Maternity clothes hell

[ivyrayne]

I’ll get straight to the point, I cannot find any nice maternity clothes anywhere! And I’m really nervous that I won’t be able to find anything by the time I can’t fit into my normal clothes anymore. Can I get away with my usual elastic waste trousers and large jumpers when I’m further along? Or will I need to buy specific maternity tops and trousers/jeans. Panicking because I’m self-conscious at the best of times, and I want to be feeling confident when I’ve got a huge bump. Only have a small bump so far. Any suggestions to good brands/shops would be helpful too. Thanks in advance!

Have a look on Vinted! I found loads super cheap on there

If you want to try on before you buy h and m tend to actually have some in their stores, they're not terribly exciting and fairly neutral colours. I think it varies from person to person as to how long you're comfortable in your ordinary clothes.

I got all of mine from Seraphine (in the sales). They have office and occasion wear too so a one stop shop.

I never bought anything maternity with ds apart from leggings and jeans.
Maternity clothes are made so grumpy no matter where you get them from! I just lived in stretchy midi dresses and oversized jumpers.

Frumpy not grumpy!

I bought some stuff from a Facebook group called Preloved maternity and nursing clothes or something like that. Cheap.

Brands wise I just had basics really from like H&M and similar. I had a very small wardrobe of maternity clothes and just washed them often to save on cost, you only wear them for such a short amount of time. I was lucky I didn't need workwear either time though as first time my office dress code was dress down and second time I was exclusively WFH due to covid.

I agree with you an that most maternity clothes are hideous

H&M do decent maternity jeans. My usual go to (not pregnant) is jeans and an oversized shirt and most are still fitting me at 8 months pregnant. Some come up a bit short but find with a maternity vest underneath (also h&m)

If you need anything for a specific occasion, try Vinted. I've had a couple of lovely wedding guest dresses from asos and Hope & Ivy for a fraction of the price

I’m shocked at how bad the shops are for maternity clothes. Most stores don’t have any and some have a small rail. I bought quite a few things in the Next sale online and for some basic items like leggings I went to George at Asda which actually had them in store. Looking forward to the Winter where you can just wear baggy jumpers.

I've been struggling also so just been using what I already have. I've been living in my oversized clothes which is what I wore day to day anyway and elasticated trousers. I have some comfy stretchy ones that still fit. I did have some maternity leggings from my last pregnancy and use those when needed about the house. Also dresses I already had that don't have a waist have also been good.

Tilbea! Such lovely prints and they feel like normal clothes 😍

I just lived in maternity jeans from H&M and large tops.

I never bought mat wear, just sized up in cheap places like Primark.

I lived in supermarket leggings. Didn’t want to spend loads on stuff I wouldn’t wear for long. I got a few tops from Asos and a couple of posh outfits second hand from Vinted and Ebay. My coat didn’t quite fit so I wore a massive scarf which covered the gap at the front.

I liked Seraphine too. I also got some reasonable stuff from the NCT website, and friends gave me stuff.

My local peacocks has a small maternity section. I only bought what I needed. Some tops I just wore a longer top, like vest top underneath. I didn't buy any maternity tops as they were too long. I'm on 5 ft. I just bought a few tops the next size up.

Vinted or ebay.

Being pregnant made me realise how little clothes you actually need. I had a tiny ‘capsule’ maternity wardrobe and it suited me fine. At that time I used ASOS and Dorothy Perkins. It’s made me take a good look at my usual clothes and I got rid of so much stuff post pregnancy. Some stuff I hadn’t worn for years!

ASOS and H&M were the best for me.

H&M and New Look were best for me. H&M do really good basics, especially their mama range and New Look mat stuff was great for clothes that weren't just boring black and neutral colours. I would say buy stuff you do love because I still wore some of my maternity stuff after I had the baby, and even though I'm 5 months pp I still wear my maternity PJs as they're so comfy!

I haven't bought any maternity clothes except some pajama bottoms. Despite everyone telling me I'm huge for several months now I still fit in all my pre-pregnancy leggings and dresses.

I did buy two stretchy jump suits, one size up but not maternity. I also bought two maxi dresses in my usual size. Long dresses just don't suit me without a bump, but look good with a bump so I embraced them over the summer.

I'm on the larger size (16) to start with, and my usual dresses are skater style so all fit over my bump.

I'm now almost 40 weeks and still have no issues fitting in my old clothes.

You may find you are able to do the same.

There is really no point worrying or stressing about it now if you don't currently need them. Wait and see how your size changes and what you feel you need.

There is a place for some maternity clothes but also you can get quite far with a combination of your own clothes and sizing up from the non maternity section.

I'm at the start of my 3rd trimester with my second baby so a sizeable bump imo. At the minute I have 2 pairs of maternity leggings and a pair of maternity jeans. The rest of the things I wear are my own clothes, including a pair of normal leggings.
I've ordered a maternity jumper from Vinted so I have an option with lots of length and I'm just getting to the stage where I could do with a few longer tops to put under normal jumpers now its starting to get colder.
I'll probably buy a lounge set and a few new bits of knitwear so I feel nice for the rest of my pregnancy, but things that I can wear in the first few months PP that suit breastfeeding etc.

The only thing I bought was maternity jeans. Oh and jignormous bras. Other than that just normal stretchy clothes or loose tops and jumpers. The fashion is currently baggy and loose so most tops should have ample capacity!

“Hell” - really? Weird thing to stress over. Just see how it goes, you might need any or just a few bits,
Sainsburys TU have nice things otherwise Vinted.

I've been pregnant twice and never bought maternity cloths, just bigger sizes in normal cloths, or cloths I already had that were baggy fit pre-pregnancy. The last week or so I was down to either pajamas or dresses, but it felt to late to be buying anything at that point.

I just bought a few pairs of H&M maternity leggings (which I still wear!), and some tights. I don’t like the idea of the waste of buying things for only a few months wear, so just wore loose tops and some skater style dresses I already had. It’s only for a few months, I really would worry so much!!