Maternity Wear: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

*Gifted Product

I have such a love-hate relationship with maternity wear. Don’t you find that there is such a gap in the market? We start to gain water and weight from before 12 weeks yet all the maternity wear is aimed at the size you are from around 7 months. Nothing fits from your normal wardrobe and you end up traipsing the shops for the very limited range of maternity clothes available to you. ‘Oh you can buy it online’ you hear time and time again but I don’t always want to buy online, I want to go into a shop, look at the sizes and try them on! And why are the styles mostly floaty, high necked, v-necked and with unflattering cut sleeves? Pregnant women are still the same people and even though their bodies change their tastes and fashion sense don’t; we want to feel like us as much as we can!

Oh, and don’t even get me started on the prices… put the word maternity before anything and they whack the price up by x3. I wouldn’t mind but if you aren’t planning on having any more babies £38 on a pair of jeans for a few months is just crazy– and you can’t just have one pair for the entire time. Over the course of this pregnancy, I have searched high and low and found a few gems but also a few disasters, most of which have gone back to the shops!

So, I am bringing you what I have found that works, what doesn’t and what may work but is just plain ugly.

The Good

This navy, bird print top is from New Look and I love it. I had such a good range of clothes from New Look four years ago but I have found that this time there has been a limited amount that has fitted nicely. This top is one that you can get away with from quite early on all the way through which makes it worth purchasing and it is something I would wear prior to being pregnant so they definitely have this style spot on.

Another item of clothing from New Look and it’s these lovely dark blue jeggings. I was never a fan of jeggings prior to falling pregnant but as I began to fill out more quickly than I did with Jake I discovered that the elasticated waists and prices of jeggings in Primark were perfect as I expanded. I have a real issue with anything pressing into my bump, especially during the morning sickness days so under the bump trousers don’t work for me. I was so glad once I could get into over the bump jeans and these were also a great price which meant I was happy to buy 2 pairs.

Oh, my word how hard is it to find a maternity swimming costume? Why do the designers think you just want black and boring? I want to feel like me still and let’s face it, we feel more lumpy and bumpy and want a swimming costume that will flatter us and accentuate our best features. After hunting for weeks online I stumbled across this on Asda’s website of all places. It is so comfortable and fits really well and at £14 it is also an amazing price!

I am not usually one for spending much on underwear at any time and I am a little bit naughty in pregnancy and choose to just go up cup sizes in Primark rather than looking for an appropriate bra that fits correctly and doesn’t have underwire. Due to this, I’ve been very uncomfortable just recently in my normal bras and knew it was time to look into a decent style that will see me through.

I was sent this stunning bra from Theya Healthcare and I must say I have been converted. Not only is it incredibly soft, it fits perfectly and doesn’t cause any issues such as the straps falling down which I find most bras I purchase do. It is seam-free, underwire free and label-free so there are no irritations. It is also made from Bamboo which wicks moisture away from your body adding to the all-day comfort and is antibacterial. Plus, it has unlinkable straps which means I can continue wearing it during the breastfeeding days. This bra is £41 but it is worth every single penny and I will definitely be buying more of them as they have given me pure comfort every day and I haven’t wanted to go back to my old ones at all. You can purchase it online or at House of Fraser and they are perfect not only for pregnant women but also for anybody who is recovering from surgery, who has sensitive skin or who is going through Radiotherapy and is suffering from blistered skin or tender breasts.

The Bad

You are probably thinking that you can’t go wrong with leggings but New Look have got it very wrong this year. The set of 2 will not only set you back around £19 but they will also not fit you unless you are roughly 6 ft tall and have an extremely big bump! I’m not sure what happened with the design of these but if I wear them I have to fold them bottoms underneath and pull them up all day long. This is a perfect example of retailers trying to cover all shapes, pregnancy stages and height in one, which just can’t be done. I’m not sure what a petite person would do in their store. They need to learn that just because we are pregnant we don’t lose our other clothing needs.

I bought three pairs of maternity tights from ASOS as last time I was pregnant I did the cheap tactic of cutting the top as my bump grew! I thought I would want to spend more time in dresses this pregnancy so opted for this set… never thinking how they could be so bad. I wore these to a business event and I was embarrassingly pulling them up the entire time. They laddered as soon as I stepped in the door and they were pulling my knickers down as they slipped. I spent the whole time being paranoid that everyone was going to see them come down around my ankles and trying to stop myself looking like Nora Batty! The problem they have is that they are cut far too low on the back which means they never grip which is a shame because the bump support is nice once the tights are pulled up into the right position.

 

The Ugly

Now I am not saying that these tops are completely ugly (they are functional aren’t they?) I am just so incredibly fed up of these styles. Why is it when you are pregnant/breastfeeding or have just become a Mum the designs aimed at us are long, floaty, v-necks and contain stripes?! We are still women and we still want to feel like us!

I understand that the v-neck makes for easy access for feeding but it isn’t the best look on me personally and I never feel completely happy wearing this style. The only plus is that all of these are very comfortable to wear and this floaty one from Asda has a pretty design. But I’ve bought them all so I will continue to wear them.

One of my favourite outfits from this pregnancy has actually come from Primark and no, they don’t do maternity wear… Primark you are missing a trick here! I simply went up a size and it doesn’t matter if it stretches out of shape because it only cost £10. I’ve teamed it up with a teething necklace from Lilith loves Henry which I picked up at The Baby Show and my brown boots which I was lucky enough to receive for my birthday a few years ago. Comfortable and stylish.

How have you been finding maternity wear this year? Do you have any great items that you love wearing? Let me know in the comments.

*I received the Theya bra for the purpose of this review, as always all opinions are honest and my own. For further information please refer to my disclosure page.

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