I first discovered the (accurately named) maternity brand Nothing Fits But on Instagram, where I was shown its pleasant neutrals and plentiful pleating in a well-targeted ad. While I was immediately drawn to the brand’s Infinite Stretch Pleated Jumpsuit (stretch! Jumpsuit!), I was also hesitant to buy it — a garment claiming to be one-size-fits-all seemed destined to make my five-foot-three self look like a hobbit. Rather than take a risk, I dipped my toe by ordering what felt like a safer pair of cropped pants and a colorful tent of a dress. Shipping turned out to be shockingly fast (it’s free via FedEx, and the stuff arrived in less than a week), and those clothes made it into my regular maternity wardrobe soon after I got them, so I decided to take the plunge and buy the jumpsuit that had originally called my name.
Much to my surprise, it actually fits: While the bottom looks more like culottes on the model wearing it in the photo below, the jumpsuit hits my ankles in a way that looks almost intentional. It is so pleasantly amorphous — not only is there no sizing, but there’s no distinction between the front and back — that I’m pretty sure it would fit almost any human. The jumpsuit is presentable enough on top to wear on a Zoom call and, as someone who is peeing about 700 times a day, I can attest that the elasticized collar also makes it effortless to pull on and off, which is often a problem for even the easiest of jumpsuits. It also gets bonus points for not attempting to define my “waist,” which I lost track of months ago and feel no urgent need to rediscover. The jumpsuit is, in fact, my only article of clothing that’s been able to grow as huge as my ever-expanding belly without feeling even the slightest bit constricting or itchy. More remarkably, it resumes its unstretched shape with equal ease (if only the same could be said for the belly) — even after washing or spending a week folded in a suitcase. My nonpregnant sister went and bought her own after I raved about it and now tells anyone who will listen about how it’s the ultimate WFH fit. Did I mention it comes in five colors?
I told my Strategist editor all of these things, thinking they covered pretty much everything the jumpsuit has going for it. But he pointed out yet another appeal: that the thing is basically a dupe for something from Issey Miyake’s cool-people-approved (and far pricier) Pleats Please line, which folks wear for everything from travel, to work, to lounging around the house, to even keeping comfy while pregnant. (Nothing Fits But clearly recognized that in naming a section of its website Pleats Please, but as someone who is clearly not a Fashion Person, this … light plagiarism didn’t dawn on me until my editor pointed out the clothes’ similarities.) Now that I know about them, though, I’ve been fantasizing about upgrading to Miyake’s Pleats Please clothes — I’m already coveting some pants and a much pricier red number for my post-lockdown life, but wearing either would require taking off the dupe I bought for a tenth of the price. And that’s not going to happen, unless you tear it from my post-pregnancy body.
More Strategist-approved jumpsuits
While not a Pleats Please dupe, this even more affordable jumpsuit from our list of the best cool-people-approved jumpsuits is “the favorite” of one fashion blogger, who says it “looks and feels expensive, due to the camel color and elevated button-front and tie-waist.” While that tie-waist detail might not be the most flattering for maternity wear, the jumpsuit does come in a range of sizes from XS to XXL, as well as two other colors (though sizing is more limited for those).
This jumpsuit is not just a favorite of one or two people but some 400 (at last count) flight attendants. “Every single body looks amazing in it, and it never wrinkles,” says one 20-something fan, who told our writer Hilary Reid that she has flight-attendant friends in their 30s, 60s, and 80s who all wear it too.
Like the author of this story, the model wearing this jumpsuit is five-foot-three, so this photo offers a very realistic depiction of what the style (which comes from our list of the best cool-people-approved petite jumpsuits) will look like on shorter frames.
A jumpsuit worth investing in, this one from Universal Standard — which sells its products in sizes from 00 to 40 — has breezy legs and a “loose fit,” according to the stylist who recommended it. (She adds that the “stretchy and comfortable” fabric “makes this a great piece for everyday wear.”)
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