While loungewear is undeniably the most tempting outfit option during pregnancy, finding appropriate maternity workwear is a very real problem faced by many of us who continue to work throughout the nine months. As if growing a whole human being from scratch inside your own body wasn’t enough of a minefield…
The best maternity workwear, at a glance:
Whatever industry you work in, you’ll likely have to adapt your usual go-to uniform once you reach the four or five month mark. Your belly will be growing exponentially, and not only will clothes start to feel a little more snug than you’d like but they may also start to feel uncomfortable in unexpected new ways.
Your skin can become more sensitive to harsher fabrics, high heels may soon become an incredibly uncomfortable concept and – due to the increase in body temperature courtesy of hormonal changes and a faster metabolism – outfits you once felt cute and cosy in could have you feeling flushed and clammy before you’ve even left the house.
And while most workplaces tend to allow some degree of sartorial flexibility for their pregnant employees, many of us feel more productive the more put-together we look – which isn’t always easy when our bodies are changing so much so rapidly.
So how do we pull together a professional-looking, comfortable wardrobe when our bellies are growing by the second?
When I was pregnant last year I lived in shirt dresses in the office; just ask my colleagues who no doubt began to question how I’d ever landed a job in fashion when I simply wore and re-wore the same shirt dress – in a variety of colours – on repeat throughout my second and third trimesters.
I did also love to pair an oversized shirt with maternity trousers or jeans, but found when I was around eight months gone – and feeling quite frankly ginormous – that buttoning the shirt all the way down made me feel entirely shapeless. Luckily I discovered a super simple workaround, and began wearing them atop a more fitted t-shirt or vest and unbuttoned the shirt from the bust downwards – this way the shirt parted above the bump and skimmed down over the sides, with the vest fabric covering my modesty but also showcasing a very obvious bump.
Thankfully there are so many beautiful shirting options out there right now for pregnant women, but also some genuinely brilliant maternity workwear in the shape of knitted dresses, pleat front trousers, wrap cardigans and even contemporary blouses. I’ve wrapped up the very best buys right now, just for you. After something else? Shop the best maternity clothes across all categories.
Why you can trust me
Freelance Fashion Editor, Charlie Teather, became a first time mum last year, and – alongside, you know, prepping for one of humankind’s toughest physical feats and the subsequent life-altering reality of a tiny new human to care for 24/7 – rediscovering how to dress a body that was changing every single day posed a real challenge.
Charlie didn’t want to lose her personal style identity, but wanted to celebrate and not just ‘disguise’ this incredible moment in her life. And if she was finding this balance hard to strike, after working her whole adult lives in the fashion and magazine industry, she figured others must be too. So Charlie made it something of a personal/professional mission to compile the ultimate guides. If for nothing more than for her to refer back to if/when she ever does this pregnancy thing again, because (spoiler alert) baby brain is no joke, people.
How I tested the best maternity workwear
Charlie used her own pregnancy and postpartum journey as the perfect excuse to trial run the best maternity styles out there and compile this edit. She shopped for staples from independent, designer and high street maternity brands during her second and third trimesters (with varying success), and has also asked her well-dressed pregnant pals and new mums for their top tips to find high-quality maternity wear. Not to mention, she’s scoured Instagram for the ultimate inspiration too. For mums-to-be, Glamour‘s edit of the best maternity jeans of 2025 is essential reading…