Danielle Brooks ‘felt like a fish out of water’ wearing plus-size maternity clothing

'It was more work than I thought it was going to be,' Orange Is The New Black star says

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Actor Danielle Brooks has opened up about the difficulties she faced trying to find plus-size maternity clothing that she felt “amazing and beautiful” in.

In July, the Orange Is The New Black star announced she was pregnant with her first child, revealing a couple of months later that the baby is a girl.

In a new interview with InStyle, Brooks explained that during the early stages of her pregnancy, she was happy enlarging her clothes to fit her growing bump.

However, following the announcement of her pregnancy, the 30-year-old said she struggled to find maternity clothing that comfortably fit her body while also making her feel good.

“I wanted to feel amazing and beautiful in clothing, but I felt like a fish out of water,” she said.

“When you’re plus-size it’s harder; people think you can just size up, but it doesn’t quite work that way because everyone’s body is different.”

Brooks explained that while a size up in clothing may fit a pregnant stomach, it may not fit other parts of the body as adequately.

“What’s expanding most of all is your stomach, and for me, my arms might not fit that size up,” she stated.

“A pair of pants might be too long because you sized up. It was more work than I thought it was going to be.”

In August, Brooks wrote on Instagram that it is “so hard to find cute plus-size maternity fashion while pregnant”.

Size-inclusive fashion brand Universal Standard took heed of the actor’s predicament, collaborating with her to create a clothing range for the label.

Brooks’ latest venture with Universal Standard is a scheme called Fit Liberty, which allows mothers to exchange clothing for a new size for free, whether they are pregnant and need a size up, or whether they are not pregnant and need a size down.

The Orange Is The New Black star added that one of the biggest realisations she has made throughout her pregnancy is that some things in life “are just not that deep”.

“That has been a wonderful discovery as I enter my 30s, where everything seems so important, especially career-wise. We don’t want to make any mistakes. We want to make sure to pick up every call and do everything, cross every T and dot every I,” she said.

“To be able to take a breath, and kind of take in what’s important in life – family, and friends, and creating memories – I think that’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned in the past few months.”