Sustainable maternity wardrobes

How to: Dressing a bump

How to build an eco-friendly maternity wardrobe.

〰️Normally an article like this would list a bunch of sustainable maternity brands, but for me I bought only two pieces of maternity wear during my pregnancy. When shopping for my new shape I kept thinking about wearing these items not just during pregnancy but also afterwards. Below is how I approached maternity dressing to stay as eco-friendly as possible in a situation in which it’s ultimately impossible not to purchase.

Pre-loved & LOANED clothes

I was lucky enough to have some friends who gifted or loaned me maternity items that they weren’t currently using. I also had two black tie balls and cocktail event to attend in my third trimester. I was incredibly tempted to buy something for these events as at this stage in my pregnancy I was willing to spend money on anything that wouldn’t make me look like I was hiding a basketball under my dress! Even then I couldn’t find anything that wasn’t terribly expensive and made from synthetic polyester! Instead I borrowed items from friends used accessories to jazz up a dress I already had. You can also rent a dress from Your Closet and The Volte that have a bump specific category or you can filter through Glam Corner.

‘Normal’ clothes

I did purchase new clothes (you’re not going to fit into your normal items for very long!) but strategically picked items that I could continue to wear as my belly grew and that I could wear after Augie arrived.

The styles I wore were mostly wrap skirts with plenty of fabric, these would be my biggest recommendation, season permitting as they last a long time given it’s not a set fit. I also wore skirts with an elastic waist band that could later be moved up above my bust, you can see an example of this in the images of the green skirt below which I now wear post baby.

I also purchased large-sized T-shirts (normally a size S, I would buy an L) which just simply looked like an oversized style. Many of these I still wear post-baby and just tuck into my jeans at the front to give some shape.

I also wore a lot of dresses that I could I tie around above my belly to give some shape but later tie around my waist post baby. Loose fitting overalls were also my go to, loose fitting early in pregnancy & post bub but fitted at the height of pregnancy.

Anything I did purchase, I mostly tried to buy in neutrals so that I could mix and match easily or add different accessories to change to vibe. It’s inevitable that you will be wearing the same items every week so accessories can make all the difference so you don’t feel like its fashion groundhog day.

Maternity clothes

In my experience, there aren’t many good quality and affordable fashion-forward pregnancy brands out there. Most likely because dressing a bump can be challenging but also as you wear it for such a short period of time, most people aren’t willing to spend much on them.

I only bought two ‘official’ pieces of maternity clothing, a pair of corduroy overalls and a pair of jeans. Both items were consciously purchased and became very well worn. I was the most heavily pregnant during winter so these two items were my go-to’s when stockings and skirts didn’t cut it anymore. Maternity clothes are designed with special buttons and hooks to ensure you can change the size as your belly expands. Non-maternity pants are just not really an option without this added flexibility of expansion but of course, squeeze into your existing ones for as long as you can! You can also purchase expanders for your jeans.