Where to buy maternity clothes in London?

[longwayaway]

I'm going to be in London this weekend and I'd like to buy some maternity clothing - in a real shop, not online! i.e. I know that H&M has a maternity line, but is there a particular location where they carry the maternity stuff on site? (Because they don't in my town!)

If you know for a fact that a particular store at a particular location has maternity clothes on site, can you please comment here? Happy to hear recommendations for maternity-only shops as well as bigger stores with maternity sections.

[EldonAve]

Go to Oxford St - all the shops will have their maternity stuff
off the top of my head...
Topshop
Gap
H&M

[lynniep]

hmm. big top shop on corner of oxford street and regent street has a decent sized maternity section

also there is one on regent street I think - is it a mamas and papas maybe? sorry - been a long time since I did maternity shopping in london!

theres also a big mothercare at the top end of oxford street.

[dinkystinky]

Topshop on oxford circus has a maternity store - is round the corner from the main store entrance on regent street.

Otherwise, Seraphine in Hampstead is lovely (great jeans), Jojomamanbebe (various stores around london), Mamas and Papas (flag ship store on Argyll Street - not too far from Topshop store) and H&M are good bets (2 big H&Ms on Oxford Street).

[dinkystinky]

P.s. Avoid mothercare like the plague - their clothes are terribly made and will not last you the pregnancy!

[MrsGladpuss]

Kensington H&M do maternity clothes (and the odd breast feeding top).

Gap in Kensington also good (and if you have an AMEX card I think they have 30% off of something).

There used to be some specialist maternity shops on the Kings Rd but can't really remember.

I didn't buy many specificaaly maternity clothes though, just jeans and a couple of tops. Lived in pjs and DH's t-shirts! Bought bigger sized reg clothes for special occasions.

[longwayaway]

Brilliant, thanks, keep them coming!

[spicemonster]

Also Debenhams Red Herring (I think?) sometimes has good stuff

[MrsGladpuss]

Of course Chiswick in west london is The home of the yummy mummy and stocks accordingly.

Personally I don't like JoJoMamman after some v dodgy customer service...

[dal21]

Another vote for seraphine, got my whole mat wardrobe from them when pregnant with DS, wore brilliantly and am back in them this time round! I use the Seraphine in Hampstead but think they have another one in Kensington.

Plus their autumn collection has just come into shops.

[Crazycatlady]

There are quite a few branches of H&M around Oxford Circus/St way, but the one you want is the one about halfway up Regent Street. There is a maternity section on the lower ground floor which is good. Also found loads of their non-mat wear actually really good during pregnancy.

Mamas and Papas on Argyll St has a select but quite good maternity clothes section.

Zara (the big flagship one near Bond St tube) has maternity wear.

Debenhams is a bit hit and miss. Their Red Herring range is stocked there but sometimes there is very little on the racks.

If you want Jojo Maman, Pretty Pregnant or Seraphine you're best off heading to one of the London villages e.g. Hampstead or Battersea (Northcote Rd).

Have you thought about going to Westfield? Lots of high street retailers there with some maternity range stock and it's a far more pleasant shopping experience than Oxford Street.

[raggie]

Know how you feel - London chains so hit and miss, but yes, maternity H&M halfway down Regent Street has a really good sized selection.

I also found Gap (Ox St) maternity clothes good. Small selection but nice and quality

[katster37]

If you can bear it, the New Look in Westfield stocks some nice but reasonably priced maternity. There is also a smaller range of maternity at their Topshop, as well as loads of other ones. There's a whole strip of maternity/baby shops there and a really nice Mamas and Papas too. I prefer it there as I am Oxford Street-phobic at the minute and it is air-conditioned with lots of cafes!!

[Salleroo]

Save yourself the hassle and get onto ASOS.com. They have fab maternity clothes. Then mooch around the shops in London and enjoy your day out. Shopping for mat gear is never any fun. Oh but one place that wasnt mentioned where I got the best skinny jeans is Benneton on the diagonal from TopShop at Oxford circus. 2nd floor has some really nice mat wear. Northcote Rd in clapham is heaving with maternity shops. 5 at last count and delicious cafes and cakes too! Dorothy Perkins (Bond St or Marble Arch) is another good one for jeans.

[longwayaway]

I have to admit I'm pretty Oxford-street-phobic myself but I really like to be able to see and feel clothes before I buy them! Honestly I have no idea what size I am anymore. I hate returning things - too stressful - so I figure it's worth one day in the trenches to pick up some things I know will fit, and be done with it.

[Twinklestar2]

H and M in Ealing have a maternity section

[Krisvo]

here is a nice overview with images and tips what to buy myshoppingspy.com/blog/article/londons-best-shops-maternity-wear. I personally love Seraphine :) How's mapas and papas? Thought they only have stuff for babies

[frangipani13]

The mamas and papas store on argyle st closed a few years ago. The h &m on Oxford Street (opposite lush) carries some maternity as does the one on regent st but new look, marks and gap are online only. I worked off Oxford Street until recently and bought most of my maternity clothes from asos, ebay and mamas and papas near Brent Cross.

[CityDweller]

In the 2.5 years between my two pregnancies most of the central London branches have stopped stocking maternity wear or only stock very limited selection. Even the maternity section in Oxford Circus Top Shop is absolutely tiny now. Didn't check out the H&M on Regent St this time, but last time that was the place with the largest selection.

TBH you really are best off ordering stuff online. I did a burst of ordering tons when I was around 20 weeks this time - spending enough to get free shipping and then returning what didn't work. Meant there was a big hole in my bank balance for a while, but I returned about 75% of what I bought. Be careful to make sure that you can do free returns too though!

This time round I had the most luck with:
Seraphine - good for a few select nicer tops. Trousers didn't fit me though.
Asos - brilliant and rapidly changing stock in more interesting and adventurous/ fashionable styles than most places.
JoJo Maman - terrible! I find the cut/ sizing of their stuff weird, it doesn't fit me at all. Think it's very overpriced for what it is.
Vertbaudet - good for jeans and trousers and these fit me well. Go up a size. Cheap and cheerful.
M&S - limited selection, but some nice stuff and got my fave pair of over-bump jeans from here

[quesadillas6]

H&M Regent St were good last time I was looking. New Look near Cannon St also pretty good. I went to Westfield in Stratford last pregnancy too, haven't been this pregnancy though so not sure what's there now.

[lilyb84]

I was on Oxford St a couple of weeks ago and gave up pretty quickly finding any maternity clothes tbh. Top Shop's little shop (entrance on Regent St) is there but the range is crap and personally I think their clothes are overpriced anyway.

The New Look in Westfield London (Shepherds Bush) don't do maternity wear any more - I was there a few weeks ago. Topshop does, slightly better and more casual / everyday range than the Regent St one, but again quite pricey.

I wish I'd known about H&M on Regent St - there were none in the Oxford Circus branch. However, H&M in Croydon's Whitgift Centre has a decent selection and is reasonably priced - I've got some lovely things from there already.

Otherwise it's online, I'm afraid! New Look have some good stuff, although I'm finding the quality isn't great - even by New Look standards.

One thing I wish you could buy more cheaply is maternity tights as I'm in need of a few pairs but not really willing to fork out £8 a pop, which seems to be the starting price everywhere... (although again H&M have some which are probably cheaper, need to go back soon!).

[SarinaJ]

New Look at Fenchurch Street (but not the one at Moorgate as I discovered!)

[CarShare]

There is a seraphine baker St way (just one tube stop from bond St so handy if you're hitting Oxford st). It's pricey but I got a denim skirt in the sale for wearing with tights in winter and a lovely dress for work. John Lewis, debenhams and house of fraser on Oxford st will most likely have mat gear too (but I don't know this for certain). Enjoy!

[CarShare]

lilyb- mat tights are buy one get one half price at boots at the moment- I bought two pairs for 9 quid after work today. Still not cheap but it's something

[lilyb84]

Good to know, thanks!