From Choo to Goo: Maternity Wardrobe Essentials: Part Two

Maternity Wardrobe Essentials: Part Two

Vests

As your bump gets bigger its worth in'vest'ing (sorry!!) in some maternity vests as you will get loads of wear out of these, and I have always worn mine post baby too as they are handy while you till have your mum tum and also great for breastfeeding. Whatever season you are pregnant in, these are essential, and you can wear them in a number of ways, either layering up under jumpers to keep you warm in the winter, under a shirt in the spring and on their own in the summer. There are loads out there and they really aren't expensive, but my favourite ones are from Gap (plain) and Topshop (ribbed). They come in a range of colours, are really soft, wash well and are pretty cheap - so what's not to like. I would invest in three or four different colours which fit with your wardrobe colour palette. In my case I went for black, white, grey and navy.

Gap Pure Body Tank £9.95

These are proper maternity ones, with the ruching (?spelling but hopefully you know what I mean) at the sides, so they grow to fit around your bump. However, I am still currently wearing these post baby and you would never know the difference. Gap are also doing free delivery with any maternity purchase, so grab them while the offer is still on. They also sometimes come up with a three for two deal so it's worth getting them when they are on offer if you've missed the free postage deal.

Topshop Maternity Ribbed Vest £6

These are great really soft and stretchy and there is also a two for £10 offer on these. They come in a range of colours so you have plenty to chose from. These don't look like maternity wear, as they don't have the ruching at the sides, so perfect for wearing post baby.

Breton

Now on to my favourite subject, the stripe or the breton. I have lost count of the number of these I have in my wardrobe, but I wear them all the time so I can justify it. Pregnancy is no different, you might think avoid stripes they will make me look wider but you couldn't be more wrong, in fact a tight fitting breton over your bump I think actually has the opposite effect.

So the holy grail of the maternity breton is the Isabella Oliver one, great quality and an amazing fit. If you are someone who lives in breton then it's probably worth the investment. You can always sell it on ebay afterwards, to recycle and make some money back to buy some post baby clothes.

Isabella Oliver Striped Maternity Top £59

If you are looking for a more budget friendly option, I would suggest Topshop or H&M. Topshop currently have this beauty for a third of the price of the Isabella Oliver one. It's more of a slouchy fit, and a slightly different stripe (so you could always get both!).

Topshop Maternity Stripe Top £20

H&M have quite a few online at the moment and I am really loving the basic breton short sleeve t-shirt for less than a tenner. The long sleeve version is slightly more expensive, but I'm not so keen on the wide stripes personally (although they do have different colours in the stripe and also a leopard print).