Well, you guys are a convincing bunch. After so many of you responded to Wednesday’s anti-maternity wear post by extolling the virtues of maternity clothes (although, I think we all agreed that jeans are pretty problematic), I decided that I had been too hasty in my judgments and set out on an online quest to discover preggo-wear that would change my mind.

My first stops? GAP and Old Navy, which both boast an impressive selection of…BLAH.

Seriously, this is what first met my eye when I clicked on the “maternity” tab.

old navy blah

That’s what Old Navy thinks you should wear if you’re pregnant, apparently.

gap blah

And it would seem that GAP heartily concurs.

I, however, do not want to spend my entire pregnancy boring my baby to death (because he so cares what’s on the fabric above his head).

So, I dug a little deeper. I checked out Target, LOFT (had no idea they had maternity; am now convinced I didn’t need to know), Motherhood, Pea in a Pod, Pink Blush, H&M, and anybody else I could come up with. I found some decent options, but I think paying $45 for a shirt that claims to be maternity but is really just a baby-doll top is ridiculous.

But then, I finally hit the jackpot of all affordable maternity adorableness: Asos. But more on that in a second.

As I scrolled through picture after picture of models with fake bumps posing in rather awkward and lackluster get-ups, a few pieces popped out at me. So, being the nice preggo lady I am (and hearing from so many of you ladies who are in the same boat or know someone who is), I decided to compile a collection of my faves.

Be impressed that I steadfastly refused to include any “regular items that could totally work just as well as the ones labeled ‘maternity.'” Every single piece of clothing below is classified as maternity and presumably has something about its makeup that gives it this distinction.

Oh, and there’s nothing over $50 (and almost everything is well below that).

First up, tops.

shirt collage

{From left to right} 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 67 / 8

A couple of notes of interest about the tops: #1 is less than $9. I’m very tempted to order it. #4 is actually a 2-fer, with the cardigan and the top combined into one. It’s only $14. And #5, while seemingly uber-plain has a low ballet neckline in the back, which adds a special touch (plus, you know I love that color). It’s only $14 at GAP online.

Next up, let’s take a gander at some dresses, shall we?

dress collage

{From left to right} 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

You might have noticed that Asos features rather prominently in this roundup. That’s because they were practically the only place I found that carried a large selection of maternity dresses with any kind of interesting details at all (stripes or color-blocking was about an adventurous as anybody else got). Also, while I hesitated to include some of these styles because they seemed a little on the short side, I looked at the actual measurements and tried them out on me and discovered that most should come at least to my knee, if not longer (in other words, their model’s a giraffe…and I say that with envy. I always wanted to be at least 5’10”).

Of note, I’m in love with the floral wrap dress (top right). I zoomed in, and the print is much prettier up close. It’s $23 (no tax, free shipping), and I’m oh-so-tempted to get it if I order the lace-back tank from above. Also, do yourself a favor and check out the textured lace on #’s 2 and 7 (top and bottom middle). Soooooo pretty. Oh, and even though it kind of looks this way in the pics, the upper portion of #6 (bottom left) is not sheer. It’s just a lighter shade of blue.

Also of note: I just realized that two of these are a smidge over $30. But I was too lazy to change my graphic.

And finally, we have maternity bottoms (the 5-year-old in me is giggling as I type that).

bottoms collage

{From left to right} 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8

Both the cropped and long pair of destructed denim are from Motherhood, which is having a BOGO 50% off sale on denim right now, in case you want to take advantage of that. Also, that bootcut pair in the top right is only $30, has the under-belly adjustable waist (so, no annoying slidey full panel business), has at least some stretch, and–at least on the model in the pic–has the cutest preggo jeans butt style I’ve seen in a while (I always find it funny when I look at the rear view on a perfect, not-even-pregnant model and think, “PANCAAAAAAAKE!” That did not happen here, so this is another one I’m tempted by). Also, those coral scalloped shorts are featured on a 5’11” model and would probably still be too short on me, but a girl I follow on Instagram who is pregnant wears them all the time, and they are all kinds of adorable on her (she looks pretty petite, though). ALSO, it’s hard to tell, but the dark blue shorts have a subtle polka dot pattern which I love and are only $17. OH! And you do like how I snuck that crazy print pajama pant looking thing in there on the bottom left? I am SO drawn to that style right now for some reason, and my husband just shakes his head and purses his lips. I haven’t actually gone for it yet, but I’m not saying I won’t (hear that, babe?).

AAAAAAAND there you have it.

My picks for fun, comfy-looking, not-too-terribly expensive maternity-wear that might actually be worth splurging on. (And maybe even wearing after you’re done being pregnant, depending on the fit).

Had y’all already heard of Asos? I was so pleasantly surprised by their selection that I ordered this bow-front preggo one-piece (on sale for $30) before I really even realized what I was doing. I’ve looked and looked for the past 5 years or so for a maternity one-piece that I loved that wasn’t too low-cut and was a style/color I liked without being bank-breakingly expensive. But I’d never found one I loved until now (it ties in a bow in the back too).

bow swimsuit

I don’t have a clue what their quality is like, but I will let you know how this works out for me (just don’t expect me to model it for you). The best part? Free return shipping if it doesn’t work out.

Any cute, non-blah maternity sources I missed? Obviously, Old Navy and GAP are great for staples, but if you’re looking for something with a little more zing, just keep moving.

11 Comments

  1. I love the shirts I have from Milan Maternity. The fabric is wonderful, they’re simple but cute, well made, modest, and most (all of the ones I have) are nursing friendly and flattering on a postpartum body too. If you sign up for their e-mails there are coupon codes every couple of months. I’m waiting for the next one to order a handful of new tops.

  2. I’ve ordered from Asos for years! Once you get used to the sizing difference, it’s awesome! And free shipping…both ways! 😉

  3. Great roundup & I’m not even pregnant! ;). I survived each of my pregnancies with some huge plastic bins full of clothes that my sis & I pass back & forth. They’ve also been used by several of my friends and everybody adds some stuff to the mix so it’s kinda fun! I didn’t get to comment on your last post but I did buy maternity jeans for my pregnancies. They were just too comfortable with the soft waistband. I’ve realized I get a certain level of unnecessary low-lying irritation if my clothes don’t fit right or if I have to keep messing with them through the day, so the maternity jeans were a good investment. Got most of mine from Old Navy & I guess I probably rocked the “pancake” booty unknowingly. ;). One thing that was TOTALLY WORTH the investment was a name-brand Bella Band. I bought one with baby 3 and wish I would have done so with baby 1. I even loaned it to my friend who is due any day with baby 5 and she was like “whoaaaaa! This thing is awesome. I tried a knock off brand but it isn’t the same. It just holds your pants up so comfortably. I wore mine almost everyday! Gonna have to check out Asos. Cute stuff ……makes me wish I was preggo (almost). ;))

  4. I LOVE Asos! It’s kind of a big thing here in Europe… I have a ton of their stuff, and love it! Never had any problems with quality, and their customer service is super nice.
    Plus, I always get a ton of wear out of their clothes, and they still look the same.

    I’m so happy now that they finally included a ‘tall’ section (I’m 5’11’), but it’s kind of plain, so I’m waiting for it to get as good as the regular stuff and the maternity section 🙂

  5. Have you heard of ThredUp? It’s consignment so you can get some stuff really cheap. I’ve found some really cute pieces there. MUCH better pricing than anywhere else.

    1. I actually just checked them out and bought a pair of cute shorts for $3 shipped the other day! I should have included them as a resource.

  6. Don’t totally count the full panel pants out–I thought I hated them until pregnancy #4, when I realized they help hold the pants up soo much better, plus the slight pressure (which I previously hated) helped control my crazy pregnancy herniated belly button. I was too cheap and lazy to shop much, so I just bought a gently used lot of cute maternity clothes on eBay. It forced me to try new styles, and pleasantly surprised me!

  7. I found asos near the end of my last pregnancy when I was looking for a dress to wear for a wedding. I loved my dress, the color was true to the online picture and it fit great too! Oh yeah, the shipping was fast even though it was coming from across the Atlantic! I wish I would have found them earlier in my pregnancy; there were so many things I wanted but couldn’t justify because I only had about 5 weeks left of being pregnant. Hope you love your swimsuit, it is super cute!

  8. Never heard of Asos, so thanks for the heads-up. I found some cute and colorful maternity pieces on Zulily in the past for decent prices. But I have to agree that most maternity-wear is very boring and very pricey and poor quality

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