Work maternity clothes

tigerlove85 · December 2011

I work for an insurance co, where the dress code is business casual. I'm at the point where my clothes are getting tight and the belly band is not comfortable. I bought a few maternity items, but do not want to break the bank. Do you think leggings and sweater dresses are appropiate?

Middlesnpoddles · December 2011

My favorite business casual outfit is this: Find some really comfy black yoga pants that will stretch with you (prefferably the flare kind). I got mine at Ross for 12$. Wear them with dressy flats and a cute top and TA-DA you're a hot business momma! You can make them look like dress pants easily- nobody will never know unless they touch you there..lol

shadypines · December 2011

Yes. Also, I just spent less than $50 on walmart.com and I have about 3-4 nice busineas casual sets/or pieces that I order..... I also prefer leggings!!! Somedays I which I can just wear a moomoo already... lolol

HannahO28 · December 2011

Yeah, I'm all over the sweater dress/leggings/boots combo. Super comfy. I've also worn DH's button up shirts with a belt, which is cuter than you would think.

shouldbworkin · December 2011

I think leggings under dresses are fine. But, if this is your first and you're planning more, invest in a couple pairs of maternity dress pants in classic colors that won't go out of style. I bought some with my 1st PG 7 years ago and am still wearing them now. I think I've gotten my monies worth and they were probably only $30 at Motherhood. Also, check out Goodwill/Salvation Army for maternity clothes for cheap. It's hit or miss, but when you hit, you hit the gold mine! I've picked up 2 pairs of cords and 1 Motherhood dress all in EUC so far. Check out local maternity consignment stores too. Great place to stock up on basics, hard to find or otherwise expensive items. I've always had luck with finding blazers for work there. I don't wear them often, so I don't want to spend full price, but it's good to have in case you need it. I've also been getting by with regular sweaters with a maternity cami underneat and maternity pants. I'm loving open cardigans this year and will be able to wear them next year too when I'm pumping at work.

tbmadeamistake · December 2011

I went to Burlington Coat Factory yesterday and they have great business casual pants/tops at just about $10 a pop. Super comfy and easy on the wallet. Yes, I think leggings and a sweater dress are appropriate!

Mjmksb04 · December 2011

I don't know, for me, leggings and a sweater dress are not professional enough to wear to work. You really are going to probably need to drop a few hundred dollars and get some real work clothes. I found a lot at JCPenney for a reasonable price.

jeffnstef · December 2011

AutLuke:
My favorite business casual outfit is this: Find some really comfy black yoga pants that will stretch with you (prefferably the flare kind). I got mine at Ross for 12$. Wear them with dressy flats and a cute top and TA-DA you're a hot business momma! You can make them look like dress pants easily- nobody will never know unless they touch you there..lol

that is a fabulous idea! Thanks for posting this!

TrendyTina · December 2011

Mjmksb04:
I don't know, for me, leggings and a sweater dress are not professional enough to wear to work. You really are going to probably need to drop a few hundred dollars and get some real work clothes. I found a lot at JCPenney for a reasonable price.

Yes Spend the money. It's worth it to look professional.

vanillacourage · December 2011

Yoga pants are not work-appropriate. Sorry, even if you think nobody can tell, they can.

As for sweater dresses, if they are true dresses (i.e. come down to around the tips of your fingers when your arms are at your sides) then I think it's fine. If they're more tunic-style, where usually they just have to cover your butt to be ok, I don't think they're appropriate.

OP, watch the sales. I've gotten some great stuff from Gap this year when they were having 40% off sales - once a month or so ago for their Friends & Family sale and again last week. I'm wearing their black dress pants right now, very nice-looking and comfy and they were ~$35 after discount. I think it's better to invest in nice basics and utilize what you can from your pre-pregnancy wardrobe (i.e. normal cardigan on top of maternity sweater shell) than make stuff stretch longer than it should or get cheapie stuff at Old Navy (where, to be fair, I do occasionally find a nice item).

LadySnowblood · December 2011

I could probably get away with that, but I still wear pantyhose instead. I have never owned a pair of leggings and don't plan to ever. As of last week, I am now in maternity clothes all the time. Nearly all of my maternity clothes are from Old Navy. I bought 3 pairs of dress pants, black, grey, and khaki for around $20 each (like PP said, I think it's important to invest in some good work pants) and also bought a ton of dresses (a couple of them are sweater dresses) for cheap when they were having a sale. I like wearing dresses but when it turns cold outside, I wear them with pantyhose and a nice pair of boots. I bought a bunch of new maternity pantyhose off ebay for cheap and some from Motherhood Maternity. I also bought some regular pantyhose but in a size or two up from my normal size. Like PP said, Burlington Coat Factory has some REALLY good deals.

nychic1114 · December 2011

vanillacourage:
Yoga pants are not work-appropriate. Sorry, even if you think nobody can tell, they can.

As for sweater dresses, if they are true dresses (i.e. come down to around the tips of your fingers when your arms are at your sides) then I think it's fine. If they're more tunic-style, where usually they just have to cover your butt to be ok, I don't think they're appropriate.

OP, watch the sales. I've gotten some great stuff from Gap this year when they were having 40% off sales - once a month or so ago for their Friends & Family sale and again last week. I'm wearing their black dress pants right now, very nice-looking and comfy and they were ~$35 after discount. I think it's better to invest in nice basics and utilize what you can from your pre-pregnancy wardrobe (i.e. normal cardigan on top of maternity sweater shell) than make stuff stretch longer than it should or get cheapie stuff at Old Navy (where, to be fair, I do occasionally find a nice item).

I agree....I can totally tell if someone is wearing yoga pants regardless of what shoes/top you wear....though I have to say some maternity pants actually look like yoga pants (I tried a few that I had to return because of that). I recommend getting slacks from Loft I got myself 2 pairs and I wear those to work (business casual code here though for meetings its full on suit). Loft constantly has promotions you can score any item at good 40% off almost all of the time. So I ended up with pants at around $40 each. I think its fairly reasonable.....

honeybunches101 · December 2011

I could not get away with leggings and sweaters at work. I got a few Motherhood Maternity things at Macy's and the tops are fine, but the pants don't seem very high quality and I'm not a fan. I've had great luck with Gap clothes, their pants look like normal work pants, just with elastic on top. They frequently have 40% off sales and free shipping, so I stock up then. I HATE shopping and rarely buy clothes, but I didn't want to look like a slob at work when I already feel big and unattractive.

Moneypenny424 · December 2011

TrendyTina:
Mjmksb04:
I don't know, for me, leggings and a sweater dress are not professional enough to wear to work. You really are going to probably need to drop a few hundred dollars and get some real work clothes. I found a lot at JCPenney for a reasonable price.

Spend the money. It's worth it to look professional.

I agree with this--I don't think these things are professional looking enough. Maybe if your office is farther to the "casual" side of business casual, or if you did this occasionally (not every day), it could be okay. Or if it wasn't going to be for several months. I'm a lawyer at an insurance company and think that stuff would be too casual to wear. I'm just investing in a few tops and a few pairs of pants (Gap pants fit me best because I'm tall) and a skirt here and there. PPs idea of cardigans, etc. is very good.

Moneypenny424 · December 2011

vanillacourage:
Yoga pants are not work-appropriate. Sorry, even if you think nobody can tell, they can.

As for sweater dresses, if they are true dresses (i.e. come down to around the tips of your fingers when your arms are at your sides) then I think it's fine. If they're more tunic-style, where usually they just have to cover your butt to be ok, I don't think they're appropriate.

OP, watch the sales. I've gotten some great stuff from Gap this year when they were having 40% off sales - once a month or so ago for their Friends & Family sale and again last week. I'm wearing their black dress pants right now, very nice-looking and comfy and they were ~$35 after discount. I think it's better to invest in nice basics and utilize what you can from your pre-pregnancy wardrobe (i.e. normal cardigan on top of maternity sweater shell) than make stuff stretch longer than it should or get cheapie stuff at Old Navy (where, to be fair, I do occasionally find a nice item).

Me too . Paired with a blazer so I could go to a meeting (will not buy a maternity suit).

aocain02@yahoo.com · December 2011

Leggings should never be worn in an office environment. Total not work appropriate and on my employers list of inappropriate clothing.

skibunny59 · December 2011

Absolutely! I love the look of a long sweater or sweater dress over leggings with cute boots. This has been what I've been wearing to work.

skibunny59 · December 2011

ALG29:
Leggings should never be worn in an office environment. Total not work appropriate and on my employers list of inappropriate clothing.

I think it depends on the OP's work environment and it also depends on what she wears over the leggings. A sweater dress over leggings looks very nice in my opinion. A sweater that just barely covers your butt and leggings doesn't look nice enough for work.

BOTB2011 · December 2011

I don't think leggings are work appropriate.

Target, Kohls and Old Navy have reasonably priced pants. I have bought 3 pairs of "work" pants so far and think I've spent somewhere around $40-50.

JuneBugBaby2012 · December 2011

Maybe try one of those upscale consignment stores? I checked one out the other day that carries the nicer brands and they had black dress pants, sweaters, and button down shirts for reasonable prices ($5-$10).

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Work maternity clothes

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