• Home
  • ABOUT
    • About the Authors
    • Top Posts for Working Moms
    • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE
    • Product Reviews
  • Shop
    • Maternity Basics for Work
      • Maternity Stores
    • Registry
    • Sales
    • Recent Recs
      • Everyone
      • Machine-Washable Work Clothes
      • Maternity
      • Nursing
      • Pump-friendly
    • Kids’ Shopping
  • Lifestyle
    • Pregnant
    • Postpartum
    • Money
    • Parenting
    • Gear
    • Household
  • Career
    • Childcare
    • Family Planning
    • Work-Life Balance
    • Maternity Leave
    • Working Mom
  • New Working Mom? Start Here
  • Corporette

CorporetteMoms

6 Comments · by CorporetteMoms Staff

Plus Size Maternity Clothes for Work

Maternity Fashion· Pregnant· Pregnant Professional Style | maternity workwear· plus-size· plus-size maternity· posts

plus size maternity clothes for work

2020 Update: We’ve updated links below to reflect some new options for plus size maternity clothes for work. You may also want to sign up for CorporettePlus, our newsletter featuring plus size work fashion. 

It can be tough to find professional and stylish plus-size maternity clothes for work , so we’ve rounded up a bunch of tips that CorporetteMoms readers shared about plus-size maternity workwear.  Ladies who are (or have been) plus size during a pregnancy, where did you shop for work-appropriate maternity plus sizes?  Which were your favorite work outfits?

Hunting for where to buy the best plus-size maternity clothes for work?
Some of our favorite retailers include Pink Blush / Motherhood Maternity / Universal Standard / Gap / M.M.LaFleur

Brand Recommendations / Stores That Carry Plus Size Maternity Clothes for Work

Old Navy/Gap: Reader quote: “Old Navy maternity is BIG. I did just fine in Old Navy XXL Maternity sizes for almost everything — especially yoga pants, tops, etc.” (Pictured above: reddish sweater knit maternity dress, available up to size XXL.)

Motherhood Maternity/Destination Maternity: Reader quote: “I had a few pairs of pants from Motherhood Maternity. They were not fabric I enjoyed, but they looked OK.” (2019 Update: Destination Maternity is bringing back their plus-size line soon — stay tuned!)

JCPenney: Reader quote: “JCPenney carries good work clothes for plus size maternity. I was really happy with their stuff. (God bless JCPenney!) Their pants are way better than Destination Maternity pants.” (Pictured above: black maternity dress in sizes 1X-3X.)

Target: Reader quote: “I’m surprised by how generous a lot of the XL and XXL maternity clothes are from Target & Old Navy/Gap.”

PinkBlush Maternity: Many of the plus-size offerings from PinkBlush are too casual for work, but there are some styles that are office-friendly — and budget-friendly, too — like a $67 wrap dress. Sizes go up to 3X, and shipping within the U.S. is free.

Nordstrom: It doesn’t carry a lot, but it does carry a few plus-size jeans.

2020 Update: These are some of our Hall of Famer heels that come in wide widths… see our latest roundup of the best black heels for business attire here!

pictured: 1) Sam Edelman 2) Naturalizer 3) Rockport 4) Vionic 5) Cole Haan

General Reader Advice on Plus Size Maternity Clothes for Work

Rely on dresses: “Honestly, I think you’ll get more mileage out of dresses simply because they can be worn when you’re a couple different sizes. With tights, could you wear dresses now? I was an 18 or so on the bottom before getting pregnant this last time, and I had some luck with Liz Lange and Merona dresses from Target. The good news is that you’ll get a lot more leeway on how business-formal your wardrobe needs to be the more pregnant you get.”

Hack your tights (literally): “I’ve had really good luck cutting up the waistband on a few pairs of tights to get me through, so you can probably get away with that since you’re still early. (Just cut a vertical slit down the front seam, and cut away extra from the sides in a V if it bothers you. I thought that they would just unravel, but they seem to hold up pretty well with that.)”

Or maybe skip those, too: “THIGH HIGHS will change your life. You can get some pretty warm ones. SO much better than dealing with tights + a pregnant belly.”

Buy larger pants in regular sizes: “I’m plus sized as well, but always carried the most weight in my hips and thighs, not waist, so I was able to just go up 1-3 regular sizes in regular pants from the stores that I liked, sometimes using the elastic hairband trick on my pants at the end of a bloated day until 6 months. And I wound up using those pants postpartum for way longer than I care to admit to anyone in my real life (like 2+ years) as I have never really lost all the baby weight, and when I did lose my shape didn’t go back to my pre-pregnancy size.”

That goes for dresses, too: “I was solidly plus size before, during and after being pregnant, and the best things I had were Lands’ End dresses a size or two bigger than I usually wore.” (Pictured above: purple plus-size ponte sheath, available in sizes 16W-26W). 

Try a tailor: “Don’t be afraid of tailoring maternity clothes. I took those maternity suits (which looked terrible off the rack) to a good tailor, who made them workable. You could also take a regular skirt that you like to the tailor and have them add in an elastic panel to turn it into a maternity skirt.”

Pictured at top: dress, dress, dress. 

Pictured below: red top / green top / pants / dress / blouse

Wondering where to find plus-size maternity clothes? They do exist, we swear. We rounded up brand recommendations and general style advice for plus-size pregnant women, FROM plus-size pregnant women. Learn how to look professional and stylish through your pregnancy even with limited brands making plus-size maternity clothes.
Facebook0Tweet0Pin0LinkedIn0Print0Email0
« Washable Wednesday: Exact Stretch Classic Flare Pants
Everyone Thursday: 4-Way Cardigan »

Comments

  1. Sylvia says

    12/16/2015 at 3:34 pm

    Regarding dresses and blouses, the friendliest silhouettes are empire and shift/boxy. I also wore a lot of knit and jersey stretchy fabric.

  2. Masha says

    12/17/2015 at 8:37 am

    i love GAP and H&M – cotton is the best friend fo the pregnant

  3. Philanthropy Girl says

    12/17/2015 at 7:56 am

    I had a terrible time with Target maternity clothes. I found one nice maxi dress I could put a shrug over for business casual – but other than that all I could find were tiny little skinny pants – not what I want to be prancing around in when I’m a plus-sized 8-months pregnant! (I have the same gripe with their plus-sized clothes in general – they run small – I’m a solid 2X at Macy’s and a 3X-4X at Target).

    I found a few things at our small Motherhood Maternity store, but ended up picking up a lot of my things at consignment shops. I did find a lot of things from JC Penny’s that fit well. I found a few things online at Kohl’s, as well.

    For plus sized pregnancy/nursing bras – skip the department stores and go straight form the specialty bra shops. Neither Motherhood Maternity nor Pea in the Pod carried my bra size, nor did Macy’s. My Elomis came from a privately owned shop specializing in fitting.

    • 2 Cents says

      12/18/2015 at 1:26 pm

      You don’t know how happy to hear that you need to drastically size up for Target plus too! I just thought it was me :/ I’m a solid 2x (sometimes 1x) literally everywhere else, but always, always must size up to a 3x or 4x for Target.

  4. Anon says

    12/17/2015 at 2:36 pm

    Kohl’s line of maternity clothes (“Oh Baby by Motherhood”) is good. L and XL maternity clothes are cut generously. They also carry some plus-size maternity clothes that would be good work basics to dress up with accessories (black pants, solid color tops)

    http://www.kohls.com/catalog/womens-oh-baby-by-motherhood-clothing.jsp?CN=4294720878+4294873953+4294719810

  5. Eloise says

    12/18/2015 at 12:55 pm

    I had a black ponte skirt and pants from JCPenney that I wore with a long (non-maternity) black knit jacket and a handful of maternity Tshirts in various colors that were total workhorses toward the end of my pregnancy. And in colder weather, knit dresses with maternity tights. Ebay was another good source for plus-size maternity clothes, particularly for brands that weren’t available in local stores.

« Washable Wednesday: Exact Stretch Classic Flare Pants
Everyone Thursday: 4-Way Cardigan »

New to our Blog for Working Moms? Start Here!
Machine-Washable Workwear
Week in the Life of a Working Mom
Maternity Workwear
What to Put On Your Registry

Connect With Us!

Never miss an update -- sign up for the CorporetteMoms newsletter!

Recent Threadjacks of Interest

  • Tips on how to transition to quiet time/rest time from nap time?
  • What should I have done about an unmasked kid at the playground?
  • Can we discuss boundaries around commenting on body image around our kids?
  • I see other parents doing sporty athletic things with their kids and I’m at a total loss.
  • Risk tolerance is all over the place, but what are you all doing for family get-togethers?

Check out more working mom questions!

RSS recent posts on corporette…

  • PSA: Administrative Assistants Day is Next Week!
  • Beauty Empties: Which Products Do You Actually Finish and Then Buy Again?
  • Workwear Finds! Here’s Everything Readers Bought for Work in March 2021
  • The Top 5 Brands for Affordable Women’s Suits
  • Are Patterned Tights Appropriate for Work?

ABOUT

  • About
  • Contact Kat

WORK WITH US

  • Advertise
  • Product Review Policy

Serious Stuff

  • Copyright 2014-2021 Katfry LLC.
  • Corporette® is a Registered mark in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2014–2021

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy