Maternity clothes - what's necessary? Calling all pregnancy veterans

KateLiana27

I'm in the early stages of pregnancy but have already noticed that most things labelled "maternity" are over-priced, limited in selection and generally unappealing.

I'm fortunately getting a bundle of maternity clothes in my size for next to nothing (fitted things like jeans, trousers, shirts etc that I guess will need to be maternity), but I'll still need to get basic strappy tops to wear under things, tights and long cardigans for work, casual hoodies for around the house, and so on. Is it really necessary to get "maternity" items for this sort of thing, or did anyone just buy a size or two up of normal stuff? Am I missing something?

fluffnutter

I discovered you need fewer items than you think. It's only a few months after all. Normal dresses are great, particularly empire line or maxi dresses. I also found my normal leggings OK for most of my pregnancy as were many of my existing tops.

I bought a couple of tops, one pair of jeans, one pair of black trousers and a couple of pairs of leggings. The rest I adapted from my existing wardrobe.

Bump bands are good, particularly in the beginning.

cord123

I think it totally depends on how your body changes... I only had one pair of maternity trousers and the rest of the time I wore leggings or trousers with the top button undone and a bumpband (look in New look for those!)I was due in August and I didnt pop out til I was about 25 weeks... so just worse maxi's, leggings and tops one size above what I was! Primark was great cause their clothes tend to stretch a bit!

snowyz81

id say look for clothes with elastic waist, maternity clothes are expensive for the amount of time you'll wear them. I bought aloads from new look in the sale so wasnt too bad. Still struggling to find a work skirt, also those bump bands are good, i cant fasten my linen pants properly but they still fit everywear else, so just been wearing them with that and people cant tell.

Nicki

IME if you buy the next size up, or even two sizes up, you will spend the bulk of your pregnancy looking fat, rather than pregnant. You are also likely to have to buy twice, or not be able to wear what you have bought in the last couple of months, as your bump can end up being absolutely massive in the last 6-8 weeks.

Tights, you definitely need maternity ones, and even these are difficult. Non maternity tights, and even some maternity ones, will slip down under your bump and you'll end up with the gusset round your knees and walking like a penguin! Not a good look even without the big tummy to go with it . Its trial and error though to find a brand which suits the shape of your bump, so don't stock pile on tights until you've found some that work would be my advice.

Basic strappy tops - you will need maternity ones if you want them to cover your bump for the whole pregnancy. If you don't mind the bare midriff look in the later stages though, you could just use cheap non maternity ones in a larger size. I found GAP maternity vests to be reasonably cheap and good quality and came in a range of colours, so you could maybe look there. My other nice maternity vests were from Isabelle Oliver, but they are very pricey and you would probably be better off waiting to see if they are available in their sale or if you can get them cheaper secondhand on ebay.

Long cardigans - if you don't want to button them, you could buy in a bigger size. I'd wait until you need them though and then buy a size bigger than you are at the time, because you might find that you go up more than two sizes round the shoulders, arms and upper back by the middle and end of your pregnancy.

Casual hoodies - I bought mine from Dorothy Perkins maternity and they were as cheap as non maternity and came in a decent range of colours at the time. Or wore my husband's. That said, I don't often wear that style of top so didn't really care how it looked.

balletshoes

I'd say see how you feel/what shape you become as your pregnancy progresses.

I didn't wear any maternity clothes at all when I was pregnant, my bump was all out the front so I got away with normal work trousers with elastic (either jersey trousers or trousers with elastic at the back and buttons at the front), long skirts (no tights, hate them) and looser tops (ie short-sleeve knits etc). I wore my jeans with the button undone (fastened with a hair bobble ) under longer-length tunic tops etc.

As Nicki says, if you do want to wear strappy tops when you get a big bump, for fit you'd probably want to have maternity ones if you want to cover bump.

mumonashoestring

I would say an absolute must is replacing bras as your breasts grow - you'll be glad of the extra support and if you plan to breastfeed you can buy nursing bras (with the detachable shoulder straps) to make that easier.

Leggings you can get away with buying a size or two up but some well fitting maternity trousers will stop you looking fat instead of fab I can recommend Next's over the bump mat trousers, mine saw me through from 14 weeks to birth.

Matalan and Next both do decent tops as well. I got by with about 7 actual maternity tops, some long 'waterfall' cardigans (non-maternity) and some loose t-shirts.

Again, if you're planning to breastfeed, try to get tops that you can wear afterwards as nursing tops, it makes feeding in public much easier, especially early on

pinkclouds

Frankly, you can get away with elasticised joggers/sweat pants in your usual size. They'll sit comfortably *below* your bump.

However, it's nice to get a few maternity clothes for the sake of feeling more attractive - maybe a wrap dress or a plain skirt you can dress up or down. It is quite hard to "dress" a giant bump neatly - even in maternity clothes.

The only thing I'd recommend as essential is either vest tops (if you have a small bust) or maternity vest tops (if pregnancy causes them to fill out or if you have a large bust anyway). Emma Jane are a good maternity brand. However, I also recommend the M&S hidden support vest tops - perhaps one size larger than usual. You'll need them to support your bust even if you don't breastfeed and you'll definitely need them if you do because maternity/nursing bras are a total faff. The rest of your clothes are fine as they are although, as I said, if you don't already own joggers you'll probably want to buy some.

Good luck with your pregnancy!

pinkclouds

mumonashoestring wrote: »

some long 'waterfall' cardigans (non-maternity)

^Second that if you're going to breastfeed. If discretion is important to you, then they will really help.

Alternatively, if you don't like that style of cardi and want to use a cover-up then anything will do. I used to slip an arm through my jacket, worn back-to-front, and use that if I wanted to "hide". Although, really, if you're confident, it's not like you can see anything anyway because baby's head is usually larger than a breast.

Empire line style clothing, if that appeals to your taste (and is already in your wardrobe), is also good for maternity wear. Empire line dresses, wrap dresses, cardis with buttons just at the top, etc.

Aimless

I bought a few pairs of maternity jeans and dungarees from Ebay, all my tops were just bigger normal ones. I may have just looked fat, as for weeks people kept asking 'is that yours?!' Though one day I was wearing the only maternity dress I'd bothered buying, and someone asked if it was true I'd had a baby since they saw me last

If you buy longer tops, you have more chance of them covering the bump.

koalamummy

I totally agree with the above posters who advised not buying anything until you see how pregnancy affects your shape. I have 3 children and have only ever owned 1 item of maternity clothing, a pair of trousers that were for a very formal event only days before my daughters delivery. I didn't really need them as such but by that stage of pregnancy I was slowly losing the will to live and they looked so comfortable that I could not resist. The rest of the time I wore M&S jersey bootleg trousers which I owned already, (different ones with each pregnancy, not the same trousers for 14 years! :rotfl:) and bought some longline vest tops I think from Sainsburys, New Look, anywhere cheap in fact, which covered over my bump right up to delivery day. I wore my normal cardigans and only did a few of the top buttons. For very hot days I would wear jersey empire line dresses the kind you get out of the holiday range in most supermarkets for sticking over your bikini.

Even if these types of clothes are not to your personal taste it is always useful to have something of this kind for post delivery while your body is recovering.