Two Women on Dressing for Work During Pregnancy

January 18, 2018 | Filed in: Your Closet

For many women, pregnancy is part of working life—but figuring out what to wear during this phase can be challenging. No one wants to sacrifice personal style or spend a ton of money on maternity-wear that will only fit for a few months. And many of our customers find that when they return to work after maternity leave, they want a bit of extra stretch.

Here at MM, we love a challenge. So this month, we launched The Next Generation, a suite of maternity-friendly work clothes that are comfortable, flattering, and stretchy enough to be worn during and after pregnancy. (You heard that right: They look great on both pregnant and not-pregnant women!)

Here, Bridget and Renee—MM customers who also happen to be six-months pregnant—share their thoughts on maternity style. 

Bridget: I’m a trusts and estates attorney at a small law firm.  My typical workday requires conferences with my colleagues, meetings with clients, court appearances, and a lot of reading and writing at my desk.

Renee: I work in real estate development. Sometimes I’m at the office, sometimes I’m in meetings, sometimes I’m presenting to community groups, and sometimes I’m on-site, in a hard hat. I have to be able to work in a number of different settings, so the dress code varies. I always keep a blazer on a hook in my office, just in case.

Bridget: As a woman in a traditionally male-dominated profession, I prefer structured, neutral power pieces that make me feel like the focus is on my mind and not my body. In my experience, most maternity-wear is the complete opposite—brightly patterned jersey that somehow hangs loose and clings too tightly at the same time. At the start of a meeting, I didn’t want my clients’ (or my colleagues’) first thought to be: “Oh right, Bridget is pregnant.”

Bridget wears the Suzanne dress and the Vanessa pump in black.

Renee: Dressing for pregnancy has not been easy. There were things I hadn’t really taken into account in terms of comfort, because you just don’t know how you’re going to feel: Some people feel fine, some people feel horrible, and I’m somewhere in the middle. I definitely have not adopted a super body-conscious pregnancy look. I think some of that is because it’s winter, but I also don’t want to feel like my ‘look’ has changed too much.

Bridget: I started to outgrow my go-to tailored black dresses pretty quickly. I ended up recycling the same couple of pieces every few days. I also dialed down the level of formality to stay comfortable—more camouflaging cardigans and fewer tailored blazers. I was happy to realize that I haven’t purchased many new pieces during pregnancy. I’ve relied almost entirely on my less-structured MM pieces.

Bridget (left) wears the Georgia dress in stripe. Renee (right) wears the Townsend top in stripe and the Foster pant in black.

Renee: I never wore fitted dresses to the office before I was pregnant, so I don’t feel like starting now. I initially bought a pair of black maternity jeans, and I wear those a lot. I wouldn’t normally be wearing black jeans to work all the time, but I couldn’t find any good maternity work pants. So when I discovered the Foster pant, I was pleasantly surprised. They fit well, and I also felt like they were a good investment because I’ll be able to wear them after pregnancy. It’s so nice to have a cute, fitted work pant that doesn’t have that maternity elastic paneling.

Bridget: Two of my standbys during pregnancy have been the Aditi and Emily dresses, because they have both structure and great stretch. The Tina dress elegantly drapes my bump but gives me complete freedom of movement, and I top practically everything with the Ono cardigan or the Graham kimono, instead of wearing a jacket. I’m so delighted that you’re coming out with more options for working moms-to-be.

Renee: My struggle has been buying something and thinking, I’m only going to be able to wear this when I’m pregnant. At this point in my life, I’m trying to make better investments in clothing. That’s hard to do when you may only wear something for three months, so it’s great that these MM pieces can be worn even after pregnancy.

In need of some maternity-friendly pieces (or just hunting for something super comfy)? Check out The Next Generation here.