When I started shopping for maternity jeans, I was BEYOND confused – inset panel, full panel, over belly, below belly. So, I did what any influencer would do, I ordered them all to test them out and share. In this post I’m sharing my personal rankings of the worst to best styles of maternity jeans, and why I ranked them in that way.
4 – Full Panel Under Belly
This is my personal least favorite maternity jeans style. The full panel means that it is an entire waistband of stretchy material – think of a sweatpants waistband – and this style sits below your bump. Although the leg style of these jeans fit really well, these type of jeans just don’t stay up on me. They also give me flashbacks to early 2000’s low rise jeans – not my favorite era.
This may however be your favorite! So linking them HERE.
3 – Inset Panel Under Belly
These are slightly better than the first. Inset panel means that the stretchy material is only where the front pockets would be. This allows the jeans to feel more like “real” jeans, with a working button/zipper in the front. I love that aspect, however the low rise of the under belly still makes these hard to stay in place. However, these have a slight edge since you don’t have to wear a top that completely covers the full panel waistband.
2 – Full Panel Over Belly
These are great because they incorporate the full panel comfort with the over belly security. This seems to be the most popular style of maternity jeans, or pants in general. The button/zipper doesn’t work, but the elastic panel does a better job of keeping the jeans in place. I sized up in these, and I would recommend against that. You want to go with your true size in all of these jeans to be honest to keep them in place. Trust the elastic!
1 – Inset Panel Over Belly
I don’t know who to call in the maternity fashion industry, but THIS STYLE needs to be every pant in the bump friendly sections of the store. It combines the comfort and stability of the over belly fit, with the “real pants” feel of the inset panels. These are perfect.
Mind you – these may not work as long into your pregnancy, but these have been perfect for me up until 24 weeks. I can see them easily working for the next few weeks as the bump grows. I’m just not sure if they’ll make it all the way to 40 weeks.
I hope you found this helpful! I have some Fall Maternity Fashion must haves coming to the blog soon. If you want to see these maternity jeans on video and in action, check out the Reel on Instagram, on my page HERE.
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