Lack of maternity fashion on the high street?

[lindsay90]

Hey all,
Just turned 7 months pregnant today
Back in May I was invited to a wedding and left it a little late to get an outfit together. I live in the Scottish Highlands, so the closest town to me is Inverness. Spent a frustrating day trying to find something suitable, but the only place that stocked any maternity wear was New Look (and their range was tiny).
Tried shopping in Glasgow the day before the wedding and didn't get any more luck, so in the end I had to borrow a dress from a friend.
This is my first pregnancy and I was really surprised at the lack of maternity sections in high street stores. There were a few places that stocked casual wear, but hardly anywhere with anything suitable for a wedding.
Seems like most retailers have now moved their maternity ranges online, which as this is a time when I definitely want to be trying clothes on before buying is rather annoying...
We did a bit of research into this and it seems to be a problem throughout the UK. My husband is currently writing an article on our findings.
So I was wondering if anyone had any feedback on:
a) similar problems finding stockists of maternity fashion on the high street
b) any recommended retailers (in the UK preferably) who stock decent ranges in store
Thanks!

 

[MindUtopia]

I think you're right that this is typical. I suspect the market just isn't there and the sales aren't high enough to justify taking up the floor space. We run a retail business as well and I know if we had a product that less than 5% of the population would buy (assuming 10% of all women are pregnant in a given year, though I doubt the figure would be that high, and women are only 50% of the total population), we wouldn't go out of our way to take up space selling it when we had limited retail space.

I think the only place it would be more common to have a larger selection in store is in major cities (London, Manchester, Edinburgh, etc.) where there are big multi level department stores. Our closest town is a small market town. Even the big names stores don't have a huge selection of non-maternity clothes.

But actually I don't see it as a big problem. I do most of my shopping online anyway as I work full-time and were we live is pretty rural so it's a bit of a drive to get anywhere with a proper high street. I've found that maternity clothes are actually much more forgiving that non-maternity, so for me, it's easier to guess if they fit. I don't think I've ever had to return maternity clothes I've ordered online. So yes, I think it's pretty typical, but I didn't personally think it was a problem. Maybe I would though if I was someone who usually shopped in store. I would say New Look is the best I've found for maternity in store, but we really don't have many high street stores here anyway.

 

[lindsay90]

Hi, thanks for the reply. Yeah what you've said regarding floor space for a limited customer makes sense, i was just a bit surprised that Glasgow hardly had a single dress suitable for a bump and wedding! I have never bought clothes online at all, but I guess it's time! I think i'd also left it a bit late for the wedding I was going to, we don't have next day delivery in the highlands and so buying online then was out of the question as can take up for 5 days even with express delivery! But we've alot more time now to spend having a browse online for more casual and nursing wear.

 

[Bonnie11]

Yup I live in a large city and only one department store carries a very small range of maternity stuff! like a few tops and jeans. mothercare is the only other place that sells it in the whole city. Having said that I order most of mine from Boohoo or Asos, their returns policy is fab so i just order more than I need and return what i dont like

 

[loeylo]

Hi, thanks for the reply. Yeah what you've said regarding floor space for a limited customer makes sense, i was just a bit surprised that Glasgow hardly had a single dress suitable for a bump and wedding! I have never bought clothes online at all, but I guess it's time! I think i'd also left it a bit late for the wedding I was going to, we don't have next day delivery in the highlands and so buying online then was out of the question as can take up for 5 days even with express delivery! But we've alot more time now to spend having a browse online for more casual and nursing wear.

I live just outside Glasgow so I think maybe you just didn't know the "right" places to shop. The New Look in Glasgow is notoriously crap, but the one at Glasgow Fort has a huge maternity section and I managed to get a dress suitable for a school prom (I'm a teacher not a pupil!) - it's actually not a maternity dress but it is a floaty maxi dress and my own size fitted me fine but I can still wear it now post pregnancy. A bandeau maxi dress accessorised with jewellery would be perfect for a wedding when pregnant.
H&M can be good for maternity wear, I got jeans, leggings, t-shirts and dresses from there. One of the dresses was definitely suitable for a wedding (clinched in above the bump, fitted at top but loose over bump, knee length with a geometric pattern)

As pp said the maternity market is so small, in the U.K. 8% of women are pregnant each year. Typically you don't need maternity clothes until 16-20 weeks, sometimes even later, sometimes earlier. By the end of pregnancy people tend to do less socialising which is why most maternity wear is casual or business dress.

 

[Marriedlaydee]

Id love to know any places online I can shop! I'm struggling to find reasonably priced clothing...i don't really want to spend 30 quid and over on one top I am only going to wear a few months! Perhaps I need to shop in Primark for XXL

 

[lindsay90]

Thanks again for all the feedback/comments


We've just published the article with our full findings here https://find-open.co.uk/blog/is-this-the-end-of-maternity-fashion-on-the-high-street


Looks like it's going to get harder and harder to find any maternity fashion on the high street

 

[Wobbles]

Your post was admin approved and thread moved to the relevant board as per the forum rules.


Wobbles