy without sacrificing comfort.