MATERNITY CLOTHES advice needed - esp working pg women please

[MaureenLove]

No its not for me!

Got an email from a buddy wanting advice. My days of maternity wear a thankfully LONG GONE and there is loads of much nicer stuff around now.

here is her request - can you advise?

Work

Black wrap dress, already bought
Another dress?
Skirt with a couple of tops

Fri (dress down day) and weekend

Jeans
Casual skirt
Dress
Tops
Slightly smarter tops for pub/dinner

what shall she do about coats? I found this an issue 10 years ago - have things changed - maybe a poncho?

.

For a friend

Ponchos work well I think.

Topshop still good for maternity, h&m and gap worth a look. Oh mamas and papas also had some reasonable stuff.

Yy. Ill tweet you.

vanessa knox has some nice things and a few sale items.

Ooh thanks. Anyone done a proper lunnon type job pg?

Asos is good for dresses, cheap and cheerful too. A poncho may not be warm enough, I borrowed a swing coat from my sister to get me through Autumn - buttons across the chest and keeps bump warm. The one I linked to isn't that nice (imo) - just to give an idea, there's lots out there at the moment.

Lurking for good ideas because am finding preg dressing fairly dire.

New Look, have super soft, skinnies identical to TS ones, but half the price and don't fade instantly like the Topshop ones do.

GAP good for sweater dresses in the normal section.

Surely Isabella Oliver best for workwear.

Pea coat or a belted coat you can belt above the bump probably best.

Yes defo IO or workwear

Suburban - how you feeling?

Oh brilliant. Thanks all.

Asos. Honestly. Brilliant.

Always look in H&M because they do have some appealing cheap and quirky bits and pieces to stop you getting too bored.

i suggested to her she factors in that shoes might be lower depending on how she carries and also that maternity jeans are pretty useless ( or at lest used to be) until you are huge)

I got my work wear from Isabella Oliver, Seraphine, Blooming Marvellous, Craven.

I don't wear trousers, but a friend used bump bands - over her normal jeans and trousers ands they did the job. A flowy top is needed to cover the top of the trousers, but she'll probably be wearing those anyway!

these are the New Look jeans, have been able to wear them comfortably since about 16 weeks.

Jeggings also good for bridging the gap between normal and maternity jeans.

this dress is good.

Would love to know if anyone anywhere has found maternity jeans that are skinny enough to wear with ankle boots.

Feeling much better thank you MrsCB almost managed a vomit free week, then let self down by staying up after 9pm on Saturday

I have black skinny jeans from Noppies, which I bought in "Pretty Pregnant". I've been able to wear them since 13 weeks. They do need a bit of hoiking but nothing too drastic. I've had worse with non maternity skinnies! They are not 100% skinny all the way to the ankle but pretty close fitting. Gap have their 'Always Skinny' jeans in the maternity range too but they are in the A/W collection so they weren't in store before I went on holiday. They may be in now though and I think they are on the website. I think they are skinny all the way to the ankle.

My only complaint with the Noppies ones are that they are like velcro to cat hair, napkin fluff, blankets, throws, etc. I'm going through sticky rollers like nobody's business!

I lived in about 6 Isabella Oliver things when PG and working in London office. H&M also great, especially for cheap plain jersey tops.

I found Gap good for basics. Got navy and black trousers, white shirt, blue shirt and added scarfs and jewellery to dress them up a bit. Also got some nice tops in H&M and a really good black wrap dress there. Found I had to make more of an effort with hair and make up to feel 'work smart' when pregnant.

I bought a coat in JoJo Maman bebe which was essential as I was preggers during winter two years ago when it was really cold, and lots of snow - I got a tweedy one though and hated it with a passion by the time I was due!

I bought a vintage fake fur swing coat last winter and it's perfect, especially as I would wear it when not pregnant either.

I have the opposite problem though, I don't have a sensible job, I'm a make up artist, and have found most maternity wear too conservative for my taste, apart from Top Shop which is mostly stuff you'd have to be at least under 30 to wear and I'm 42.

I did not get in with under the bump jeans at all, I think humanity had some with the huge panel that keeps you warm and stops you flashing and they were great.

The Noppies ones I have are over bump. They come all the way up to my tits. Mmmmmm, cozy .

Another one here who lived in Isabella Oliver and Seraphine clothes for work in London (lawyer). Also had some trousers from JoJoMamanBebe and Next which were comfortable but smart and a bit cheaper.

For weekends I bought most of my maternity clothes from topshop and h&m.

I was at my most huge mid-winter and didn't bother with a maternity coat - I have one in a sort of swing style which was able to expand enough to fit my bump under it may have been pretty tight by the end.

Thanks kittens had never heard of Noppies will check them out. GAP jeans normally awful on me, but might be different in Pg.

No real Maternity coat here either, but no job either so smartness not a problem.

Go to Cos - I got two great dresses for about 120 quid and have worn them solidly with lots of compliments. One grey jersey which is nice with a shirt or top under or a jacket open over -a lso wear with a waterfall cardi and skinny belt over the top. One black mad thing with leather ties at the waist but it's merino wool and very smart (knee length, long sleeves, not too fitted).

Isabella Oliver is worth it. But look out for discount codes otherwise they are ruinously expensive. I got a vavavoom dress (the ruched long sleeved midi dress in Maggie Thatcher blue which I wear with a contrsting belt - would be more work appropriate in black) and a nice plain navy wool dress (Eva Knit).

A couple of nice jersey jackets are useful to dress something simple up.

Trousers- frankly I didn't bother. They are all horrible polyester saggy rubbish. I have a pair of black skinny jeans from Topshop that are great. Need regular washing but for 40 quid, I am happy for them to die fairly quickly. Should add I am PG with twins and have managed to get to 26 weeks on these as core items for work. Onyl another 6 weeks of work and TBH I think I'll manage without buying anything else.

Oh coats, I have a lovely Jaeger wrap style coat which is great for dressy days so look out for that sort of style and don't buy too big - you can then get wear out of it after and you're unlikely to need it right at the end.

I also got this coat from Oasis in a L for weekends/warmer days (replaced the belt with a wide grey ribbon) and then a "duvet" puffa one from Pretty Pregnant for cold days - this one isn't amazing - it's not as warm as I would like so not really a recommendation. i will probably get good wear out of it but I don't love it.