Crikey, are seraphine maternity clothes worth the £££ ?

[littlegreengloworm]

I am nearly 16 and have bought new trousers (new look) and loose tops for now but the time came to dig out my maternity wear from the attic

I have a lot. One good black dress, lots of summer blouses (worn) and t shirts.

This is going to be a Christmas bsby and I think I might need a few smarter tops that I could wear in the autumn for work and spruce up around the Christmas with jewellery

Like this

www.seraphine.com/jersey-popper-nursing-top.html

Is it worth the money for six months wear. H & M and new look were my shops of choice last time but I was on summer hols and didn't hm to be as smart. Also I got pregnant when DS was 5 months so I'm kind of sick if my old stuff

16 weeks

Yes most def.!! Amazing stuff. I had loads from them both times I was pregnant. And this was long before Kate Cambridge was a fan and made them even more popular.

Their tops and jeans were the best. The jeans lasted two pregnancies plus the "4th trimester" both times after the babies were born so on a per wear basis, very good value.

The tops I had could be used to BF in too so were all worn until thread bare.

And everything was super flattering and comfortable.

I highly recommend their clothes.

Also recommend Isabella Oliver stuff. ESP if you can buy in thru sales. I bought dresses, tops and coats cheaply in the sales and after both pregnancies I sold on eBay for nearly as much as I had paid in the sales.

All this stuff holds it value well.

I really like Seraphine (and Isabella Oliver). I don't have very many maternity clothes, but I'd rather have a few really good quality bits than loads of New Look stuff. I have one (going out) dress each from Seraphine and IO, a couple of IO and a couple of Seraphine tops, one pair of Seraphine black trousers and 3 pairs of Seraphine jeans - they are long, and I am short, so I do need to get them taken up (SAHM, so pregnancy "uniform" is basically jeans, jersey top, and a non-maternity cardigan). All are now on pregnancy number 3 (also far predate Kate!) and honestly look as good as they did first time around. The cheaper stuff I've had has mainly ended up looking rubbish quite quickly. I think I'm going to treat myself this time to a couple of maternity / nursing tops from Seraphine, and that will do me.

Not in my opinion. I have some seraphine but found myself wearing Gap maternity all the time, comfy and fitted well. The few times I needed a going out top I actually found them in red herring maternity section. Surprisingly good!

I got some great stuff from Seraphine!

The skinny jeans were great until my thighs ballooned and they became too tight

I had a couple of jersey tops which I loved.

I still wear one of their jersey dresses and a loose jumper with press studs on the shoulders. DD is 3 and I am back to my pre-pregnancy size but they still look great and not at all like maternity clothes!

Well no because I'm a cheap skate. I bought all h&m and new look this time, but have some gap last time too. I didn't find the gap tops wash any better than the cheaper ones from h&m and new look.

I work full time but my work is casual. So I can get away with not having very smart things. I only have 7 outfits. 3 dresses for work. One pair of work trousers and 2 smart tops. And then 2 t-shirts for the weekend to wear with my non maternity jeggings. I really don't see the point buying something expensive to wear for 6 months tops. (To be honest, I was in a lot of normal dresses until 16-20 weeks. So it was a mix until I became too big).

I don't have a 4th trimester last time, and I don't expect I would. I'll get something else if I need it then. It'll be autumn clothes by then anyway, instead of my current summer maternity stuff. (Due in September).

And I EBF last time but didn't get any nursing tops. I just went back to my old tops, but got vests with very thin straps or boob tubes to wear underneath. One top up, one top down works really well for lots of people (go to the bf/ff forums and ask).

Looking at the top you link, I can't even see how it could be discreet. you end up opening half your chest on that one. By pulling the outer top up, you only expose a wedge that's your breast. Sorry, but I think it's probably design by someone who either 1) didn't bf or 2) didn't really care about being discreet.

I had some Seraphine stuff and I don't think the fit or quality is any better than H&M but 2-3 times the price. Isabella Oliver is worth it if you have to look über smart for work.

I also found Topshop good. I had quite a few bits from there and can still wear a couple of the dresses as they're essentially just stretchy tube dresses.

Not sure but found Isabella Oliver deffo worth it

I mixed and matched. I had an amazing pair of Seraphine black trousers and bought more expensive maternity jeans, and then all my tops were cheaper shops (H&M, Red Herring) or eBay. I felt better with a cheap top as long as my arse looked OK in decent trousers.

I'm mixed on that jumper. It is very nice, but it is just a jumper. It depends whether you'd pay £40 for a jumper anyway?

Actually, what I wish I had thought about during my pregnancy was actually planning my maternity clothes. I just bought stuff hit and miss, and while most of it was nice, it didn't all go together.

I wish I had thought - right, I'll get 4 dresses as I'll wear them for work and for casual. I'll get 2 pair of trousers and 1 pair of jeans, a few jumpers, and then I'll get x number of tops that I can wear with cardigans.

It's a relatively short period of time, really, so IMO it's not worth spending more than you'd usually spend in that period of everyday clothes - that way you might be able to spend a bit more on something like jeans you might wear all the time, or a nice dress if you have to go out.

I love Seraphine stuff and IMO after comparing the quality and design with other providers such as Mothercare, H&M, I would say its much better choice!

However delivery is RUBBISH. You will need to tweet them if your delivery isn't dispatched after a day or so.

Isabella Oliver i find a bit plain!!!