Time for an announcement. I’m going to have a baby! With child #2 on the way, my mind has been thinking baby-related ways to save. What communicates pregnancy more than a big belly? Today’s experiment: Saving on Maternity Clothing.
My daughter was born in Europe, and there weren’t many clothing options where we were in general. Maternity specific was insanely expensive and hard to find. I learned lessons about saving on maternity clothing then because it was necessary, and I had no other option.
Accept Hand Me Downs
If someone offers to give you their pre-used clothing, accept it, no questions asked. The style may not seem like your own and it may not be too trendy. But as your belly grows, your options will lessen and you may find that your least favorite maternity clothes are the most comfortable ones you have. I’m 5’ 2” and petite, so there is nowhere for the baby to go except out. At the end of my pregnancy, the only piece of clothing that fit (that I was willing to where outside our house) was a flowery printed dress that I’d probably never buy for myself. But I wore it everyday because it was so comfortable, the only article that my belly would fit in.
Make Do with Clothing You Already Have
The ladies in Europe don’t buy maternity clothing. They just use what they already have that will fit their belly. And really, it isn’t necessary to wear maternity clothing until your belly prevents you from wearing your normal clothing. I have to go into maternity pants around two months, but I know many ladies who can wear their regular jeans until much later in the pregnancy. I wore my regular shirts (the long ones) up until about eight months during the last pregnancy. You can make this work by wearing long shirts as well as shirts with an empire waist style (with a seam under the bust and a billowy bottom half). Any shirts will work as long as they are longer and made with stretchy material.
Watch for Sales Even When You Aren’t Pregnant
I have a friend who has wisely already shopped for maternity clothing. She isn’t pregnant and doesn’t have any immediate plans to get pregnant. However, she knows how expensive maternity clothing can be. She watches maternity shops for sales and snags items when they are dirt cheap. You can safely shop ahead by buying clothing that are styled simply with plain colors. Also, you need not worry about which season of the year you may be pregnant. You are bound to hit a warm and cold season in the length of your pregnancy. Also, if you are like most ladies the longer your pregnancy goes on, the hotter you will become (temperature-wise). No sweaters in the winter. That’s for sure!
What’s your favorite piece of maternity clothing? What tips have you gleaned about dressing while pregnant?
congrats!!
Naomi,
I completely agree. I happily accepted any clothes donations when I was pregnant – both maternity clothes and clothes in a larger size than i normally wear. In the end, I only ended up buying one or 2 new pieces of clothing and a few pieces from a consignment sale (due to needing some office appropriate clothing).
I was able to wear much of my regular clothes for the first 5 months and then I just couldn’t see buying clothing that I’d only wear for a short time.
Congratulations Naomi and great ideas!
My belly didn’t get too big until the very end, so I was able to wear my regular clothes for quite a while. I did buy a few maternity clothes, but the best thing I bought was a BellaBand (http://www.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?DeptID=71387&CatID=71387&Grptyp=PRD&ItemId=14a780e&cm_mmc=ShoppingFeed-_-Google-_-Lingerie+Sleepwear-_-Everyday%20BellaBand%20by%20Ingrid%20Isabel%20by%20JCPenney%20%20Black%20Coffee%20White). They cost between $20 – $30, but it was well worth it to me. You can continue to wear your regular jeans unzipped or even unbuttoned and then just wear the band over the top. Then you just pull your shirt down over it and it looks you just have a cute little camisole on underneath! I used mine for quite a while postpartum too, until I was able to comfortably fit back into my old jeans. =)
Watch for sales, buy stuff that is the off season, but woulfd work for while you are going to be pregnant. Also some websites like motherhood and such will have leftovers from last winter deeply clearenced for this winter. My other two great places for cheap maternity: goodwill, anytime, but especially the first saturday of the month when everything in the store is half off, so we are talking $2 – $4 and consignment sales. I got a brand new pair of maternity jeans at a consignment sale for $3.
I just found a website (through a friend on FB – gotta love connections!) called BeantoBabyMaternity.com. You can actually RENT maternity clothes.
I found out about it because my friend needed something for a company outing and didn’t want to spend that kind of money on buying something. She ended up with a designer dress by renting it!
I never would have thought to do that!