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There has been a few requests to do a post on maternity clothes. Where to shop, what’s affordable, what my philosophy is on buying maternity clothes,etc?
I have to preface this with two things: first, my daughter was born in July so I was at my biggest in the hot summer and second, for my day job I work in a corporate office and I am expected to dress accordingly (well, they do give you a break with the flip-flops because your feet do swell to the size of puppies and you can’t fit into any other shoe). The following article states my opinions and observations and I certainly understand that not every pregnant woman is the same shape and size (or carrying only one baby at a time), and incomes for every household vary. My thoughts and suggestions on maternity shopping may work for a lot of woman but not for everyone.
I would like to start with my philosophy. Looking back at my maternity wardrobe I made some smart financial purchases and I made some dumb ones. I do not feel that you need to spend a lot of money. You do not need expensive maternity clothes. You do not need top notch quality. Be practical. You are only going to wear the largest sizes for a maximum of 6 months and then you are going to toss them or give them away. If you can afford it great but, most people I know can not afford to buy something they wear practically once. I would like to amend that statement. If you are planning on having another baby at some point, packing up your maternity clothes to wear the next time around is an excellent and cost effective use of funds and fashion.
You do not need a TON of maternity clothes. You’re pregnant, no one cares that you wear the same outfit every week; that is what accessories are for – mix it up. Getting pregnant is not a license to empty out your bank account on a whole new wardrobe. Oh, I’ve seen it done and oh I’ve been tempted to do it myself. “Yippee! Any reason to buy new clothes! I HAVE to… I’m having a baby. I’m not comfortable. I won’t be able to fit into my clothes next week…” I could go on for days with all the rationalizations that myself, my co-workers and my friends have spouted about buying maternity clothes. Some are valid and some are just excuses to shop.
Looking back, this is what I really needed to get by with maternity clothes:
1/2-pairs of jeans
2/3-work blouses
2-pairs work pants
2-shorts for home
3-nursing bras
Where are all the shirts and dresses on this list? You do not need to buy maternity dresses and t-shirts. If you buy a large (or extra large) in any cotton blend or stretchy fabric in the normal women’s department they will fit. Look at how many tunics are being sold now? You don’t need maternity for the length, buy a tunic. You do not need to spend extra money (and maternity clothes seem to be a 1/3 to 1/2 more expensive than regular clothing) on most clothes for your pregnancy. I could probably also remove the blouses from this list if I didn’t need to dress more “corporate” for work. There are some really fancy cottony T-shirts being sold now that could pass perfectly for causal corporate with the right accessories and a blazer. The only thing I could not get around was pants. Your belly is so round (and in my case wide) that it is hard to find pants that you will truly be comfortable in. Now lounge pants for home, you don’t need maternity, you can just get the larger size yoga pant and you will be just fine.
What about dresses? I will let you in on a little secret. 90% of the dresses that I have in my closet right now I wore while I was pregnant and I wear them now when I’m not. Anything with viscose and a little spandex will stretch and hold its shape. Wonderful fabrics out there these days. So try on the dresses you already own and see what works. I did the same for t-shirts and tops before I got really big. I’m still wearing most of those same tops today.
While I was pregnant I did have two weddings to attend a few months apart. It was in the middle of my pregnancy, when your most dramatic weight gain happens. One day you are a cantaloupe and the next you are a basketball. I wanted to look pretty so I my husband splurged and bought me a really lovely (and expensive) maternity dress. I wore it twice. Since we are talking about it and I love it so much, I’m tempted to try it on to see if I could get away with wearing it today. Its okay to splurge but only on one thing and make the most of it.
Where to shop? What’s affordable? The following is a list of online sites that I found to have really fun, trendy, affordable maternity fashion. Some of these lines weren’t even available last year when I was pregnant. That tells you what a big business being pregnant is. I heard Beyonce is already going to launch a line of maternity clothes and cash in on our poor expanding waist lines and shrinking wallets. I am sort of jealous at how cool some of this stuff is and that I didn’t get a chance to sample it.
My killer deals on casual, T-shirts, tank-tops, etc. all came from Wal-Mart. I bought three extra large tanks for $3 a piece! Can’t beat that.
My next tip is for swimwear. When I was seven months pregnant we went on vacation to Florida and I needed a swimsuit. I went to three stores and tried on every single maternity swimsuit and it was the most awful experience of my life. They were hideous. Fed-up I went to the regular swim department in Target and bought the largest size they had, it was super cute it made me feel good. Plus, I saved 50%.
There are a ton of maternity lines out there and the ones that advertise the most are the most expensive. It is really discouraging when you are a young pregnant woman without a lot of money and you want to buy cool clothes for your belly. It almost makes me mad at how much some of these places are willing to charge for a pair of maternity tights. Highway robbery!
Here is another tip that I wish I could take credit for: A friend told me that her pregnant sister-in-law and her girlfriends (Following me still?) all seemed to get pregnant around the same time. I find this true with most circles of friends, including my own. What they did was started a “maternity box” and after they had their babies they put in all their maternity clothes. The next girlfriend to get pregnant got the box. As it made it rounds, each girl added a piece or two and it became quite the collection. Everyone wins. They all had plenty to wear throughout their pregnancies and more money in their kid’s college account. How brilliant and simple is that? I plan on doing this going forward.
Here is my No. 1 tip for shopping for maternity clothes: Go directly to the sales and clearance racks first.
Happy shopping my pregnant friends, be patient, be healthy and shop responsibly. Many prayers for a safe delivery and healthy baby for you as well.~LadyBowTie
