Capsule maternity wardrobe needed!

[redllamayellowllama]

Help me shop please. Last time round, I kept on going shopping when I was grumpy and ended up wandering around for 9 months in clothes I hated, which made me feel crap. I've got a couple of wrap tops left that are passable, but everything else was v. bad.

I had Topshop jeans last time round which always ended up halfway round my arse and in the final weeks, the elastic broke...

Anything that can double up for breastfeeding with post-baby tum welcomed.

Have had a look at Isabella Oliver and some bits look nice, although I'm wondering if the cost is justified.

I turn to you, style and beauty gurus.

I am living in leggings, long tunic/dress and boots at the moment. Can't bear to spend much on maternity clothes as am desperate to get out of them asap!

Probably worth investing in good jeans - no recommendations though, I'm afraid.

I'm living in leggings, longer tshirty tops, jumper dresses, boyfriend cardigans, waterfall caridgans, loose shirts (although always feel even bigger in these) denim shirt, worn open, with vest under. Did buy myself a few pairs on next maternity jeans, already had some topshop ones from last time, but with this pregnancy couldn't stand to wear restrictive denim, its my 3rd baby and a girl and i'm carrying very low. Also been wearing different coloured scarves to make boring black outfits look different.

Have also worn nighties, dressing gowns and pj bottoms quite a bit when at home, so i'd invest in some nice ones.

The new mothercare catalogue has just come out and there were a couple of bits in there i liked, nothing from the winter one though, typical as i've only 2 weeks to go.

I have been raving about Citizens for Humanity maternity jeans elsewhere - if you are going to wear jeans a lot I reckon it's worth the expense! Mine are brilliant, I got them after trying many, many pairs that fell down (incl Topshop). THey are gorgeous and stay up and are comfy and look great.

They are hideously expensive, I got mine (Ava) from mama la mode with the Mumsnet discount.

I also have the Isabella Oliver wrap cardigan which is brilliant. You can get quite a lot of IO stuff on Ebay.

I find that long sleeve maternity t-shirts are essential for layering (Gap do good ones). So are maternity tanks with built in bras! But it depends on whether or not the bulk of your maternity clothes wearing will be winter or summer.

BTW I did exactly the same thing with clothes the first time around and am glad I have treated myself a bit this time!

Thank you roary, some sage advice there. Citizens of Humanity eh? I shall have a look at that now - I'm still quite early on, so getting them at this stage would only be an investment, no? Know of anywhere they can be tried on? I'm usually a size 10, but my arse expanded massively last time and would want to ensure they are, ahem, roomy. Will also have a look on ebay for the IO stuff, thank you for that.

Will be mostly spring/summer maternity wear, so a couple of summery tops a good idea - had a load of H&M Mama ones last time, but they are knackered from all of the breast-feeding I did in them post-birth.

miche8 and somany, sound like good looks - any shops you've found to be particularly good?

I've bought non maternity things from new look and dotty ps in 1/2 sizes bigger, try and buy from the tall sections for the extra length. I've gone for fitted/clingy things round my bump and i look and feel much better than the last pregnancies where i just wore loose clothing and dare i say my other halves tee for the school runs. I've also had a few nice comments about my clothes as when not pregnant i never wear anything close fitting because of the belly but being pregnant is making me want to show it off.

The only maternity things i bought were jeans from next which i couldn't wear, will ebay, and 2 next maternity cardigans i love the grey waterfall one. Found the maternity clothes from new look and dotty ps really poor fitting, you can only order them online too.

pjs, nighties and dressing gowns i've just bought cheap from asda, they wash well and can be binned afterwards.

I'm wearing jersey dresses from Isabella Oliver and Noppies, DKNY cosys/waterfall cardis, and a few layering bits from Topshop
I sold all my IO stuff from pregnancies 1 & 2 for 2/3rds of what I paid new, it stays really nice and is sellable-onable
nice things at everydaymaternit.com

I bought isabella oliver stuff and lots of other things from topshop, seraphine and zara. The other stuff looks crap after one pregnancy (except seraphine - worth a look at as in bit cheaper than IO) and IO stuff looks lovely ready for second time round

next maternity jeans had quite a nice fit and were pocket money friendly....

then m&s always seeem to have a black wraparound maternity dress that i lived in...was so comfy and survived a billion washes

I would always assess your current wardrobe for things you can keep wearing (ie, tunics, empire line things). But I didn't actually start wearing maternity clothes till 24 weeks in either pregnancy, and everyone is different! There will come a time when repurposed regular clothes may no longer work, either because they become too short or if you are worried about stretching them and not being able to wear them again! It may also be harder to do this with summer clothes (as they are more fitted).

If you think you will need maternity clothes now or soon, I would get a cute dress you can wear long sleeves under, so it can be for summer too (topshop has some nice ones).

I would get jeans as soon as you think you will need to wear them but not before. Part of the problem with my jeans quest was trying them on long before I needed to wear them - I bought some at 16 weeks, before I had a bump, and they were a disaster! Redllamayellow, I am also a size 10 and I have to say I think maternity jeans are harder in smaller sizes....

I do love the citizens ones, and despite much trying, did not find anything anywhere near as good - but you may be luckier! Mama La Mode has a first exchange free policy so if you order the wrong size you can swap.

I have 2 Isabella O wrap tops (one from Ebay and one a present). They are lovely but will be too hot for high summer, at least for me (not that we've had much of that the past couple of years). I think they do short sleeve ones in summer.

I have to say there's no point in purchasing maternity cardigans unless you like to button them up -you can just wear regular ones unbuttoned! LIkewise I've never purchased maternity tights, leggings, or PJs - just sized up in regular. I got some great pjs at the gap on sale in my last pregnancy and they're perfect. But again everyone's body reacts differently to pregnancy so it might not work for you.

Tall section in normal shops for tops a very good idea miche8 - hadn't even thought about that as I'm such a short-arse.

Have found a couple of choice items on e-bay following your recommendations roary - including some Citizen of Humanity jeans in my size that I've put a (slightly cheeky) offer in on. Some nice Topshop bits and IO bits too, although competition on the IO stuff is really hotting up. I must put some kind of cap on my spending actually.

Cardigans I'm with you on.

Thanks ladies!

roary - my Citizens of Humanity jeans arrived this morning (£35 on e-bay and in perfect condition). They are AMAZING. Thank you so much for the recommendation.

I can only hope my thighs don't retain water to the epic proportions they did last time round and that they'll fit me to the bitter end.