It’s the beginning of the month again, so here’s a quick run down of the best sellers from last month here at CP.

At number one it was the Lin and Leo Leather Baby Changing Bag, available in Chocolate, Tan and Cherry.  Tan is the favourite colour at the moment, with the lovely cherry selling particularly well to our Irish customers.

We still have a few left of each colour, then will be re-stocking later in the month when the new shipment arrives from the designers.

Number two is the StorkSak Elizabeth bag, available in Caramel and Dark Grey, or in black for the quilted leather bag.  There are two new colours for the Elizabeth bag which will arrive later in February - red and chocolate.  We think these are going to be very popular and they’re available for pre-order right now.

And at number three it’s the Quilted Babymel Amanda changing bag.  Since its introduction last season, the quilted Amanda bag has been very popular.  Available in black and limited edition pink (we have just a few left in pink) this is loved by so many of our customers.  With lots of pockets, including insulated bottle pockets, plus a the integral stroller clips the Amanda is a great chioce.

As part of our Spring Summer 10 collection we’ve included multi-function maternity pieces from Boob Design.  These are all pieces that can be worn in different ways and one of my favourites is the 2 in 1 Maternity Skirtdress.  It’s a sexy black maternity tube dress or its a long black skirt.  As a skirt, there’s a wide bump band and a long straight practical skirt that will be super-comfy and be ideal for work.  As a dress, the band goes over your boobs, there’s a halterneck tie and the dress falls to about knee length.

What a useful piece to have in your maternity wardrobe!  I’ll be blogging about more of these great multi-function maternity clothes in the next week or so.

We’ve sourced the perfect maternity work trousers for this coming Spring Summer!

A few months ago we ran a survey with a bunch of questions, including “What clothing has been most difficult to find during your pregnancy?”, overwhelmingly the answer was “trousers suitable for work“.  What was great was that people entered quite a bit of detail about exactly what they were looking for, which boiled down to -

• They need to be black
• They need to be a smart fabric, not jersey
• They need to be made from natural fibre, not polyester

I completely sympathise with the problem: throughout my pregnancy I found it impossible to get hold of smart trousers that weren’t made from a hot and slightly scratchy polyester - yuk.

We’ve now found the perfect smart maternity trousers at a European company called Bellybutton - these are made from cotton with a little elastane for fit, they’re solid black with a crease down the front and a soft bump panel.  You can see them in our Spring preview and they’ll be available from March.  We hope you love them!

I usually write about exciting products we have in store, but today I’d like to say that we’re currently looking for exciting new jewellery and skincare ranges to expand our new Mum gifts department.

We’re looking for jewellery which has a distinctive appeal to New Mums or pregnant Mums, something pretty that would make the perfect present, and also something a little bit different or quirky.

In skincare we’re looking for pampering products, either designed for pregnancy or breastfeeding Mums or that would be suitable.  Something that smells divine, that leaves Mum feeling like a princess or that helps relieve those aches and pains.

If any of you who will see this on Facebook or Twitter have something suitable, or know of anything then drop me a line!  We’ll be at Spring Fair too.

BabyMel have introduced a new Baby Changing Station to their collection of baby changing bags.  The station is a full size changing mat with mesh pockets which folds up to make a small clutch bag.

The Changing Station allows you take just the essentials with you when you nip out: there’s space for wipes and nappies, plus there’s a waterproof pouch for holding wet things.  Once it’s all folded up the changing station will fit inside a shopping bag, or you can hang it on the buggy using the handy clip.

Perfect for quick trips or to keep in the car for quick nappy changes or clean ups.

Spring’s not far round the corner now (at least that’s what I keep telling myself), and we’re expecting our first deliveries of the new season collection next month.  We’ll have new maternity clothes and breastfeeding clothes from Bellybutton, Ripe and Boob, as well as the new changing bags from StorkSak.

You can preview the new collection on the Spring Summer Maternity clothes preview page.

I’ll be featuring some of the items from the new collection individually over the next few blog posts, as well as adding more items to the preview as images become available.

The Birthing Wrap by Womama has been very popular, particularly in Rasberry, so much so that we’re out of stock of most sizes until a new shipment hits our shores during February.  You can pre-order a rasberry right now, or the black birthing wrap is still available for a little while (this stock is low too).

Following the theme of best selling items that aren’t baby changing bags, today I’m looking at our three best selling pieces of maternity wear this winter.

We loved this dress as soon as we saw it, and we’re happy that our instincts were right and Cecily Plum shoppers have loved it too.  This fun maternity dress by Swedish designers Boob is a wrap style in grey, covered with white polka dots.

Wrap styles are fab during pregnancy as they adjust to fit a changing shape, which also means they work just as well on the way back down again afterwards.

We’ve had an extra delivery of these lovely dresses so they’re in stock in all sizes for a little while.

This lovely dress by Australian maternity brand Ripe Maternity has been popular since we introduced it last November.  In dark charcoal grey, the Pocket Tunic has a cowl neck and cute patch pockets.

There is a long pleat at the front to accomodate your bumps, and we think that this maternity tunic will work very well after baby’s born too.

The fabric of the tunic is cotton mix knit, and is quite thick so this tunic will keep you cosy and warm for the rest of the winter.

Ever since we featured this top in our Autumn Winter photoshoot it has been really popular.  Available either as a black top or red top, this maternity top is a wardrobe essential.  With a V-neck (perfect for flattering pregnant chests) and ruching on the side it fits beautifully without being baggy.  The quality of the fabric and high lycra content also mean it keeps its shape well and doesn’t bobble (or pill) in the wash.

The perfect layering piece, we plan to discontinue the red next season, so get it while you can.

Here’s a quick rundown of the most popular breastfeeding clothes at Cecily Plum.

Although my Top Sellers of the Month posts are usually dominated by baby changing bags, Cecily Plum also has a popular range of breastfeeding clothes.

In no particular order:

The Polka Dot Breastfeeding dress has been consistently popular since we first stocked it in the Autumn.  Designed by Boob and made in Europe, this fun dress is a fixed wrap style with very easy nursing access.

There is also a maternity wrap dress in the same print which has proved just as popular.

Also designed by Swedish brand Boob, the smocked style breastfeeding top has been very popular.  We first introduced this top in blue last summer and we loved it!  The plum purple was a perfect choice for our winter collection.  The smocked top conceals the nursing access, and the flowing front and long style make this a very flattering top for new Mums (modelled here by gorgeous 6-week Mum Daggy).

The breastfeeding wardrobe essential, this great basic top by Carriwell has always been popular with our customers since we introduced it last Autumn.  Currently available in four shades, black, red, teal and brown, the V-neckline and ruching on the side make this top particularly flattering for new Mums.

Just before Christmas we took our first delivery of Petunia Pickle Bottom bags.  A big hit in the office and popular in our shop, these gorgeous bags are like nothing we’ve seen before.  In a range of sumptuous fabrics and prints these range from the small and practical Touring Tote bags to the spacious Cosmopolitan Carryalls.

The Touring Tote is a hobo style bag which comes with two different straps, one for carrying in your hand or over your shoulder, and one for carrying the bag across your body.  There are also included clips so you can hang your bag neatly from your buggy.  The Touring Tote changing bags  have lots and lots of pockets (inside and out) plus a co-ordinating change mat and a wipes case.

The Cosmopolitan Carryall (available in Apple Tart or Chocolate) is a stunning bag which really looks nothing like a baby changing bag.  It is styled like and old-fashioned Doctor’s Bag and is made from cut velvet with wool tweed trimming and metal hardware.  It includes a changing mat which is stored in a pocket in the base of the bag, a wipes case and a key clip.

Petunia Pickle Bottom is a quirky Californian brand seen on the arms (and buggies) of A-List Mums across the Atlantic.