In the early days of pregnancy – before the bump has actually started to show – I always pore over photos of effortlessly glamorous pregnant ladies and lust after their  clothes.

I dream of similar outfits for myself.

High waisted skirts and pencil belts, flowing capelets, and dresses with big collars all feature heavily.

In reality, though, by the time a sizeable bump has appeared (and especially this time round with a toddler to look after as well) any ideas of sartorial snappiness have been abandoned and comfort is the order of the day.

Today, at about six months pregnant, I am sporting a classic Sabrina maternity outfit. A ratty old pair of ASOS maternity jeans that slip down at the crotch constantly, which I’ve been wearing for about five days now and which have the adornment of a toddler handprint in paint at the knee. (Yes, the paint will wash off. No, I haven’t put them through the wash since it occurred three days ago…)

The jeans are permanently topped with one of my husband’s jumpers, rotated fairly frequently across the week and washed at the weekend when he complains about having nothing to wear himself.

Accessories include scraped back, not-terribly-recently-washed hair, a pallid complexion and big purple bags. Very Kate Moss, heroin chic, circa mid-90s, I’m sure you’re thinking.

But of course there is the odd occasion where this wear-anywhere look doesn’t cut the mustard. And in April, two weeks in advance of my due date, I have one such event: a friend’s wedding with a 1940s theme.

My love for a 1940s dress outweighing even my usual pregnancy laziness (my own wedding dress was made from an original 1940s pattern), I’ve been scouring the internet looking for vintage maternity clothes.

It’s slim pickings out there, so I thought I’d share what I’ve unearthed, in case any other vintage lovers were in a similar predicament…

My first (and best) find is the website Tasty Vintage, which has a small maternity section: Tasty Vintage maternity.

This amazing 1940s green two-piece suit is just exactly the sort of thing I’m after.

Or this sweet pink rose 1950s dress would be excellent come summer time.

Normally, I’d shy away from geometric boxy designs, when large with child, but this jacket could well be calling to me…

Etsy, of course, is another good place to trawl. My favourites, when I looked, were this super cute 1940s top / dress from Adelinesattic…

…or this sweet blue maternity ’60s tunic, from SwizzleTimeVintage (based in America, so you’d have to factor in shipping…)

And then there’s always good old eBay. Discard all the “vintage maternity clothes” that really just mean “my old Dotty P jeans that are technically vintage because they’re not new any more” and you might just unearth a few gems.

Vintage inspired

If you’re not fussed whether or not your clothes have already been worn, sweated into and washed by another person, then go for “vintage inspired” which offers just a little more choice.

The brilliant blog Retro to Go showcases the best retro clothes from the high street. Keep an eye on the women’s fashion section, which sometimes includes maternity wear like this amazing (though now not available) dress from Topshop…

The really excellently named website In Pig* has a small but gorgeous collection of vintage inspired dresses, like this 70s inspired smock in Liberty print needlcord.

And I spend a fair bit of time hopefully checking out the usual old high street haunts (Topshop, Dorothy Perkins and ASOS frequently do nice maternity clothes. H&M I find cheap and uncomfortable for maternity — though excellent for children’s clothes. Makes no sense to me…)

Occasionally you come across little gems like this cheery red 1970s-style flared sleeve dress from ASOS:

Sew your own

But the biggest selection really comes if — unlike me — you’re full of energy and you sew yourself some clothes. There’s a huge choice of vintage maternity sewing patterns out there, check out Etsy, Craftsy or eBay and you could soon be tripping around town in the likes of this:

Me? I’m in the jeans and jumper til April comes…

*I went through a phase of devouring every book by / about the Mitford sisters a few years back, and I always loved how they wrote to each other to declare that they were “in pig”. Such a wonderfully apt expression!

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• Fancy ogling gorgeous pregnant styles too? I’m set up a board on Pinterest: Pregnancy style