The Best (and the Meh)of Maternity Jeans Round Up!

When I first became pregnant, the bloat was so real. In my head I was showing like I was 6 months pregnant but in reality it was just a bit of bloat. (Especially now that I know what 6 months pregnant looks like! I’m giggling at my past self) But toward the middle of my first trimester, my jeans became too tight for comfort and the rubber band trick* was not cutting it. Most things I read suggested to buy maternity jeans around 5-6 months, especially if it’s your first pregnancy. I bought them at month 3. Yes they were loose but the freedom gained was amazing. I didn’t feel restricted by my pants and could carry on with my normal outfits until the bump decided to truly make an appearance. Once I got over the ‘is this normal??’ thought, I was so happy to have jeans that didn’t dig into any part of me. And now that the bump is really bumping, maternity jeans are literally my favorite thing. What was once yoga pants, has now been replaced by full panel maternity jeans. I’m not convinced I won’t give them up once I have the baby (in fact, post partum for a bit of time I probably won’t). I might even keep them around for bloat days. Maternity jeans: Most. comfortable. ever.

Since you already know I’m extra on everything, I have almost bought all the maternity jeans ever and now I have feels on all of them. Let’s start with the best of the best:

Note: My favorite maternity style is the full panel. It’s the most comfortable for me and that is what I am here for. As always not everyone is going to like the same maternity style of jeans, some people hate the full panel but for me — I’ve got a long torso and carry kind of low, these are the best option. All of my favorites are full panel. Side note — some sites call this ‘secret belly’ instead of full panel. I feel like the best advice I can give is to try them all to see what YOU like! You don’t know until you do. 

As it turns out my very favorite maternity jeans are designer. They are the most flattering, the panels are the most comfortable and these fit the most closely to jeans that I actually wore pre-pregnancy. (I won’t say they are 100% the best fit ever, but I take what I can get at this point.) My favorite brands are AG and Citizens of Humanity as far as fit and quality go. AG takes the cake for maternity designer jeans, if I’m being honest. The fit is great, they wash perfectly and little to no stretching.  AG and Citizens of Humanity are two of my favorite non-pregnant jeans so no surprise thatI like them as maternity as well. I will say this: it is an investment for what feels like just a few months but I wear denim all of the time and I’ve been SO thankful for having a pair of jeans that I know will fit and feel comfortable. Worth the $200 in my opinion to have a go-to option while your body is ever changing. I would say invest in at least one nice pair during your pregnancy, one pair will get you through for sure.

# 1: AG Destructed Ankle Maternity Jeans: these fit like my very favorite jeans I bought last summer. AG might be my favorite designer jeans anyways, so I was very excited when they fit pretty true to the brands normal fit. The fit is true to your regular size, so don’t size up. Find the jeans here.

#2: LOFT White Maternity Skinny Jeans: these are my second favorite pair and they would have an even higher rating in my book had they been full panel. This is more of a demi-panel, but still comes up high enough that it’s still comfortable for now. These are so comfortable and have a great fit for maternity jeans. I would say they are comparable to LOFT normal jeans as well and they aren’t too thin for white jeans. If you like LOFT denim, then LOFT maternity is a lovely option and really good for the price. The fit is true to your normal Loft denim size! Find the white denim option here.

#3: Citizens of Humanity Avedon Maternity Jeans – These jeans are SUPER soft just like other CoH jeans, I mean super soft so that makes a great option for maternity jeans. They fit a bit more snug than AG so I did size up, but I typically do this with Citizens anyways. Plus I am not about to put something too tight on my body right now. My motto these days: when in doubt, size up. 😉 One thought on these — they are very long. I have long legs and I still find myself needing to roll the ends about an inch. If you love the fit of these, then getting them hemmed is not a big deal but I thought it was worth mentioning.

Fair warning — these jeans are NOT the same as the ones at Shopbop even though they have the exact same name. I’ll explain how I know this. I bought the ones from Shopbop and they were SO low rise they were almost painful. I don’t know why but they just didn’t fit my body type right. However I think that if you had slim hips and shorter torso, this would be a great fit. So I returned those and noticed the belly band was a different color over on the Pea in a Pod site, so I purchased these and they fit completely different! They are roomy and definitely don’t dig into my hips. So strange but I thought it was worth noting! No two maternity jeans are the same, my friends. Le sigh.

#4 Joe’s Jeans Icon Fit — I’ve mentioned these a couple of times before and worn them on here for like a straight week, ha! If you are looking for a fun addition to your denim, go pink jeans! So fun and such a break from white for spring and summer. These fit true to size. The rise is a bit lower and I find myself pulling up the butt of the jeans (sorry) a lot when wearing them, but overall the fit is nice and the quality is fantastic. No fading when I washed them. You can find them in a few different shades here!

BONUS: they come in non-maternity as well!

Now for the not-so-favorite…

#5 DL1961 Karlie Maternity Shorts — I wore these a lot more in the earlier months — 4 and 5 — than I am now and simply because my bump has grown and the side panels hurt. Plain and simple. I think the trick with the side panel — which is all over Shopbop — is to where you carry your baby. If you carry high, then I think these would be amazing to wear. But for me it cuts into her every time I sit down and it’s just not worth it for me. If I had to do it again, I’d buy full panel shorts, but again that’s just me and my bump. As far as quality goes — fantastic and the fit was a bit snug but I was in my normal size. You can find the shorts here. And also here are the full panel version I *should* have bought. 😉

#6 Madewell Skinny Crop Demi Panel Jeans —  In the same theory I had with other designer jeans, I gave Madewell a try as well. I like Madewell jeans so why not? Well all of their jeans are side panels and just not comfortable to me at all. I think I regretted this pair the most but it did get some wear early on so that’s good. As far as fit and quality, the quality is on par with other Madewell denim but I found the sizing to be a bit odd. I did end up sizing up one, but kind of felt in between that size and my normal denim size. You can find all Madewell Maternity denim here.

#7 ASOS Maternity Denim — ASOS is one of my favorite places to shop when I need something quick and specific. I mean it, I will think of something and find it immediately on ASOS and within 5 different shades. They have a lovely maternity section and a lot of their non-maternity items fit loose enough to get away with as well. So for maternity clothes I’m a big fan, but for denim I’m just not.

I bought a black pair, a dark pair of denim leggings and a distressed boyfriend jean from ASOS for under $150 for all three which was an amazing deal. But my favorite out of the three were definitely the boyfriend jeans — fantastic fit and quality albeit a demi-panel. (*shakes fist*) The other two just didn’t feel up to par with my other maternity denim options and so back they went. I think ASOS does best with maternity dresses and tops but their denim is not my favorite. I hate to say that because I love ASOS and shopping there, but for me the best spend on maternity denim is a high quality since you will be wearing it all the time.

(PS: Brands I tried for denim were New Look, ASOS Maternity and Mamalicious. ASOS Maternity was my favorite of the three.)

And those are my thoughts on my favorite maternity denim! I’ve got a maternity clothing round up heading your way soon as well, talking about my favorite brands I’ve found so far. But I’d love to hear your favorites for maternity denim, etc. Help those wondering mamas out!