Maternity smart-casual workwear on a budget?

[Nic165]

I need drastic help with my wardrobe!!! I'm 15 weeks and have already put on loads of weight so most of my clothes no longer fit except for stretchy baggy tops and leggings so I feel like such a scruff. It's really affecting my confidence. I'm a size 12 and need some comfy but smart clothes for work/general wear. Please help!

Jojomamanbebe, Isabella Oliver, seraphine all do v nice maternity workwear but are a bit expensive- you can usually get them on eBay and they are good quality so should be ok secondhand.

Otherwise try ASOS, or new look for a lot of maternity stuff.

I'm currently pregnant and just moving into the maternity phase of my wardrobe. The shops I have been browsing are:
£££ - Isabella Oliver, Seraphine
££ - Gap, Asos, Mamalicious, Topshop, M&S, Mango
£ - New Look, H&M, Boohoo, Ebay

So far I have been surviving in existing jersey dresses for work (also smart casual), and I'm aiming to get 2-3 maternity ones to keep me going for the next few months which I can layer with cardigans, jacket, shirts and maternity t-shirts. I'm not bothering with maternity trousers, too much of a faff (and I already have a black skinny hand me down pair that constantly fall down).

Congratulations! I had a few Ebay JJMMBB wrap dresses and they were fine - I wouldn't say they were the most fashionable things I've worn but they were comfortable stretchy jersey and were appropriate for most work environments (I wore mine with big necklaces to try to distract from my "swallowed a beach ball" bump). I think you can often get them on Ebay in pretty new condition. They were my work standbys while I was pregnant - I ended up so sick of them that I gave away the lot the minute DD arrived, but they were very handy at the time.

I also had quite a nice Mamalicious dress from Ebay - it was lacy and midnight blue, so goodness knows what pregnant cocktail parties I thought I was going to be attending, but it was at least quite pretty.

All the dresses cost me about £10 each on Ebay.

Get some trousers with the maternity waistband, they are a life saver and last your whole pregnancy. (just get ones that dont fall down like blairwaldorfs) they normally dont fall down. I had a jeans one and a sort of beige chino pair.

So I could wear some of my old clothes (hard to find petite maternity wear at a reasonable price), I wore a belly belt https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0010X4F02/ref=cmswwrcppapi_B6tWAb2MWJPA0 and a bump band or long top to cover the top of my trousers so no one could see that my trousers weren't fastened. Helped me save money as well.

My maternity wardrobe is pretty much:
2 x black skinny maternity jeans (1 asos petite, 1 h&m)
1 x black skinny maternity trousers (h&m)
1 x maternity dress (new look)
1 x black super stretchy tube skirt (primark)
And then a selection of tops a few sizes bigger than I normally would wear, I was a 10 pre-pregnancy and flowy 14 tops have pretty much fitted. Although some of them are getting a bit tight, but my bump is getting massive!
Some of my trousers are getting a wee bit tight on my bump now but I only have a few weeks of work left.
I always throw a blazer on top to smarten up the outfit a bit - it's been a long while since they buttoned up!

A woman I work with is pregnant too and she wears a lot of super stretchy dresses and skirts with maternity tights. Her bump has been fairly neat until recently so I'm not even sure if they are maternity dresses.

I have a lot second time around but for first time around - 1 decent jacket, and for this you need a good brand, a work friendly skirt- mine are both seraphine but there are plenty of cheap neat black maternity skirts, one neat pair black trousers and then tops can be cheap. I wear a lot of dresses, mostly Isabella Oliver or seraphine but have a couple of great ASOS ones and have bought a few of them on eBay. I have quite a neat bump although pretty large these days and do like the stretchy jersey dress type that shows it off.