Ah maternity clothes…I have found over my four pregnancies that dressing an ever changing body is a real challenge. And maternity clothes are, bizarrely, becoming increasingly more difficult to find in the high street stores with most maternity ranges banished to the web. I always find it baffling really because of all the times in your life you need to try on clothes it’s when you are pregnant! Over the course of my pregnancies I’ve tried to mix it up in terms of what I wear from ‘maternity ranges’ and shopping around to find clothes that fit during and after pregnancy. This is the real dream, something that is flattering in both phases of existence, and while it can be tricky it is not impossible.

There are some obvious pieces of clothes, like jeans, that you simply have to buy in a maternity range but dresses, jumpers and tops have always been the items that I tend to pick wisely so that I get the wear out of them. I’m trying to move away from the idea of fast fashion and buying something that will have a touch of longevity to it is what I am after. Dresses, dresses, dresses, I can’t get enough of dresses, there’s just no better comfort, I hate having waistbands around my middle when I’m either pregnant or post pregnancy, dresses are great in that they are comfortable but they are (when chosen wisely!) flattering during those months when you need that flattery the most!Dresses that nip in just below the bust I find the most flattering, they need to be long enough too to take into account the shorter length that the dress will come in at when the bump is around! I absolutely adore this check dress, it comes in two different colours, blue and red, and it comes in different lengths, which for me at 5ft11 is just a total winner. Plus this has pockets and check never goes out of fashion, perfect! This shirt dress is absolutely beautiful on too, the bow is a real winner as it draws attention away from my most vulnerable part – my middle! Actually this is not usually a colour I would go for but I think it’s so beautiful on and the material is textured ever so slightly making it just a little more fancy than your regular shirt dress – beautiful. Layers are great for other pre and post pregnancy, and also for taking you from summer to autumn. Personally I love long, chunky knits, I like to sort of hide in behind them and snuggle up in them. This navy cardigan is gorgeous on, it’s cosy, I love the red stripes too which add a pop of colour.Jeggings and jumpers are my go to outfits when I don’t have time to think of anything more fancy, I love a big oversized knit with a pair of jeggings and anyone who has followed my blog back before I was pregnant with Alice will know that I am borderline obsessed with the jeggings from Marks and Spencer – to this day I still have people asking me for the link so here it is! These are so comfortable, they have a high elasticated waist which is perfect for after having a baby and beyond, they are light enough for summer but heavy enough for Autumn, they come in a huge range of colours, three different leg lengths and best of all, €20!There is a skill to shopping smart when you are pregnant and want to invest in pieces that will last you long after the baby is born, but it’s worth considering this approach otherwise it seems such a waste investing in piles of maternity clothes that last such a short amount of time. 

This blog post is sponsored by Marks and Spencer via shoppinglinks.com