Just because I'm pregnant, it doesn't mean I want a...

[GentlyDoingIt]

...wrap-around top

...comedy slogan t-shirt ("Does my bump look big in this?" aaaargh!)

...black wardrobe - I am not in mourning

...pair of pyjamas/nightshirt with Winnie the Sodding Bastard Pooh on them

...in fact pair of pyjamas with any kind of slogan or picture motif on them

...pyjamas & tops with those tiny little adjustable bra straps that just fall off in bed and give you a dead arm - I want some wide straps please!

Sorry, been doing a bit of online shopping and am starting to despair. Why is it so hard to find clothes in colours other than black, grey and navy? If we must have dark colours, how about a bit of teal or purple? Or can we go mad and have a print that was designed after 1996?

I really want a pair of crisp, white pyjamas or nightshirt - proper ones, with buttons and a collar (yes I know they will be ruined but I WANT THEM.) Where are they?

And if I read the words "soft cotton jersey" once more... I want linen! I want cheesecloth! I want broderie anglais!

bevlin do you mean this one? It is nice, I was looking for black as I have two really nice petrol blue tops I'm living in at the moment (and our office is perishing cold with the a/c on) but I'll go and have a look. We have a Monsoon in Westfield so on my next trip over there I'll check it out.

Gap did have a perfect one, but they only had three small sizes. No good for my expanding boobage.

Anyone noticed any plain navy smart trousers? (can't be linen) I need them for my work uniform. At the min just wearing the size bigger, but once I've grown a bit more I'm going to need maternity ones as legs very baggy.

I can recommend www.everydaymaternity.com/ for all sorts, swimsuits and nightwear as well.

I wish I was pregnant with my DS this year rather than 3 years ago! I had a really hard time to find maternity wear. To be honest, there are so many smocks and sexy baggy tops out there - pregnancy shouldn't be boring this season. Try looking at these rather than pure maternity clothes, e.g. Zara, H&M, Next...

My friends dragged me maternity clothes shopping, because I kept throwing sulks in clothes shops and then calling them to tell them about it.
Next are dull; New Look seem to have some sort of aversion to any size below a 14; Mothercare tops are mostly vile and poor quality, and their trousers are always the same straight leg cut; Mamas and Papas are expensive; Topshop's clothes are contraptions that I cannot figure out at the best of times, let alone when I have a giant belly; Pumpkin patch usually stock a single top in maternity and to top it all off almost none of them have a petite range. If they do it's only at their bigger stores and all of it costs a bloody fortune.
I may as well go naked.

Big fan of H&M mat clothes here. DD2 is 8 weeks old now. Nearly my whole wasdrobe was H&M, hardly any black (if you dont count the black skinny jeans and leggings I lived in at the end of my pregnancy) Quite a bit of purple and green. I also had burgundy. Isabella Oliver is nice too, but best from eBay or the sales as it's very expensive.

H&M is also great for tall (I'm 5''10') pregnant women as their standard size is fairly long.

graciegirl tall women dont get pregnant and thin women dont breastfeed apparently

Asda has some nice maternity stuff in at the mo.

But it all stops at a size 20. What about us bigger babes that are duffed up???? Or are we not sposed to have sex cos we're plus size? Or did someone think that no one would shag the fatties anyway so no point making maternity clothing for them?

Oooops... bit of a rant there...

Gap

only in big London store but worth the pilgrimage

Heebiejeebie - I wondered about Bravissimo's tankinis - I thought I might have to resort to proper bikini plus oversized T-shirt (prob with WtheP on it so that's a good tip to try out - cheers!

Deemented that's exactly what they are thinking I suspect, the same reason why Evans gets away with "designing" cr*p ie they think it doesn't matter what you wear once you are over a size 10

I had problems with the 'under bump' clothes in that they literally just fell down. I was using a bump support not for my back but to hold my clothes up!

I love over the bump clothes as I carry out front and need support, the elsatic panal or extra fabric really helps with this. I am wearing linen trousers from next with an elasticated bump panel that are duck egg blue and lovely but I could only get them in this colour and black. I had a c-section last monday and still really needed the over the bump stuff so nothing rubs on my scar. I have 1 linen skirt with a bump panel from ebay.

I agree with the strappy nighties, I am bloody freezing in the middle of the night whilst feeding and would appreciate a longer nighty as I can't wear pj's.

The dresses made me look like a hefalump and the bigger I got it appeared the shorter I got

Bravissimo tankinis were fantastic for boobs, but didn't cover my bump. Mine you, my maternity tankini didn't cover my bump in the third trimester. Which wasn't an awful lot of use. Why they couldn't add a bit more fabric I have no idea.

...and as for Mothercare's clothes at the mo, cheap fabric that is only overlocked and not even hemmed yet are still prices.

What is it with these awful prints?

Totally agree GracieGirl...They also don't do trousers for people with short legs. just bought 3 pairs of work trousers and had to spend a further £22 getting them taking up! Arghh!
and what is it with maternity bras?!? I have yet to see any that don't look like even my gran would refuse to wear them.... have had a few good things from H&M, new look and debenhams but in general the selection is woeful. I tried a grey dress on in mothercare and it made me look like I was about to set sail.....

What a relief to find I'm not alone, last night I wondered if I was just being a pre-Monday morning grump!

I love the websites people have linked to, especially mamafeelsgood and everydaymaternitywear. Just in time for the sales, too

I am still finding that prints are quite hard to come by. Too many maternity prints look like a 1980's wallpaper catalogue.

Floaty cardigans... see if any local hippy/head shops stock aganzi cardigans, I have one near me and they are only £10 - £20. The picture on the link is a bit frumpy.

I have worn a few non-maternity tunic things, and I find that tying a scarf around under the bust gives a nicer pregnant shape, rather than being a ball of fabric from shoulder to hip.

Pyjamas are the main irritant for others, I see. Don't designers realise that this is precisely the time in a woman's life when she is most likely to receive visitors/have her photo taken whilst wearing pyjamas? All the early photos of me holding my DD are of me in something plain and vile from Mothercare that shows off my chapati tits and every drop of posset or milk. Once again I DEMAND PRINTS! If someone managed a print that did an attractive job of including colostrum yellow, I would buy it.

Whoever suggested starting a maternity swimwear business, can I please join you and start a nightwear section!

I lived in H&M maternity jeans first time round, seriously wishing I never had a manic wardrobe sort out last year and gave all my maternity stuff to charity!
Oh I'd kill for those jeans now...

I have a couple of cardi's from fenn wright manson which I wore before pregnancy and after. They are pricey but I have had them for years (since before ds 2 and I'm now on ds 3!) they are fab as they grew with me and then I could wrap ds 2 in them whilst I carried him if I were picking ds 1 up from school or it started to rain.

it's blue, not black

very cute, nice with leggings or heels

lovely dress

some lovely, funky tops and vests, very reasonable

this is very classy

I don't think you can beat topshop maternity, particularly the jeans. really nice stuff, free fast delivery and returns and not too expensive. i've also had a lot of luck this time with non-maternity stuff, lots of the fashion is pregnancy friendly (particularly maxi dresses which hide veiny bloated legs). personally i find the breastfeeding period so much worse, when you have ENORMOUS leaking melons attached to a still flabby body and have to wear clthes that allow you can get baby to boob without total exposure of unattractive body. all made worse by pictures in press of celebrities who snap back into shape within seconds of birth........

ha ha I saw those winnie the pooh pyjamas today! needless to say I came home empty handed

I think the Pooh thing is because his tummy makes even a 9m bump look normal...

Ahhh, don't get me started on swimwear or pyjamas!

I'm 20 weeks. My bum hasn't grown, so size 10/12. My bump is small but in line with dates. My boobs have shot up to a 30H and pushing on into the distance. Can I buy swimwear tankinis with different size top and bottoms, can I arse ! It's a choice between exploding out of the top or the bottoms falling down.

I too want nice pyjamas, rather than ds' t-shirts because I too refuse to wear Pooh.

I'm also 5' to complete the 'pregnancy chic freak' look, so a choice on black short trousers or nothing for another 4 months .

Sorry, dh's t-shirts !

I detest "runching."

I agree with everything here - high street maternity is limited and frumpy, online is usually better but you can't try it on and often more expensive. I'm going to have a look at some of the sites on this thread.

I've built up a stack of maternity clothes but I didn't seem to care what I looked like in my first pregnancy so I don't want to wear a lot of it now. Agree that fashion is quite tummy friendly at the moment so you can get away with normal size empire line tops and dresses which are floaty over the stomach (not ideal for breastfeeding though).

Maternity trousers drive me MAD, I can't find a pair which stay up of their own accord. I actually found some in Pumpkin Patch yesterday (didn't realise they did maternity wear) and have been wearing them today. Okay so far but that will probably change after a wash!

Maternity underwear on the high street is stuck in the 1950s I think. Figleaves.com do good maternity and nursing lingerie but again you can't try them on first and can b pricey. Easy to send back though.

'Comedy' slogans on maternity t-shirts: 'it started with a kiss', 'baby on board', 'little princess on board', argh! Hate them.

Actually, my swimming costume was the only piece of maternity wear that ever looked good on me I bought it from Blooming Marvellous when only just pregnant with DD1 and it grew beautifully with my belly, never looked odd. DD2 is now 12 weeks old and while I've happily given away all my maternity stuff, this is the one thing I just can't throw out, I love it so much. They still sell it - here