I held off on wearing maternity clothes for as long as possible this pregnancy. With nowhere to go and no one to see these days, it wasn’t hard! I mostly live in leggings and joggers on the bottom and long tees and sweaters on top. In the last month, I have really started to grow, however, so have had to cave and finally wear real maternity clothes.

Today I’m sharing my favorite pieces, brands, and ways to shop for my favorite maternity clothing. Be warned, it’s mostly comfy loungewear!

Above: Storq Maternity Shirt & Overalls

Sustainable Maternity Clothing Options

Hand-me-Downs/Borrowing: In this pregnancy, I’ve purchased a total of three pieces of maternity clothing: 1. A second Hatch tee in solid grey (my favorite ever), 2. the Blanqi belly support tank to help with my round ligament pain, and 3. this pink sweatshirt because it made me happy. Everything else was either borrowed from my sister (who had her baby just as I really started getting big), saved from my last pregnancy, or a hand-me-down from friends who are done having babies.

Rentals: I haven’t personally done this but I saw that Motherhood Maternity has a new rental program and my sister loved using Rent the Runway for maternity clothes. Post-COVID, I would have totally done this too. I’ve also received a lot of recommendations for nuuly which looks really cool.

Second-Hand: ThredUp has an awesome selection of gently worn maternity clothing and Poshmark has some serious steals if you’re willing to do some digging.

Sustainable Brands: I’m a fan of Storq after a friend gave me their overalls and shirt (pictured above). Boob Designs is another great one. Their nursing tanks were my favorite and I have them saved for nursing baby boy. All of their clothing is meant for both maternity and nursing so it gets double use too. If you’re interested, you can read about their sustainability initiatives. (They just saw this post and send me a code for you guys! Use JULIA20 for 20% off full-priced items until 2/9). I haven’t personally tried Isabella Oliver, but I’ve only heard great things about their clothing and their purpose.

The best of the best

Best Maternity Leggings: Every prego has one pair of leggings that they swear by. They’re not a maternity brand, but my number one draft pick is the lululemon align leggings. I wear them IRL as well as pregnant and they stretch out perfectly for your belly. They also suck in and support your legs/butt without feeling too tight. I wear a pair of aligns roughly 5 out of 7 days of the week these days.

I also really like the Motherhood Maternity leggings (on sale for $10?!?!). They’re very thin and not as tight but they’re really soft and comfy and good for under long sweaters or dresses. I don’t feel sick of wearing them by the end of the day which is a plus.

Best Maternity Tees: This simple tee from Old Navy (also comes in short sleeves) is great for under cardigans or on its own. I bought a bunch of them when I was pregnant with Amalia and wore them a ton in both pregnancies.

If you splurge on one thing for maternitywear, I recommend this loose-fitting Hatch tee. I wear it constantly while pregnant and it looks great tucked into jeans or shorts postpartum too. It has a longevity that most maternity clothing doesn’t. It’s one of my all-time favorite tees year-round!

Best Maternity Jeans: I can count on two fingers the number of times I’ve worn jeans this time around but when there was no pandemic last time, I lived for AG maternity jeans and Old Navy maternity jeans. Nothing else ever fit quite right. I like a full panel so that they actually stay up. Side panels are useless, IMO.

Best Maternity Bras: I swear by my True & Co bra (that I had to buy in a new size for my giant watermelons. It’s like a mix between a sports bra and a regular bra and is the only thing that feels comfortable to me at this stage. What else do I need to try?

My favorite maternity clothing brands

1. Storq: Sustainable, super soft. I love this maxi dress and obviously the overalls.
2. Hatch: Expensive but very well made. Worth one or two splurges. I love my favorite tee and my sister gave me these cute overalls (on sale!). Their sweaters are all gorgeous too
3. Gap Maternity: They make the best basics. Everything I’ve had has lasted and held up over time too.
4. Lake Maternity: Lake Pajamas are my all-time favorite and I love their maternity line. I have two nursing nightgowns from Amalia and have been wearing them to bed lately. The pant set is another winner. It’s longer to cover the belly during pregnancy, and then has snap buttons for nursing post-partum.
5. Motherhood Maternity: Simple and affordable clothing.
6. Pink Blush: I wore one of their dresses for Amalia’s baby shower and got this hand-me-down jumpsuit that is my comfiest piece of clothing currently.
7. H&M Maternity: These joggers are my dream pants rn. I won’t be pregnant in the summer but please someone buy this amazing ruffle seersucker maternity swimsuit then send me a pic!
8. Not a brand but Shopbop curates the best selection of maternity clothing.
9. boob design: Sustainable and comfortable! Use code JULIA20 for 20% off.

Your favorite maternity clothing brands

I polled the moms in my Lemon Stripes Mamas Facebook Group and these were their favorite brands for maternity clothing.

1. Gap Maternity
2. Old Navy Maternity
3. Target: Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I don’t really like anything I’ve ever tried from the Target maternity lines.
4. Hatch
5. H&M Maternity
6. Not a brand but many shout-outs for the lululemon align leggings (which I second!)
7. Seraphine
8. Ingrid & Isabel
9. ASOS Maternity
10. Madewell maternity jeans

Ok, what did I miss? What are/were your favorite maternity lines?