Lets talk maternity clothing....

[vintagelover229]

I didn't check to see if there was another thread about maternity clothing but I figured I start a thread about it either way.


I'm finding maternity clothing shopping to be difficult. In the clothes defense-I haven't gone to any stores to try anything on yet (I'm only 4 months so far but I know I'll be needing it soon) but I have shopped around online and boy oh boy that stuff isn't cheap at all.


I am going to borrow some clothing from friends but I can only get so much since they were pregnant during the winter and not during the summer/fall. We are also going on our honeymoon which will require active wear clothing and it's very very very expensive. I'll also need larger sports bras (I wanted to buy nursing sports bras but I was told to hold off on that until closer to my due date since your breasts can still get a lot larger and you don't want to end up buying the wrong size).


I do know that old navy carries maternity clothing for a reasonable price but we don't have one near us. Any active wear will probably have to be shipped which can make it difficult to figure out sizing. I was fairly small prior to getting pregnant but I have no clue what size I will be during our trip-but I can't afford to just wait and then go to the mall and buy everything I need since we need to watch the spending due to the trip/house and the baby.

So-how to you determine what sizing you will need for maternity clothing? Is there any good sites that sell maternity clothing in lots? I've checked ebay and they have some-but it's pretty hard because of the sizing.

I can't afford to spend a ton of money on brand new clothing-but anything gently used is fine in my book. I love 2nd hand shops but the one trip I made to one searching for maternity clothing I drew 2 conclusions. 1) You're not getting that bit of a price break (at least not at the one I went to) and 2) The stuff from the 80's is terrible. I mean just terrible. I guess I should thank hollywood for at least doing one thing-making being pregnant trendy so we have some decent clothing to choose from.


So ladies-where do you shop for your clothes? How did you figure out sizing? How many pieces can I really get away with having? A few pairs of shorts/pants/tops? I don't need professional clothing since I am not working (but I know many women do so feel free to post those suggestions for those who need them) but I will need comfortable traveling clothing that is easy to dress up if I need to while on our trip.

Thanks so much!

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Hey, congratulations on your impending bundle of joy!

It's been several years since I needed maternity clothing, but if I remember correctly, you don't necessarily need to go up in sizes with maternity clothing (at least that was my experience). So if you were a 4 beforehand, you remain a 4, but the clothing is obviously built to accommodate your expanding belly.

I found Old Navy's fit on me to be a little odd. I liked The Gap best and found their fit to be true to size. Do you have a Motherhood Maternity or Pea in the Pod anywhere near you? With those stores, you have to be careful b/c they don't allow you to return anything. You can do store credit, just not a return. Sounds like you'll be due in the fall? You will be VERY hot towards the end and you could probably get away with not having to buy many, if any at all, long sleeve stuff.

There are different sorts of waists on pants- some are these small bands while others are these large, stretchy numbers that will serve you well towards the end. Target and other places sell a belly band thingie, so that you can just keep your regular pants on for as long as they fit and you then leave the waistband/button undone and put the belly band over it to keep it together.

Personally, I wouldn't go overboard and buy too much. Just a few pieces and then you can reassess your needs as you get further along. People are totally used to seeing pregnant women wearing the same things repeatedly.

 

[monarch64]

VL, I ordered most of my maternity wardrobe from Old Navy. I specifically needed long lengths in jeans, and I did not want to spend a ton of money, plus my work dress code is very casual so it was the right place for me. Typically I never buy ANYTHING from Old Navy because their quality is crap. But their maternity stuff is actually very good, I have found.

Their sizing is generous, so I'd say you are a small or even extra small in some things. If you order something that doesn't work, you can just ship it back and they'll credit you for the shipping charge ($6 in the states). It's really not a big deal.

I did probably 3 orders total over the past 7 months. I can go through everything I have when I get home from work tonight and give you exact details, but first I bought two pairs of jeans and one pair of cargo pants along with a couple long sleeved tops. The tops I didn't even need until 25-26 weeks, honestly. I have still never purchased anything but elastic waist pants, no maternity panels for me. I was used to wearing everything below my natural waist to begin with so not a problem. My next larger order was several dresses; a couple maxi length ones and a short one, and a couple tanks. All of that has gotten me through my 8th month. I already had longer tank tops that I could layer under tees or cardigans, and also I already had some knit maxi skirts from Express that have foldover waists and are quite convenient for pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, and post-partum wear.

I bought a couple basic tees in pretty colors from Target, and two of their tanks. I have gotten by on two bras, one black, one nude, up one cup size and one band size, this whole time. I will only buy another bra if I go up another size when my milk comes in.

I've probably spent much less than $500, in my estimation. Probably have bought 18-20 pieces, total.

My previous neighbor was pregnant with her second when we moved into our new house last summer. She was a SAHM working on her dissertation and she work the SAME EXACT OUTFIT every. single. day. I know this because she and her husband took a stroll around the neighborhood every evening when we walked our dog plus I saw her in the mornings. Good for her, but that would drive me absolutely batty.

 

[Kunzite]

I'm another who ordered a lot of Old Navy (I don't believe they carry maternity in the stores anymore, FYI, before you make the trek). I found that I had to actually go down a size because their maternity sizing is pretty generous. I just tried to pay attention to the reviews because people are pretty good about comparing how the pieces fit and what size you should order (up or down). The quality isn't the best (I have a few shirts that got holes in them) but it's also only for a few months. I have probably 10 tops and 3 pairs of pants.

 

[pancake]

I always just stuck with my pre-pregnancy size, or sized down if the vendor (I bought everything online) said it ran large. For reference I was a 4 pre-preg, sometimes a 2, and I wore an XS through my pregnancy.

I didn't want to compromise too much on style and fabric quality, so for me the cheapest way to buy was online through eBay and flash sales (eg Gilt Groupe). My favourite labels were Maternal America and Olian, both expensive but I bought both for at least 50% off by shopping online. We don't have Old Navy here (Australia) unfortunately, or else I would have taken advantage of the prices!

I went into mat pants and jeans at about 16 weeks I think, and then dresses around 20 weeks and tops only when absolutely necessary (I found a lot of non-mat tops were fine provided they had stretch or were cut in a certain way, and for fitted basics you can just buy a size up). Obviously at the very end, pretty much only mat stuff fit! Cardis and jackets were great to layer over stretchy fitted tops.

My essentials:

1 pair of good black pants
2 pairs of jeans (could get away with 1 though - Maternal America are worth the price)
3-4 dresses (for work) - dresses are great because they really are the most comfortable thing to wear and it makes it so easy to get dressed in the morning, avoids the "what the heck am I going to wear?" feeling that comes up quite often during pregnancy!
Maybe 2 mat tops... I wore non-mat most of the time
3 mat bras (I swear by Bravado)
A couple of pairs of mat leggings

For pilates/lounging around the house I wore leggings or just regular low-waisted sweatpants or yoga pants.

 

[packrat]

Hm..first I'm kinda giving Pancake the narrow eye for wearing XS thru pregnancy..

I wore a lot of elastic waist pants and drawstring pants w/London. I did have a friend that I borrowed a few shirts from. Yoga pants, that kinda stuff, some of it you can't really tell that they're yoga pants, so I'd wear them to work at the office. With Trapper I bought a few shirts from Motherhood Maternity. By then I was working at Dr's office so I wore the maternity turtlenecks I got from MM with scrub pants and had them ride low under my tummy. I got a couple bella bands too. Oh, and I got a couple pair of maternity khaki pants at Target for a good price.

 

[pancake]

Don't worry Packrat... I had ye olde glamorous pregnancy swollen face and ankles too, plus Olian and Mat America are guilty of a bit of vanity sizing

I had forgotten about Bella Bands... I used mine until about 20-something weeks and then it was just easier to wear mat jeans. Now they are quite useful as tummy covers for when I'm wearing a top that needs to be lifted up to get to the nursing bra underneath (although usually I wear a nursing tank instead because it's just so convenient).

 

[megumic]

Definitely Gap and Old Navy maternity online. I bought 90% of my stash there -- everything from lounge wear to work clothes. Wait for sales and coupon codes and buy a batch. I always read the reviews, which are helpful, and buy my regular size unless otherwise advised. If you order the wrong size, they'll mail exchange it for free and no extra shipping, so don't order more than one size since you can exchange without a charge! If you return, it's $6, but that's why I order a whole load at a time and return whatever doesn't work. They hardly have any mat clothes in their retail stores and you can't return to them either if you bought online, so online is the way to go in my opinion.

The Gap stuff has better fit and better quality. I got work pants there and work skirts there, but most of my cotton jersey knit stuff is ON.

 

[stephbolt]

Gap and Ann Taylor Loft have been my go-tos for maternity clothes, but I have needed dressier stuff for work. I did have to go up a size at both stores for their maternity clothes, but I typically gain weight first in my lower body so it doesn't surprise me that some of my pregnancy gain is there as well. It is super frustrating to try and and guess what size you need without trying on, but I just bit the bullet, ordered stuff in a few different sizes, and sent back what didn't work. I also got lucky and had a coworker bring me three bags of stuff, all the pants were too short but a bunch of the tops worked. I have three pairs of dress pants for work, one pair of jeans, one pair of cords, and bought maybe ten shirts on my own? I also made a lot of my pre-pregancy shirts work longer by buying maternity tanks that would cover the bit of belly that had started to peak out underneath, and I wore the belly band with my pre-pregnancy pants until 20 weeks. Oh, and for workout clothes, I finally just bit the bullet and bought larger stuff at TJMaxx. Much cheaper than buying the same stuff in the store, and I figure they will be good for bumming around in post-baby too.

Maybe check out yard sales and see if anyone is cleaning out their maternity clothes, it's a good time of year for that? I also see big lots of clothes all the time on craigslist, but I never came across anything that worked for me size-wise.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

I admittedly didn't buy much casual maternity clothing. By the end of my pregnancy I did buy a few pair of cotton drawstring pants from TJ Maxx, but they weren't maternity (I just wore them under my belly). I've been wearing those often while on maternity leave

The Gap was my favorite store for cotton shirts. Their stretch cotton shirts were so soft. And the Gap has decent sales from time to time, so I stocked up then.

I bought premium denim off of eBay. I got a pair of Paige jeans, a pair of JJs and a pair of Seven for All Mankind. I don't think I paid more than $50 for any of them. I can wear jeans to work, but work at an ad agency where all the girls wear super cute jeans and I didn't want to feel frumpy. Plus, I plan on getting pregnant again at some point and jeans can be worn year-round, so I figured it was a good investment, haha.

Dresses. I lived in dresses. They were comfy plus I had to wear them to work when meeting with my client, which was often. The Gap had great dresses. In a pinch, I ran to H&M (one next to my office) and they actually had some really cute dresses. Motherhood Maternity also had a couple of cute dresses.

Oh, and I did buy a couple of things from Kohls. Not the best quality, but it was the only place I could find decent black work pants.

I didn't buy anything from Old Navy, but probably will next time around. I didn't even know they had maternity clothes until I was in the store a few days ago (looking at baby clothes) and saw a cute maternity maxi dress. If I were pregnant in the summer, I'd probably buy several of those, haha.

 

[JGator]

The Gap has a sale online today only April 27 - using code GAPFRESH - you get 25% off your order. Old Navy has 20% off using code ONSAVE20 through 4/29. You can print an OldNavy coupon to bring into the store or use that code online. The Gap is an online only sale.

 

[vintagelover229]

Wow!

Thanks so much for the help everyone-I love PS so much

I'm glad to know most of you ordered online. There is one lot of clothing on ebay that I'm pretty certain I will bid on. Mostly since it's actually a lot of clothing I would get wear out of and would get me pretty close though my pregnancy. I wear a lot of skirts/dresses already but since I was so small prior to the baby many of those won't work. Some of the skirts thankfully will though

I have one pair of yoga pants that I think will fit me though the entire thing (ride low since the band isn't very large) but that should be okay. I'll probably go buy a dress for his brothers wedding-one of the few things I'll plan on buying new-unless I can find what I am looking for on kijiji or something


Thank you all SO much! I hope this thread continues and helps other pregnant ladies find clothing as well

JGator: Thanks so much for the coupons-we'll be downtown tomorrow so I'll have to stop buy Old Navy and Gap to see what they have. I won't be able to order today though but at least I can try stuff on from there to know their sizing. I'll for sure print out the old navy coupon to use in the store if I find something that I like


You guys are great!

 

[JGator]

VL, you might want to call your Old Navy and Gap and make sure they have Maternity in stock. I know some items are available online only, and some stores do not carry Maternity. I tried last weekend with no luck at both Gap and Old Navy when I was out of town.

Also, the sale does not apply to Denim/Jeans.

 

[Skippy123]

I couldn't order online; maternity clothes really varied!!! a size large or medium was different for different stores which was super annoying. I know people like Gap and Old Navy but maybe it was only when I was preggo but they didn't have clothes that fit a twin momma and the clothes was poorly made, hopefully it has changed. I did find that Motherhood (I have heard people don't like this brand too, so I guess it varies), Burlington, Target and JCPenny's worked well for me. I did not like Sear's and Macy's (carried Motherhood; I found Motherhood the store itself cheaper than Macy's Motherhood). For me, I really had to try on clothes. I actually fit into large non maternity clothes for awhile until about a couple of weeks before I gave birth. I did notice that you don't pop until later. I did like stretchy jeans and I bought mine big so I had to room to grow into them. I also didn't invest in a lot of clothes because I doubted I would wear them again since people sometimes get pregnant again during different seasons. Good luck!

 

[monkeyprincess]

Thanks for starting this thread Vintage and thanks to everyone for your input! I made my first maternity pants purchases last weekend at Motherhood Maternity (which I'll probably have to start wearing next week). I wasn't too terribly impressed with the quality and selection, but I managed to find basic pairs of pants that I'll be rotating frequently. I then went on an online shopping spree over the past few days from the Loft, Gap, and Old Navy. DH is going to when the boxes start arriving at his office next week because I may have gone a little overboard.

Do any of you have a preference for belly panels vs. the stretchy waist bands for jeans and work pants? I tried a few of each, but it is sort of hard to know what I'll want when I get further along. My belly is only just starting to pop over the past week....

 

[sunnyd]

I'm 15 weeks, but have been wearing a lot of mat clothes for the last month or so. Motherhood and Loft, mostly. My work attire is business professional, so I have a few pairs of work pants with a full panel (it's thin and comfy) and several shirts. I want to look pregnant, not beer bellied, so I'm down with the maternity clothes, a lot of them are really cute!

I didn't find it all that expensive either...I would have bought new summer clothes anyway! Motherhood and Loft are always having killer sales too; I just bought 8 tops and a pair of shorts last week for $140. My SIL gave me a few things, but she was winter preg, and I'm summer. I'm sure I'll need more over the course of 5 months too...I'm kind of a clothes horse.

 

[KimberlyH]

Yo have some great suggestions for clothing, so I'll just add not to purchase nursing bras until 7-10 days post delivery. Your milk will come in after baby is born, typically and your cup size can change. I'm do glad I waited as. I would have had to go shopping twice for nursing bras

 

[sunnyd]

A friend of mine told me to invest in some good nursing tops, too. She wishes she had for baby #1 but couldn't justify it for #2.

 

[choro72]

Believe it or not, at 32 weeks I still refuse to wear maternity clothes if I don't have to! I just can't justify spending that much on temporary stuff. Of course there are circumstances when I can't help it...

-I don't buy online. I'm so short that 99% of scoop necks show more cleavage and bra than I care to, so I have to try them on.
-I've bought some Old Navy shirts and Destination Maternity work pants, but only on sale and the clearance rack. Target sizes don't work for me. Make sure you contact Old Navy first. Most Old Navy stores don't carry maternity lines.
-I didn't buy anything beforehand because I didn't know what I needed. As I got bigger I recognized what my needs were and only then I went hunting.
-Bras at Ross. Wireless bras are much more comfy. I haven't bothered with nursing yet because I'm so overwhelmed already with other baby stuff!
-Get bottoms with the full belly elastic!!!!!!!!!! Much more comfy than the waist band thing!!!!!!!
-Support girdles and bands. They help in later pregnancy. I started wearing them when I go out during my 2nd trimester. Now I have to wear them at home too.
-Pre preggo shirts. I've always had tons of shirts that were "baggy style", and go all the way down to my thighs. These work just fine so I just wear them as is. Rule of thumb is, you have to make sure that the front has enough length to cover bellow your crotch when you get bigger.
-Pre preggo tanks. As I said, most maternity shirts reveal too much, so I wear my normal tank-tops and camisoles underneath. My belly is too big for them so they ride up and bunch up underneath my boobs, but the maternity shirt over it will cover it fine.
-Pre preggo sweatpants. I simply roll the elastic band down so that it sits beneath my belly.
-DH's clothes. This only works because DH is not in a good shape I also have no shame, so I wear them when I go out for simple errands like grocery shopping. I make sure I dress properly for outings though.
-suspenders. I didn't buy a single pair of maternity jeans. I wear my normal jeans unbuttoned, unzipped. This only works with low rise jeans though. I secure it with a belt under the belly and suspenders. The suspenders go underneath all of my clothes, so I have to unhook it each time I use the bathroom. This makes it very time consuming and cumbersome, so I only do this when I go out. When I work I wear my maternity pants.
-No jackets. I just wear my normal jacket with it unbuttoned.

I'll add on if I remember anything else.

 

[lliang_chi]

VL, in terms of maternity clothing, I opted for tops that were regular clothes but maternity friendly. Like long, open/drapey cardigans. Albeit I was pregnant in the winter. For the summer, maybe you can look at maxi dresses, or skirts made from jersey material? Flowy tops or light "cardigans" matched with a nursing tank (that are longer in torso length so good to cover the belly).

~LC

 

[PilsnPinkysMom]

All of my maternity purchases were from Old Navy, with the exception of some second-hand finds (randoms) and a few hand-me-down tops. Even out of the gently used items, 50% are Old Navy/Gap brands. My ON stuff is holding up REALLY well, despite lots of washing. I love, love, LOVE their ribbed, ruched tanks! Some of the dresses I ordered ran big, but they're starting to fit about this time.

I am short waisted and found that the elastic band pants only worked early on in my pregnancy. By 24 weeks they did not fit well and were uncomfortable. I prefer a thin, full-belly panel. I felt silly wearing full panels early on, as my bump was barely there, but now it's what I prefer. BUT- lots of women feel the exact opposite way

I've had quite a few non-mat items work throughout this pregnancy: Long sweaters, jackets, cardigans (don't button, or only button under bust), many cotton jersey dresses, and fold-over jersey skirts. My yoga pants no longer fit- they're stretched to the max and it feels like they dig in under my belly.

Question: What did you summer-preggos do about swim suits? I'm taking a family beach vacation during weeks 34/35 and would like to take dip in the pool, at a minimum. I'm even looking into swimming at my gym now to relieve some pressure. All I have are bikinis. I tried on a maternity swimsuit and it was ridiculous. But would it be even worse to sport a bikini with a monstrous belly?

 

[swimmer]

I listened to people and bought my nursing bras a week pp and man that sucker was too big in a week. Anyone with enormous tatas want my lightly used bravada? I nursed for 17mths and was a cup size larger than normal for all but the first few weeks and could have used the Target ones just for then.

Am preggo the second round now and am so lucky to have hand-me-downs from friends but here are my few tips:

Pea in a pod/Motherhood inside Macy's honors Macy's return policy. Yeah. They don't have much selection, but you can return just about anything to Macy's.

The bellabands are my lifesaver. I'm 30weeks and just use them to hold things together. But the target Bebands are just the top of old pantyhose so if you want more support than that or are unable to cut up hose then buy those, if not splurge the extra $6 an get the Bella, there is no real comparison when you put them next to each other.

I swim most days (have a race scheduled for 9mths) and last time just got a larger size speedo on swimoutlet.com the prosport brand will run you about $20 and you can grab some swim diapers while you are there to get free shipping. Anyone who looks askance at a preggo woman in a swimsuit is an idiot. You give me their name and I will hunt them down. Or at least send them eviscerating emails.

Good luck and take care!

 

[amc80]

I've bought most of my stuff at Motherhood Maternity. Luckily, I can wear jeans to work. So I have 3 pairs of jeans and probably 10 shirts...and that's my whole wardrobe. I really need to buy some shorts or skirts or something...it's getting too hot for jeans on the weekends. A friend just told me that Old Navy has some really comfy cotton skirts, so I'll check those out this week.

Oh, I have a bunch of polos from American Eagle...not maternity. I had to buy an XL for my boobs and for the length, which meant they were always big in the stomach area. Which also means they still fit. They are starting to get a little short but will work for now. I also had some extra long tanks/camis from The Buckle that I was wearing under shirts. They were providing some extra support to the boobage...but now they are getting too tight around the belly.

 

[vintagelover229]

Thank you all so much I hope this thread continues to help all expecting mothers as much as it helped me


I checked out kijiji and found a great deal from a lady who was selling her mat clothing. She had mostly smalls but a couple of mediums-all thyme or motherhood brand. I got a ton of clothing-including 2 Mat dresses-a sweater and other things for 160.00. She was only asking 150.00 but neither of us had change and I felt it was well worth the extra 10.00 and she met me at the mall so we didn't have to drive an additional 40 minutes (20 there/back) on our trip. She was super helpful and sweet and I was pretty much swimming in the mat clothes still which made me feel a bit better about everything She couldn't even tell I was expecting! I've posted some pictures since I got so much stuff-a few pairs of nice dress pants and even a pair of sweat pants. No belly bands but I'll probably get a few of those as shower gifts.

I also thought I would have to buy a new dress for my BIL upcoming wedding in Aug. I'll be 7 months at that point and didn't think I would have anything to wear to an outdoor country wedding. I'm not sure I can attach another picture (I think 4 is the limit) but if not I"ll post again below. It's super cute but when I hold it up it's almost like holding up a large sheet (different material). I can't imagine wearing it and not swimming in it but I know by 7 months it will work out well AND its cute!!

 

[vintagelover229]

BTW:

Does anyone own a moo moo? I think that's what they are called. My DH keeps telling me just to buy a bunch of moo moo's since I'm married and they are supposed to be really comfortable. I don't even know what they are but from his description they sound pretty comfy!

 

[monarch64]

Your husband is messing with you, VL. A Muumuu is a one-piece floral print dress with short sleeves that typically brings to mind an overweight lady past the age of 50 or 60. Think Kathy Bates.

 

[vintagelover229]

Monarch:
Thanks so much for that-I know he was kidding but a gf of mine did tell me if she could have gotten away with wearing them she would have

And I totally spelled it wrong. I really thought it was called a Moomoo! I did a basic search after you posted and found this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muumuu

That one in the picture is NOT attractive AT all to me lol. I think I'll pass on the muumuu!

 

[packrat]

You got some really cute clothes VL, good job!

Ha, those muumuu things, you're probably not old enough to remember but if anyone used to watch Three's Company, Mrs. Roper always wore them w/all kinds of crazy costume jewelry!

 

[monarch64]

I TOTALLY remember Mrs. Roper's muumuu's! She was hilarious. And sex-crazed. She was always after Mr. Roper to give her some action and he would always roll his eyes. I LOVED watching re-runs of that show when I was a kid!

 

[packrat]

Me too! They're still just as funny now, we watch now and again. That's one of the shows my brother and I always watched when we were little. Between the Roper's and then Mr. Furley oh lordy.