When I got pregnant in May last year, I was immediately faced with a series of fashion problems. During my pregnancy, I was a maid of honor at my best friend’s June wedding in North Carolina, launched a book, hosted Thanksgiving, and scouted 43 restaurants for my job at the Philadelphia Inquirer. I needed a wardrobe to match my growing belly, and the landscape for plus-size maternitywear is exceptionally bleak.
I’m on the smaller side of plus size, a size 16 to 18 before I got pregnant, which means I have privilege in the clothes-buying space that many larger people do not. Before pregnancy, I could fit into the largest straight size at most brands. But as my body grew, that didn’t work anymore. The usual indignities of plus-size clothes — unnecessary ruffles, bad construction, bizarre cut-out placement — seemed to triple in the maternitywear section. There are so, so many plus-size people in this country, and a huge percentage of them must be pregnant at some point. You would think some brand somewhere wants to make money during a time when, at least personally, I was so physically uncomfortable I would have thrown an absurd amount of money at the problem.
I was saved by my friend, New Yorker food writer Helen Rosner, who is exceptionally stylish and just about the same size as me. She gifted me the entirety of her maternity wardrobe, which saved me from wearing a large bag for most occasions. With her generosity, a lot of deep dives into the pregnant and plus-size Reddit, and some luck, I managed to put together a maternity and postpartum wardrobe that had pieces that were both comfortable and stylish.
Storq is one of the few maternity brands that has plus sizes, though it cuts off at 4XL. (The XL worked best on me.) The pieces are on the expensive side for something you’ll wear less than a year, but they are also so, so worth it. Helen gave me this three-piece set in navy blue, a set of soft pants, a tank top, and a kimono robe. I wore it in the hospital after my C-section, and it was perfect: exceptionally comfortable with easy access for breastfeeding. The set also makes you look a little pulled together even if you are absolutely not. I bought it in the other two colors, and it has been a core part of my postpartum wardrobe for lounging at home with a newborn.
Storq’s overalls were such a big part of my third trimester that they got washed and worn probably twice a week. They were comfortable, chic, and easily accommodated my growing belly. I wore them to the office all the time. The only real drawback is that once you get into the having-to-pee-all-the-time stage of pregnancy, it’s a little more work to take them on and off than regular pants. But I still like them so much that they’re a huge part of my postpartum wardrobe, too.
I was a huge fan of Nooworks for its fun, vivid patterned pieces long before I was pregnant. If you ask me where my fun outfit is from, eight times out of ten the answer is Nooworks. Though the company makes all manner of dresses, jumpsuits, tops, and bottoms, the item of clothing that was my favorite over the summer was its Magic Suit, a jumpsuit that was both stretchy to accommodate my growing belly and easy to get on and off — crucial for the point where you have to pee constantly. I bought two sizes up from my regular size, but I could have gotten away with one. The Magic Suit is regularly released in limited-edition, achingly cool patterns, and it goes up to a 5X — sizing that accommodates both me, at five-foot-five, and my best friend, who is plus size and six-four — which is how you know it’s actually versatile for a lot of differently sized people. The construction of the Magic Suit, with a button-up top, is also optimal for breastfeeding — I see myself getting a lot of use out of mine over the summer with my baby.
In my third trimester, I launched my first cookbook — You Gotta Eat — and I needed an outfit to celebrate the occasion. You know what garment fits you no matter your size, and you can still wear it after changing sizes drastically? A caftan. So naturally I went to my favorite New Orleans sequin source, Fringe + Co. I already had two of its gorgeous sequin caftans, one in a pastel rainbow and one in a bold ’90s-inspired pattern, which I get regular use out of at weddings, Mardi Gras, and holiday parties, so I added another one in black to my arsenal. I deployed a Fringe caftan for New Year’s Eve and a holiday dinner at a restaurant, and I plan to wear one again for the black-tie wedding I’m attending two months postpartum — I have my eye on this gorgeous gold number. If sequins aren’t your thing, Fringe also makes them in velvet and satin.
I also picked up a tiered sequin neon-colored skirt, which I wore with a plain black maternity shirt and which elicited actual squeals from various people at the reading I wore it to. (Fringe’s skirts go up to a 3X, and the caftans can fit up to a 5X.)
I’ve been a fan of Kindred Bravely bralettes since the brand was Davy Piper, and its nursing and pumping bras are one of the few options for women with large busts. I was a 36H pre-pregnancy, which means I have a smaller frame and larger cups, and most bras tend to size up in the band and not in the cup. My favorite of Kindred Bravely’s bras is the Sublime Nursing and Pumping bra, which comes in both “Busty” and “Super Busty” sizing, which means they can accommodate a larger range of breast sizes than most of the other nursing or pumping bras I’ve seen on the market. I also appreciate that they stretch a bit, so I can wear them as my breasts grow and shift postpartum. They’re comfortable, reasonably supportive, and snugly hold a pump’s flanges in place without much fuss. I started wearing them in my third trimester when the rest of my bras stopped fitting.
When I want a less-structured bra for nursing and pumping — one so comfortable that I fall asleep in it regularly — I reach for the Larken X, an ingeniously designed bralette. I bought it in a sleepless haze of the early-morning hours thanks to an Instagram ad and liked it so much when it arrived that I ordered two more. Unlike most pumping bras (including the Kindred Bravely mentioned above), it doesn’t have clips to fiddle with. Rather, it has two layers of fabric that you can pull into an X-shape — thus the bra’s name — to make it into an instant pumping bra. For nursing, you pull up the bottom fabric of the bra, rather than unlatching it from the top like many other nursing bras. It only goes up to an XXL, but that size easily accommodates my breasts, unlike the XXL sizing in most brands I tried.
You might think, Boy, that’s a lot of bra recommendations! And it’s true, but at least for me, my breasts have been such a focal point of my pregnancy and postpartum period so far that it’s worth it to have different bras for different situations. This bra isn’t good for pumping, since it doesn’t have any apparatus to secure flanges to your nipples, but it is an absolute dream for nursing. It’s comfortable, cute, and comes in lots of fun colors, including lavender, pink with yellow piping, and tie dye. The 2X/3X size, the largest, fits great, and I usually wear mine under my Storq set.
Because I was pregnant during winter, I knew I was going to have to figure out a coat situation. The options for plus-size maternity coats were terrible, and most also looked like they wouldn’t stand up to the December chill. Instead, I opted again to look for places that carried non-maternity plus sizes and size up. Of the coats I tried, my favorite was the very warm, roomy, and still chic Cotopaxi Fuego Down Parka, a knee-length coat that has sizes up to 4X (at least in three out of the five colorways available). I got compliments on my coat wherever I went, and it’s one I plan on wearing again next winter, this time with a couple layers of sweaters underneath.
Like many pregnant people, my feet got bigger during pregnancy. Mine, specifically, got wider, making fitting into my shoes an annoying and impossible task once open-toed season was over and I couldn’t get away with slides. Wyder Studios saved me, thanks to its shoes designed for wider feet. Helen gave me her pair of the Jolene boots in black, cute short cowboy boots, which I paired with everything from October on. And the brand doesn’t just do boots — it has an array of styles, from loafers to strappy sandals.
The argument for using a clothing rental service during maternity couldn’t be stronger: Why invest in clothes you’re only using for a few months when you could rent them instead? Nuuly was a godsend and carries many fancy maternity brands that I was hesitant to splurge on but game for renting. It’s not a perfect solution — not every label it carries goes above an XL, which can be frustrating — but it’s better than having to accumulate and then get rid of a whole different wardrobe. I loved an Ingrid + Isabel maternity active jacket I got in my Nuuly, for example, for bridging the cooler days that weren’t cold enough for my big puffer coat.
I bought my Block Shop robe as a treat for my wedding, but I’ve never worn it as much as when I was pregnant and now, postpartum and caring for a newborn. The robes come in various cool geometric prints and provide easy access for breastfeeding and pumping while keeping me from feeling exposed. They are the perfect weight for moving around the house without being too hot or too cold, look great, and — again — have pockets. That’s a nonnegotiable feature in my Philadelphia rowhome, where I always need to bring bottles, pacifiers, bibs, burp cloths, and other small items up and down the stairs. Block Shop’s sizing tops out at a 3X, but it’s fairly generous, and I wouldn’t be surprised if larger folks could wear it just as comfortably.
A great pair of pajamas is a wonderful wardrobe staple for pregnancy and postpartum, no matter how much sleep you’re actually getting. Printfresh makes pajama sets that go up to a 6X and feel luxurious. They have many different styles, but the button-up top set — mine is in the Tiger Queen print — is perfect for bleary-eyed breastfeeding. I brought mine in my hospital bag and was so happy I did, because it afforded me a little extra comfort and coverage that the hospital gowns did not. Looking “put together” isn’t a priority of mine at the moment — mostly I’m trying to sneak in a shower and some food between feedings and diapers — but when I have one of these on and a friend stops by, everyone compliments me on how chic I look. (Printfresh is also an excellent source of robes if you’re looking for a larger size; many of their robes also go up to a 6X.)
At the beginning of my pregnancy, Old Navy had a sale on maternity clothes, and I scooped up about half a dozen short- and long-sleeved maternity V-neck shirts in black. I wore them constantly throughout my pregnancy: under my Storq overalls, with my Fringe + Co. skirt, and layering a longer-sleeved version under my Nooworks Magic Suit when it got colder. They were the most inexpensive workhorses of my wardrobe. When I finally passed them on to another expecting person, I felt like they deserved a parade in their honor.
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