Where to Find Interview Suits if You’re Pregnant
Where the heck CAN you find interview suits if you're pregnant? While many offices have relaxed their dress codes a bit over the past two years, you may still find yourself in need of a suit sometimes, even if you're not job-hunting — and that can get complicated when you're pregnant. Stylish maternity workwear is pretty limited, but good maternity suits (and even maternity blazers) are particularly lacking — especially over the past few years. It's even tougher if you're looking for plus-size maternity.
So what DO you wear to interviews and on “big career days” if your normal clothes no longer fit and your maternity clothes aren't professional enough? Did you find a mythical maternity suit? Thrift one from an older collection? Buy a too-big maternity suit off the rack and tailor it? Wear two black pieces to “make” a suit? Or did you just shrug and wear whatever, like a dress and blazer?
(Another question: Do you think it matters how close to your due date you are, i.e., if you have one interview in week 39 it may not be a big deal to wear a blazer and dress, but if you have a three-month jury trial starting around Month 5, you may want to try to find an actual maternity suit?)
{related: check out our entire Guide to Women's Interview Attire!}
This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!
Best Bets for Where to Find Maternity Suiting in 2022
- Seraphine: Their maternity workwear styles include a couple of blazers and tailored black pants, like this under-bump slim-leg pair.
- Angel Maternity: The brand's workwear collection includes suiting separates, including navy and black maternity pants (in sizes up to 3XL!), and this black blazer (see below).
- Motherhood Maternity: The site has some suiting separates in the company's bi-stretch suiting line, but zero blazers as of June 2022. (The brand is also available at Amazon.)
- ASOS: ASOS's maternity line has a few very affordable suiting separates, including this black maternity wrap blazer (lucky sizes only) and this other black wrap blazer (sizes 2–16)
- Isabella Oliver: The brand sometimes has suits or suiting separates — though unfortunately, not as of June 2022. Its workwear section mostly consists of dresses.
- A Pea in the Pod: The brand has some suit separates among its maternity workwear.
- Emilia George: This high-end, sustainable maternity brand is available at Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. At the moment, they don't have a ton of options (one of them is this, er, theatrical blazer), but check back.
- Figure 8: The site carries various maternity brands, although the maternity suits category is currently empty, and the maternity career wear category contains a single Isabella Oliver blazer.
- J.Crew: The company has a collab with maternity brand Hatch, but currently, no suiting is available, so try resale sites for past styles. (Hatch itself doesn't have any suiting on its own website.)
Speaking of maternity resale sites, try checking places like eBay, Poshmark, and thredUP for maternity blazers and suits, particularly for hits from the past, such as suits from Theory or from A Pea in the Pod‘s suiting line. Also look for maternity suiting from Eva Alexander and Slacks & Co. (both no longer in business), and search Etsy for vintage or new finds that might work.
We've talked about where to rent maternity workwear in the past, but you can also buy “pre-loved items in excellent condition” from Rent the Runway, such as this maternity blazer from Soon Maternity.
{related: what an ideal maternity leave looks like}
Some Of Our Favorite Interview Suits If You're Pregnant
As we noted above, inventory is changing quickly — but we wanted to feature a few of the very limited options out there right now. If you really feel like you need an interview suit during your pregnancy, or maternity suiting in general, these are our top picks right now:
You don't have to worry about any problems with buttons with this maternity blazer from Seraphine — the tie waist gives you more size flexibility than buttons ever could. The ties are removable, so you also have the option to wear the blazer open, and the style is versatile enough that you could get a lot of use out of it during your pregnancy. Sizes 2–8 are in stock at the moment, and with the current 20%-off sale, this blazer comes down to $167. (It isn't labeled as washable, but you can avoid dry cleaning with certain dry-clean-only clothing.)
Unfortunately, the matching pants are currently out of stock.
You might not think to check ASOS for maternity wear, but their maternity offerings in the ASOS Design line include some affordable suit separates, including this soft jersey tie-waist blazer, on sale for only $25. (Yes, this item may not last you beyond one pregnancy.) The blazer is “designed to fit you from bump to baby,” and the absence of buttons definitely helps with that. (Note that the blazer has padded shoulders, but they don't look too drastic in the pics.) This maternity blazer is available in lucky sizes 2–16.
{related: how to prepare at work for maternity leave}
If tie-waist blazers aren't your thing, here's a classic one-button blazer style from Angel Maternity. It's named “Corporate Jacket,” which is definitely apt, as it's pretty much a basic black notch-collar blazer. Bonus: It's machine washable! The website notes, “Match it with our Angel Maternity work pants for perfect work outfit,” but none of the brand's in-stock maternity pants have the exact mix of fabrics that this one does, so it's hard to tell if any of them are meant to be perfect matches for this jacket. (No free returns, alas.)
The blazer is currently only available in XS, S, and M, and is $69.95 at AngelMaternity.com.
What to Wear Instead of Suits When You're Pregnant
Maybe you've just given up on finding a stylish (or at least acceptable) maternity suit. Readers have shared the following ideas over the years for what to wear instead of suits when you're pregnant:
1. Wear a regular blazer over a work-appropriate dress. Many readers have mentioned wearing a regular blazer over a work-appropriate dress — even open, and even to court. Others have suggested blazers or jardigans over maternity dresses and pants, and a regular blazer worn open over a maternity skirt and blouse. Kat's even noted that she could wear her regular blazers up until week 38 or so, but your mileage may vary!
2. Buy non-maternity suits in a larger size (even several sizes larger) and make do with a BellaBand for any fit issues with the pants — or get them tailored.
{related: what to wear to work after maternity leave}
3. Wear neutral maternity bottoms — tailored maternity pants like this pair from Angel Maternity or a pencil skirt like this one from Emilia George — with a purposely non-coordinating, non-maternity blazer, such as something in tweed or linen.
4. Make a suit out of almost-matching fabrics. Mixing different black fabrics to create a suit is not usually recommended, but you get a pass when pregnant).
- Some readers have said they've worn a long, tunic-y style maternity shirt so the blazer/pants purposely didn't touch, preventing the mismatched fabrics from being obvious.
- Other readers went the other way and bought jackets longer than they normally wear, in fabrics that almost matched their maternity pants, since they thought that suited their pregnant frames better. (One particularly mentioned pairing Gap maternity pants with affordable Calvin Klein blazers-as-separates.)
Moms-to-be: Have you found stylish maternity suits you like(d)? If not, what have you been wearing as alternatives? Do you buy maternity blazers or simply wear your jackets unbuttoned?
{related: check out our roundup of maternity workwear essentials!}
Some of Our Favorite Maternity Work Separates to Build a Professional, Suit-Like Outfit
Stylish Maternity Pants for Work
Stylish Maternity Dresses for Work
Our latest favorite maternity dresses for the office in 2024 include dresses from Seraphine, LaClef, Kimi and Kai, Hatch Maternity, Isabella Oliver, and Quince.
Our Hall of Famers for Blazers as Separates (Non-Maternity)
All of the brands linked below are great bets for statement blazers that you can wear as separates…
If you're hunting for winter blazers in tweeds or other warm fabrics, check Uniqlo, Ann Taylor, Boden, Smythe, J.Crew, Veronica Beard, and L'Agence. Some recent ones we've featured:
Social media images: Deposit Photos / shippee.
Updated social media images via Deposit Photos / HayDmitriy.
I thought the postpartum period was actually much harder than maternity dressing. I felt like I was entirely forgiven when I wore separates with an open blazer instead of a full suit while pregnant (not a lawyer). But trying to find pumping-friendly shells that didn’t also need camis was a disaster. I could not handle nursing bra + cami + shell, there is so much plastic bulk with all those clasps, and wearing just a nursing tank is not enough support for work. I felt like I spent eight months of working while nursing being more uncomfortable than in the 9 months being pregnant.
This was my experience with all of the pregnancy/new-mom things. Pregnancy was infinitely easier than parenting a baby
So true. And while pregnant, you get a pass on looking like you’re pregnant. Post-partum, you struggle with this strange body that you’re not used to, that’s ever-changing and that requires physical compromises (pumping!) without the obvious excuse of pregnancy. Everyone is happy to give the pregnant lady the benefit of the doubt on dress code, but the post-partum lady is invisible as such.
Maternity suits are so awful, I think the far better bet is sizing up a cheapish but still decent suit and having it tailored a bit and mixing in maternity basics like black pants and skirts.
Post partum, I did not want special clothes and detested nursing clothes except I couldn’t get away from nursing bras. I bought and wore Halogen brand suits until I was back down to pre-preg size. I found pumping under a pashmina was all the cover I needed even without nursing clothes. I just made sure I had buttons or it was billowy so I could get underneath it.
I have been hunting for maternity suits in the size 14 world with no luck. It is so frustrating! I have been forced to go the maternity dress and regular blazer route but I hate it. Most of my suit jackets don’t even fit me well right now. It shouldn’t be this hard to find a good quality maternity suit!
Once I really looked pregnant, I just wore a black blazer over whatever dress and (I hope) a “don’t F with me, I’m pregnant and doing the best I can here” look. But also I was mostly in state court, so there was more leeway.
The Seraphine maternity suits are pricey, but in my opinion worth it. They looked great even when I was 9 months pregnant, and all of them have been wearable years after. I got two suits with the “built in” jacket, where the skirt is flowy and falls under the jacket in an empire waist style. It was really comfortable and accommodated me through the second and third trimesters, and when I was no longer pregnant, I just had to get the skirts hemmed so they were shorter and no longer doing the obvious “maternity because the skirt is longer in front” thing. So ultimately, worth every penny because they ended being true suit purchases, not temporary maternity purchases, and the quality is very, very good. I also bought two great sheath dresses that I wore with a bolero-style maternity suit jacket. The suit jacket still works post-pregnancy, but not the dresses, so I don’t think those were nearly as good an investment. Pretty much everything in the “nursing” section of Seraphine I could wear up to the very end of my pregnancy, and I’ve continued to wear all of those post-pregnancy and they look like regular tops / dresses, so i also highly recommend checking out that section for workwear.