where do you get cheap maternity clothes from?

[Loooopy]

Hi everyone.

I'm new to this site. I am in the early stages of my first pregnancy, but despite only being 6 weeks, my body has already changed shape dramatically and i cannot fit into most of my clothes. I wasn't exactly skinny to start with, but my tummy has risen up my body and i can barely do up my size 14 jeans and getting regular cramps during which i don't even want the jeans done up, and my boobs have exploded (according to a woman in mothercare i needed a 42F using the smallest clasps as apparently i will need the full 42 when my ribs separate which sounds unpleasant!). I want to conceal bump until after the first scan, but i don't have money to burn. So i'm trying to find nice maternity clothes that don't necessarily look like maternity clothes, that don't cost the earth, so that rather wasting money on normal clothes a size bigger than my usual which will be useless in a few weeks, i spend my money wisely on clothes that will last till the end. But because i wasn't slender and toned at the start, i don't really want clingy clothes and the websites i've trawled so far are all quite pricy and are just stretchy lycra style tops which really isn't me.

Where do you all buy clothes from? any suggestions on what to get and from where would be much appreciated! I am fortunate that most of the time i work from home, so slouchy stuff is needed for this time, but i do have to spend 1-2 days per month as a minimum in an office or with clients where a suit is usually the norm....but i can't find any suitable work wear apart from suits that are blatantly maternity suits on a site that i think was wonder mummy or something similar - which look great but wouldn't be any good for hiding my new body until i am ready to tell everyone our good news!

thanks in anticipation!

For very cheap stuff, Asda is good. New Look is a little more expensive but still good value and I've had loads of trendy stuff from there this pg. However, I work completely from home so not sure about suits. I got some nice work trousers from Debenhams last time I was pg. And a couple of really good dresses from Topshop which i've worn a lot this time too. Although i haven't had anything from topshop this time round as it was a bit dressy/pricey for me.

Try looking at 2nd hand stuff on Ebay. H&M Mama and New Look are also good.

Asda/H&M good for cheap stuff. Try ebay?

Suits are hard - I have one from DD's pregnancy that doesn't look like a maternity suit at the start yet is wearable to the end. I have never seen anything like it since.

I word of warning - I haven't been able to wear stuff the whole way through.... stuff that was comfy at the start (ie when I first needed maternity clothes) is not comfortable now and the clothes I am wearing now would have looked ridicolus at the start.

I am very lucky that my friends and sister/sister-in-laws have passed clothes around so I have stacks of clothes for all different stages!

H&M and Peacocks were both great for cheap basics

ask around. seriously. i ended up with a wonderful stash from various donators that i was more than happy to pass on to someone else when i was finished. or you can get fab job lots on ebay

H&M have some cheap tops, also got 2 regular tops from there which weren't maternity but were quite long so will last me the whole time. Only 3.99 each!

Also second New Look and also Peacocks, although their range isnt very big.

Also invest in a good pair of maternity jeans (mine are from New Look under the bump, cost about £16, will keep me going til the birth) normal leggings, dont need to be maternity as such, can be worn with any long tops/dresses.

Basically I got a few staple items which I can mix and match and wear throughout the pregnancy and Im doing it on a budget too.

Dorothy Perkins was ok for some bits as well

Hi there - I'm nearly thirteen weeks gone and have just spent the day sorting out my maternity wardrobe from scratch - meaning both casual stuff and office clothes which will work in spring and summer. Spent just over £300 which might sound horrendous but for that I got 16 items of clothing which will take me through right to the end and I don't plan to buy any more. I went to:

Mothercare (OK for casual basics, maternity range looked a bit of an afterthought to be honest)
H&M (really good, lots of choice in the maternity section but ended up buying two sizes bigger than I would normally get, just so I could get the trousers over my knees! Good maternity jeans.)
Dorothy Perkins (also pretty good. Got two nice dresses for the office which I could add one of my existing black jackets to when I have meetings)
BHS - they don't have a maternity section but I got a nice cardigan to drape over other clothes - fine for the office and casual enough to wear at home.

Hope that helps!

Hi - Take a look in the Sales as well. Mamas and Papas currently have a 50% sale on - and I bought loads of stuff in their 70% off sale. Three pairs of decent jeans for £10 each (erm, must stop buying jeans!) Also New Look does some decent sales stuff - I got a perfectly serviceable black blazer / jacket for work for £6. I got a couple of really nice dresses in the asos.com clearance sale (still on) - for around £10-15 each. The Bebe Maman website also had some seriously good but bargainous stuff on it. I couldn't bring myself to spend a fortune on new mat clothes but I also can't resist a bargain!! Have fun shopping.

New look's not bad, also have a look on Very.co.uk.

If you don't want full-on maternity yet Asda's clothes can be quite roomy, go up a size or 2 for comfort. I'm 14 weeks now and still in my g:21 range jeans cos they're quite roomy and stretchy. And they have some quite smart "floaty" blouses too.

You don't necessarily need proper maternity stuff - there are lots of loose tops in fashion at the mo - I bought a load of stuff from sainsburys and just got a size up and they still fit at 30 weeks. Also big cardigans are handy as they don't need to do up at the front!

Mothercare had some good worky type trousers that weren't too expensive and I got some nice jeans from Next.

You don't really need too much though - I wear the same things all the time and no one seems to care!

Almost everything I had was secondhand from ebay, as are most of my breastfeeding tops.

I got a couple of really nice tops from Dorothy Perkins, but once you get bigger the stretch lycra tops actually look fine - I could wear stuff I wouldn't have worn when not pregnant! A couple of cardi's are good too. One of my friends simply got clothes a size or so bigger from Asda and the like - if you go for something not too fitted.
I couldn't get on with under the bump jeans - they just fell down, found the hideous ones with big expanses of stretchy stuff at the front loads more comfortable.
I'd agree with LadyC, you really don't need that much as long as you get clothes that mix n match.

have you looked on ebay??

Worth trying trousers on IMO - I remember first time round I was really surprised that although I started pre-pregnancy as a 12, the only trousers that would fit me in Dorothy Perkins were size 10; and H&M sizes (when tried on recently) were the other way around, labelled as 12 but would only fit a size 10! Next trousers DID fit. Tops great to get from eBay. And with your trousers, another way round it is (if you are even vaguely handy with sewing) get a 1.5cm wide bit of elastic (around 7cm long?), sew a button on one end and snip a few 'button holes' along the length. Then put the button through the 'hole' part of your trousers and link/loop the elastic back & forth with the normal doing-up button. Either that or get one of those canvas belts that don't require specific holes to do up, that way you can get the trousers to stay up. A cheap 'bump band' can then cover the zip/button area. Works a treat for me!

Oh - also check to see if you have any NCT sales coming up near you. The ones near me generally have had maternity clothes.

Also, my local Surestart centres have donated maternity clothes which you can buy for pence.

You could try these sites.

Affordable Maternity:

www.affordablematernity.co.uk/index.php

or La Redoute - their clothes are really quite good and not hideously expensive.

Or try Vertbaudet - they have a good sale on at the moment.

www.vertbaudet.co.uk/

H&M are great, and not just maternity, I bought a fab empire-line top there recently in the non maternity section.

It's also not a waste buying normal clothes in a size up as you will wear them after the baby is born. I did that, wore them til about 16 weeks or so, then wore them again post-pregnancy, it was nice to have something non-maternity that actually fit! There are a lot of empire line/smock tops around at the moment.

If you want smart work trousers that will last most of the way through, I had some great ones from topshop with adjustable buttons that I wore from around 8 weeks right up until I finished work at 36 weeks. Dorothy Perkins do a lot of work wear too. And New Look have a sale on at the moment!

I saw a poster in my local Matalan today - they are launching a maternity range next week (24th) - just disappointed that at 36 weeks it'll be a bit late for me to take advantage of!!

I thought H&M were the best, and Mothercare, though not necessarily cheap, were the best for swimwear, nightwear and underwear. I mainly bought things that could be dressed up or down, for work or casual.

It's also worth trying Freecycle, that's where I gave mine to.

Check matalan - my branch near Leeds has had good maternity clothes for at least 2 years (when I was last pregnant). It does good workwear, nice dresses, evening wear, swimwear and basics like leggings, vests, tops etc. good prices and I'm reusing a lot of the stuff this time around.

I'm on my second pg and hardly got anything, even though I work in a professional environment. I've got one pair of black trousers (mothercare) and about 3 tops (new look). Then a couple of normal stretch dresses that I wear over tights and intend to wear til I give birth in the summer - they get shorter every day
For casual I just wear my normal pyjamas or trackies - I'm dead glam me.

Don't get me started on bras, that's a right trauma.

It's all quite depressing really, I love my clothes usually.