Have you ever tried something on and wondered who in the world designed such an ill-fitting, poorly executed excuse for a clothing item? Or perhaps you look in the mirror and wonder who said item could possibly fit? It happens to me almost every time I try to buy pants, but never have I had the occasion to think, “Who’s the genius who came up with this?” more frequently than when I was searching for maternity clothes.

I had not really thought much about maternity clothes before I got pregnant (because why would I?), but I have obviously seen a lot of pregnant women wearing clothing, and I thought I could figure out what I needed through a little trial and error. And while I’m definitely not a capsule wardrobe kind of girl, I thought I could use that idea to build a maternity wardrobe that was functional and cute instead of excessive.

Now I find that all hilarious. You probably do, too, if you’ve ever been pregnant. Because if you have, you know that most maternity clothes are THE WORST.

However, since I just went through this process, I do have some tips to share to keep you from falling into the same traps I did. And some advice on things you will almost certainly need in your own maternity wardrobe.

Shopping

Since I live in Okinawa, I knew I would have to do most of my maternity shopping online. But I was surprised to find out that basically everybody in the US has to do most of their maternity shopping online, because 99% of the “normal” stores that carry maternity don’t actually stock it in the store. And, of course, the two maternity stores that actually have real brick-and-mortar locations don’t ship to overseas military addresses (they say they do, but it doesn’t work, and customer service is no help).

I have no problem with online shopping, of course… unless you consider buying too much stuff a problem. But it’s hard to know what size you are when your body is constantly changing. Plus, some things allegedly made for pregnant ladies have no stretch at all, are made tight through the belly, or don’t leave room for gigantic pregnancy boobs, and it’s hard to see those things in a photo. As an example: one maternity bathing suit I ordered was way too big in the bust (it must have been made for Dolly Parten) and too tight around my belly—and I was only in the second trimester!

The best way I found to deal with this was to: 1. Order only from places with good return policies and 2. Stick to the same few stores, once I figured out what size I wore there.

Capsule wardrobe challenges

As I mentioned, I fully intended to keep my maternity wardrobe small and well-edited, sticking with a color palette and buying mostly basics. Then I started shopping.

Because of the time of year and the limited availability of maternity clothes in general, I quickly realized I was going to have to wear a LOT more black than I normally wear. There wasn’t a very good selection of colors or prints, but I started off well, ordering things that went together and were all part of my planned color palette. Of course, it all went to hell when I tried everything on. Somehow, only the black items fit me, and they didn’t go with most of the stuff I already owned. The capsule concept went out the window, and I just started ordering things I liked and hoping for the best.

Now that I have months of experience shopping for maternity, I can tell you that a capsule maternity wardrobe concept IS possible, especially if you are OK with wearing mostly basics—jeans, black leggings, solid T-shirts, black dresses, etc. But if you love color and prints like I do, it is a challenge.

Non-maternity as maternity

At this point, you’re probably wondering why I didn’t just wear my regular clothes, or buy larger sizes of regular clothes to wear while pregnant. And I actually did do that with some of my tops and dresses. But, unless your bump stays very small, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to build an entire maternity wardrobe with non-maternity clothing.

Before you put your favorite body-con dress or fitted top on heavy maternity rotation, consider whether you’re going to want to wear it again after pregnancy. Most garments will not be able to bounce back after being stretched to the limit over and over again. And be careful when ordering a size or two larger than your normal size in non-maternity clothes: While everyone is different, if your stomach and bust are the only areas significantly larger than normal, those clothes may be way too big everywhere else.

Non-maternity clothing that worked for me while pregnant: Maxi dress with sleeves (same style in different print), navy and hot pink floral maxi dress, Lilly Pulitzer tunic

Jeans and leggings

As I mentioned before, finding jeans that fit is a giant pain even when I’m NOT pregnant, so I knew that maternity jeans were going to be difficult. Normally, I stick to Pilcro brand jeans from Anthropologie, with a few pairs of Lucky Brand jeans and the occasional pair from Gap.

At first, I tried wearing normal jeans a size larger than normal, and using Bellabands to wear my favorites. But eventually it became clear that I was going to need some made-for-pregnant-lady jeans in my maternity wardrobe. Of course, Anthropologie and Lucky don’t make maternity, but (thank goodness) Gap does.

There are three types of maternity jeans: the kind with elastic panels built into the waist area, the kind with a small elastic band all the way around the waist band, and the kind with a stretchy panel that goes all the way over your bump. I had no clue which I should get, so I ordered all three styles.

It turned out that my favorite style was the kind with elastic panels built in the waist area. Why? Because I never found a single pair of maternity jeans that wouldn’t start falling down after wearing them for 20-30 minutes, and that kind is the easiest to pull back up. The kind with the full panel did not work for me at ALL, because they are hard to get on and even harder to hitch back up when they start sliding down (and taking your underwear with them).

So, even though I am a firm believer that Leggings Are Not Pants, I ended up wearing a lot of leggings. Luckily, there are some maternity leggings out there that are made of a thicker ponte fabric instead of just thin cotton and spandex. But interestingly, for leggings, I preferred the type with the panel that goes all the way over the baby bump.

My favorite maternity jeans and leggings: Gap inset panel true skinny jeans, black ponte pants, navy ponte leggings

Maternity undies

They’re a scam.

OK, so I never tried the grandma-looking ones that come up to your boobs. But the under-the-bump ones don’t stay up any better than regular undies. Maternity/nursing bras without underwire are great, though. I just wish the bra manufacturers and the clothing manufacturers would talk to one another so my bra isn’t showing all the time.

Nursing clothes

This was something I didn’t really think about until after the fact, but if you’re planning to nurse and/or pump, you’re probably going to want some clothing that allows you to do that without getting naked.

I recommend that when you’re buying maternity clothes, you choose the item that can also be used for nursing, if it’s an option. A lot of nursing stuff is weird, but the camisoles, bras, and nightgowns work whether you’re nursing or not, and that way you don’t have to buy a whole new nursing wardrobe after you give birth.

And on that subject: I thought I would be wearing my maternity clothing for months after giving birth, so I packed up a lot of my normal clothes and bought more maternity stuff than I really needed. Then, three weeks after having the baby, all of my maternity jeans were too big, and I was able to squeeze into the only pair of normal (stretchy!) jeans I could find.  I wanted to wear some of my maternity dresses, but most of them wouldn’t work for nursing. You may have a completely different experience, but just know that you may not be using that maternity wardrobe for as long as you thought you would—and you can always get more maternity stuff later, if you need it.

My favorite nursing tops and dresses: Pink floral dress, mint floral wrap dress, double layer T-shirts (these are the most normal-looking and non-clingy I’ve found), layered striped T-shirt dress, polka dot lift-up dress, smocked nursing dress, lace-trim nursing cami

Shoes

I really, really hope that your feet, ankles, and legs do not swell as much as mine did. Luckily for you, the extent of my swelling was pretty abnormal. But it is still pretty likely that you’ll have some foot and ankle swelling, and it could be worse right after the birth if you are put on an IV. Also, did you know your feet can actually grow during pregnancy and never go back to normal??? I certainly didn’t.

So, my advice is: Don’t buy any new Louboutins if you’re trying to get pregnant or just found out you’re pregnant. And do yourself a favor and get a pair of Birkenstocks (or something similar), so you can move the buckle and make them progressively wider as your feet swell. And wear compression socks if you fly!

Other favorites

I hope this post has been helpful for any of you who are pregnant or planning to get pregnant in the near future. If you have any questions about maternity clothes, please let me know in the comments, so I can help! I’ll leave you with some more of my favorite maternity items. Please note that the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I will earn a few cents if you click through and/or buy something (though you will not pay any more than you would otherwise).

Maternity tops and dresses: Green floral maxi (available in other colors and in plus sizes, also works for nursing), Teal lace maxi (seen here, comes in other colors, but keep in mind you can’t wear a bra with it), animal print tunic, cream eyelet dress (this has no stretch), black dress with gold dots, star sweatshirt, lace peplum top

Maternity swimwear: Tie-back swimsuit (I got it in hot pink and in black, it also comes in prints), gingham tankini (also available in other colors/prints), polka-dot bikini, pink animal-print maternity rash guard, lap-swimming suit

Sleepwear: Black rose robe (available in plus size), gray floral robe (available in plus size), other pretty robes, maternity/nursing nightgown (available in several colors/prints, I have three!)