Maternity clothes for work?

P

Peachy

Cathlete
At week 14, I have just about outgrown all my work clothes. A few suits I can still get by with, since they have long jackets that cover the zipper that's not quite zipped and the hair elastic that's looped around the button. ;) This weekend I moved a lot of my favorite Ann Taylor suits to the hall closet so they won't make me sad to look at them.

I've searched for work clothes at Mimi Maternity, Motherhood Maternity, and Gap Maternity so far. They're full of cute jeans, capris, sundresses, and tops with spaghetti straps... all adorable for casual summer wear. I even found a couple of dresses that might be suitable for casual Friday when I'm a little farther along. But there really isn't much that's appropriate office wear. I've found a few non-maternity items at TJ Maxx amd Marshall's, and have bought two sizes larger than my usual size.

Has anyone else had this problem?
 
I've noticed that too but my office is very casual so I don't really have to "dress up". I bought a lot of solid t-shirts for work. I also bought 2 pairs of capris, a pair of khacki dress pants and a cute skirt from Motherhood and I just mix and match. I know that doesn't make for a lot of outfits but I just gotta make due with that. I know what you mean about the spaghetti strap shirts - they are really cute but not acceptable for work. I did see a few skirt/shirt outfits and dresses at Motherhood that would be ok for work. Matter of fact I"m going there this weekend to look for a dress for a wedding we are going to in 2 weeks.

Good luck!
 
I have an awful time with maternity clothes! I am at 31 weeks and basically have found that for pants 2 sizes up, stretch-low rise work best for me! I probably will be able to wear these pants/capris for another month and then I willl wear those awful hand-me-down maternity pants/shorts that do not fit. As for shirts, I went to Lane Bryant and found some cute tops that are larger and but not too maternity looking. I swear the maternity stuff makes a gal look bigger thatn she needs to look! I have alot of people tell me how good I look and I think its because I wear regular clothes that are non-maternity. Once I put those maternity clothes on I look huge and very pg!
 
I tried to go the 'normal clothes just sized bigger' route, but found that they made me look huge - the shoulder lines and sleeve lengths were waaaaay too much for me, and don't even go into the hemlines! :) My office just changed from business to business casual, but are pretty strict about what that means: no sleeveless tops, nothing other than full length pants, no denim (any color), no sportswear, no sandals or open toe shoes, pantyhose are required, etc. I've done pretty well with separates, though it is hard to find decent full length pants...the capris and ankle pants are just everywhere (and, dang, are they cute, too!) Old Navy has some things in their careerwear category: drapey pants, linen pants, etc. plus some nice jackets. I've gotten some nice pieces at department store maternity depts, also (I have Boscovs and BonTon, Nordstroms). I'm NOT a big fan of Sears or JC Penney for work clothes, but have even managed to find some individual pieces in their maternity dept(had to sort through a lot of things I wouldn't be able to wear anywhere, but patience paid off!) I got a few expensive pieces (jackets, slacks and two business dresses) and mix them with some less expensive things.

Good luck! Here are some of the links I found in my own searching:
(Note: I didn't order from them all, but they seemed to have some nice things. Due to budget, I did a lot of sale items...)
www.bellablumaternity
nordstroms.com (they have online shopping)
www.blossommaternity.com (they have suits)
www.lizlange.com
www.apeainthepod.com

Keep an eye on consignment stores and ebay, too. It takes some time and effort, but can pay off in low prices.

HTH - it can be really discouraging when you really NEED some clothes and there just isn't anything easily accessible. (I have cried in more than one dressing room! :) )
 
Thank you all sooooo much! That is a huge help. I was really starting to feel like I was out of luck

I may now be able to justify a 2 hour road trip to the nearest Nordstrom's in Rhode Island. :)
 
I tried going the "two sizes bigger" route thinking I could use that stuff after baby too but I grew out of that a week after I spent tons of money on it!

I dress really casually at work so I do not need anything other than what I find at Old Navy or Motherhood. So sorry that you are in that predicament! I was thinking that the higher end places might have more true work attire-and it sounds like that is your thought as well:)
 
i find the easiest thing for me to wear to work is a dress. I have a few black ones that I rotate with new scarves, shoes, etc. I saw a cute one at Landsend with short sleeves and a collar. I also saw are darling wrap dress at JC Penney, but it was out of stock. I also just ordered a Liz Lange jacket/skirt combo from target in tan for cheap. As a PP said, consider wearing your jackets open with maternity skirts, shirts, etc. Finally, get some of the cute sundresses and wear a sweater or jacket over them. Kristan, due 11-1-05 with #3,
 
Sears has improved their maternity section. Additionally, check out target's maternity wear. When I was pregnant most of my clothes came from sears, old navy and ebay.
 
Thanks so much, y'all! I really appreciate all the advice. I ordered a suit on sale from Liz Lange, some black pants from Old Navy, and picked up a few skirts on sale at Target when I was there this morning.
 
My husband brought me a maternity catalogue from jc penneys and it had a lot of clothes that looked like they might be good for an office setting.

Maggie
 
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