So, you’re pregnant, and excited to start buying all those “cute” maternity clothes… that is, until you go to the mall and find out just how much the cute clothes are going to cost!
Here are a few tips on having a great maternity wardrobe without overspending. I’d love to hear what you’ve done to stretch the clothing budget for this special life event!
1. Wear regular clothes as long as you can.
I know, I know – especially if it’s your first child, you want the world to know you are pregnant so you break out the maternity clothes at two months when your baby is smaller than the nail on your pinkie finger and the uterus is maybe the size of a grape. 
But if you want to save money on maternity clothes, resist the urge to start wearing them before it’s really necessary. You won’t have nearly the selection of clothes you normally do and by the time you’ve been wearing the same two pairs of pants and four shirts for six months in a row you’ll be super tempted to go spend a bunch of money on new maternity clothes. That’s how wearing them too soon gets expensive!
2. Stretch your normal clothes as long as you can.
With Baby number four on the way, I finally purchased a Bella Band. You see, I’ve worn maternity clothes a lot over the past five years and I’m to the point that I’d really like to just wear “normal” clothes for awhile.
So, I bought the Bella Band
I’m not going to say the Bella Band is an essential – after all, I’ve had three kids without one! But, it has let me wear my jeans and pants longer. At 3 months I’m in half maternity pants and half normal pants with a Bella Band, just whatever happens to be clean!
I think the Bella Band would have been even more useful with my first pregnancy, when I didn’t have a muffin top and I didn’t start showing before I even took a pregnancy test.
Also, many body types can wear many non-maternity throughout pregnancy. Think high-waisted, flowly, stretchy, and long. There are many popular styles right now that work great for maternity, and they’ve even been around long enough that they’ve made their way to thrift stores! I bought a few new shirts for Baby #3, but none of them were maternity shirts. Buy a size larger if necessary, but you’ll be able to spend way less on shirts if you shop the non-maternity sections!
3. Skip the non-essentials.
Do you need a maternity coat when your baby is due in June? You’ll only be a few months pregnant during the cold winter months – will your belly have expanded enough to need a special coat? A maternity swimsuit? Think about how many times you’ll be sitting at the pool during the summer while pregnant and make sure it will be more than once or twice. That’s an awfully expensive swimming session or two!
At the very least, weigh these decisions carefully if you’re on a tight budget. Would it be better to spend $75 on a maternity coat, or buy 2 or 3 or 4 other pieces with that $75?
Or, if you need a special occasion maternity dress for just a one-time event, consider borrowing one from a friend. Chances are you could even thank them with $10 and you’d still be out way less than you would if you’d bought one.
4. Buy used.
A lot of maternity clothing at thrift stores…well, let’s just say it should have been put in the thrift store twenty years ago! But, there are still many nice items to be found at thrift stores. I’ve found several pairs of pants at Goodwill for $3.99, and now just make a habit of quickly glancing through the maternity rack when I’m there. It’s not a big selection, so it doesn’t take long, and quite often can be a great source of maternity attire.
You could also try Craiglist, eBay, and of course garage sales. I do own a maternity swimsuit because I got one for $2 at a garage sale!
A couple of friends have asked if there are any maternity consignment stores here in the Springs. I don’t know of any, but maybe some of you do?
5. Don’t buy clothes, buy accessories.
A few well-made, maternity basics can last a long time and look quite fashionable with the right accessories. Think about jackets and blazers that you can wear unbuttoned on top of a nice basic top, scarves and jewelry, etc. You can stretch your maternity staples far with some fun accessories that you’ll be able to wear after Baby’s born, too!
Some of these tips may be too extreme for you, or wouldn’t work with your body type, but I hope they’ve gotten you thinking about simple ways to save! Looking cute during pregnancy doesn’t have to break the bank at all.
What have you done to stretch your maternity clothing budget? Do you know of any maternity consignment stores here in the Springs?
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{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
Hooking a thin ponytail holder through the button hole of my regular pants has worked for me (as long as I’m wearing a long top) and I’m 5 months pregnant with my 3rd.
Target often has maternity clothes on their clearance rack…I’ve found several tops and skirts for under $5 apiece. The Target on Academy and Union seems to be the best location for clearance maternity clothes.
OK, you guys, I should just tell you that I know Abby and she basically looks awesome 5 months pregnant with her third.
Forgot to mention the ponytail holder trick – thanks, Abby!
One thing I didn’t mention in the post is that I’ve overall been pretty disappointed with the quality of maternity clothes. Granted, I have fewer pieces overall so they get washed and worn more, but I bought a pair of Liz Lange maternity jeans that faded *really* fast. And, I’ve had a brand new shirt from Motherhood that pilled the first time I washed it.
Could just be my luck, but in some ways, I’d much rather buy used clothes so that I know they’ve already been washed and worn several times and already have their fading done!
I’d be interested to know if anyone can recommend maternity brands that are well made throughout their line, not just a random piece or two.
It’s true, Liz Lange does seem to fade quickly. I only justify buying that brand if a piece is seriously cheap. I don’t like Motherhood brand either…they just fit weird and they look too “maternity” to me.
Gap maternity clothes seem to be better quality and are definitely more stylish. I occasionally shop Gap maternity clearance section online when I need a certain piece (like LONG maternity pants…most brands are too short on me).
You said it first – I agree, Motherhood looks too maternity-ish to me.
I got lucky & had my babies when the babydolly style shirts/tanks were popular (atleast in CA) so I was able to wear through my whole pregnancy & felt like I was wearing normal clothes.
I bought a few short sleeved or tank maternity tops and then wore my regular sweaters and jackets open over them. Sarongs are also great for tops or bottoms if you figure out how to wrap them around the belly.
I’ve never really looked at the selection since I haven’t been pregnant since they opened, but Kidlets consignment shop at 696 N. Circle has a small maternity section. The baby and toddler clothes there are also nice and inexpensive.
Hey Carrie,
I just wanted to let you know that we do have a large selection of maternity clothing at the Just Between Friends sale. We do our best to only accept name brand “in style” maternity clothes. Hope it helps.
Melissa
Ah, I hadn’t thought of that – thanks, Melissa!
I’ll second the jeans at thrift stores
When you try them on you know they fit and are done shrinking, esp since you are just getting larger. It’s a bummer to buy a new pair and have them too small too quick! And when you hit the 1/2 off of $3.99 – well let’s jsut say since I change sizes quite a bit from med to x-large, even in maternity by the time I get to the end, I have jeans in every size now.
Sweat pants are great for around the house. Check the men’s section. They tend to be larger and in navy or gray you cannot tell the difference. This is a good time of year to find those on clearance too. Sweatpants are also great post-partum.
Agree w/ the coat – my DH has a jacket he rarely uses and I have often worn it when I needed too. I have delivered in Jun, Mar and Nov and getting ready to in July – have yet to own a maternity jacket living in Colorado!
Now I did buy a maternity zipper-up black sweater…… one of the few things I have bought new. Think it was from Ross (another good place to buy new on the less expensive end) It was a great buy – I wear it all the time, it goes with jeans and tee-shirt or a casual dressy. If you need to buy outwear I would do this before a coat.
Are there any good maternity second hand stores? I have a wedding to attend in 10 days, am almost 5 months pregnant and need something to wear………………
Jen…I have two brown maternity cocktail dresses for sale on craigslist…search “brown cocktail dress” in the baby/kids section if you’re interested!
I just got a bunch of great deals on ebay. I actually won a couple items for cheap then emailed the sellers to see if they had any other maternity items and score! I made out with almost 20 things, all super cute and in style all for under $80 and that’s including shipping. I got some of the secret belly pants in long in the lot (im super tall and pants are so hard to find) They run at least $40 new in the store. Children’s Orchard had maternity for a while but Ron got rid of it because it just wasn’t selling well. I picked up some things at the last JBF sale but it’s really hard because you can’t try it on and ALL of the pants I got were too short. Oh well, they’ll be back at JBF this time around
I have bought SO many awesome things from Ross. Their maternity section has grown over the last couple of years. There’s at least 10-15 pant selections in each size. The smallest selection is in the XL size though.
I usually don’t spend more than 5-7 on a maternity shirt and no more than 12.99 on maternity pants!! And I’ve even gotten a couple full panel pants there! Great deal! Walmart USED to sell maternity, and I would get stuff on clearance there, knowing it wasn’t the BEST of quality.
My tip this time (3rd pregnancy) is LONG tank tops. You can wear them under anything and still wear your regular tops! I went to Old Navy when they had their tanks for $2. They are nice and long on me and I bought about 10 of them! So I just layer!!!
I agree on the long tank tops!!! I was able to wear my regular clothes for quite a few months if I layered them over a long tank. Unfortunately, the tank tops get shorter as your belly gets bigger
Oh yeah, and about the jackets….I bought a really pretty hoodie (since let’s face it…with being pregnant, I’m usually not that cold anyways) from Lane Bryant for 12 bucks on clearance. It has those double zippers so when you zip it up with the first zipper, you can take the second zipper and unzip the hoodie to right above your tummy!! Everyone thinks it is a cute maternity hoodie…but it’s not!! Now I get to wear it when I’m not pregnant too.
My Old Navy maternity pants and shirts lasted w/o any fading or shrinking. I also got a shirt at Ross that held up well. I didn’t like the couple of pieces I got at Motherhood, because they shrank w/ washing. I really need to take my maternity clothes to Goodwill or another thrift store!
Don’t reveal when and where you’re dropping them off – sounds like there might be readers who would hijack you before you got to the donation door.
With my first girl back in 05 I bought a pair of Maternity pants from Motherhood. They are the best pregnancy/ post pregnancy pants ever! It always took me about two months to get back to my reg pants and having those and also a belly band was great! I also love to buy empire waist tops that tie in the back they are great for the first 6 months of pregnancy also. and you can wear them after.
I did the thrift stores and a few items from Old Navy & Motherhood & JC Penny clearance. I also did the half off day of the JBF sale when we were still TTC. Since I found things for such a good deal I ended up with more maternity clothes than I have regular clothes. I did buy one of those Bella band type things from craigslist and a belly elastic belt. This time I purchased L & XL since I needed both with my first and never ended up needing any of the XL, which I guess is a good thing.
My daughter was born in September and I still have boxes and boxes of clothes I need to get rid of. I was soooo excited when I found the first pair of those special motherhood jeans with the fancy panel at the thrift store for nothing. I won’t even pay $40 for jeans when I’m not pregnant. I did have a nice Gap swimsuit and black hoodie that were from my first pregnancy that my best friend somehow still had around her house. The swimsuit I got on clearance from Gap online, it’s made it through three pregnancies and still looks great. The hoodie was all I used last winter, I get sooooooo hot while pregnant the thought of a coat made me crazy.
I must say that maternity clothes were easier this time around since I only needed casual and not work attire. Burlington had some reasonable work clothes as did Pennys.
Just thinking about some of the clothes at the thrift stores makes me laugh, it’s true for any type, but maternity clothes especially seem to stick around welllllllllll past their time.
We walked through Burlington Coat factory on monday and they had a huge rack of maternity jeans in the aisle. I didn’t look at prices, but shopped there with my 4th about 2 years ago and the prices there were great. $5-$10 shirts and sweaters $10-$15 for jeans and pants. Also, always check Old Navy, they had super cute “normal” looking maternity wear and great sales!
Here’s another way to look at “maternity” clothing. The tight style is gone. High empire waists are going to be the style for the new few years. One thing I did was bought a shirt with a tie back that was stylish. I still wear it to this day. I also kept my “smaller” maternity jeans and wear them on my.. erm “I’m a girl, leave me alone days”. They are comfy and I kept the band in shape, so they have lots of room to give, but tight enough to keep around.
You may spend a dollar or two more on a more stylish shirt, but think about keeping it around for after the baby. You can spend $5 on a shirt you’ll wear 2 months or $8 on a shirt you might get two years out of!
Another idea is to make your own maternity shirt.. no, not from patterns! Find a shirt you love, buy a couple of sizes up. Make a couple of button holes around just under the breast line and thread it in and out. Make them a few inches apart, or make two an inch apart and then move down 4 inches. You can add different colored yarn, ribbon, fabric, etc. and tie in the back to create the bubble belly but still form fitting. After the baby, you can still keep it around, change out the ribbon to a new color and it’s almost a whole new shirt!
For the more confident and less blushing of the women, buy covering baby doll type lingerie on clearance. You can pair it with a nice camisole underneath. Take a baby doll, yellow negligee – you can pair it with soft green, soft pink, bright yellow and even red camisoles to change the look. You keep a feminine form, but a touch of sweetness with the sheer fabric, but your belly still takes center stage with a peekyboo look rather than an all out, squeeze your belly top!
I forgot to mention – if you aren’t much of a seamstress for the button holes, you can seal them with fabric glue – no sewing required!
So Sunny, boxes and boxes huh? Lots of us are expecting and due this summer. Wanna make some extra money?!
I keep thinking about getting it on Craigslist but never seem to get around to it. I’ll talk with my Husband and maybe Sunday I could set up a time with anyone that is interested. (I’m thinking of going to Denver Saturday for the Free Museum day.) Everything is L & XL.
Okay, since I get enough junk email I did an ad on Criagslist so I didn’t have to put my email out there. It’s just so you guys can contact me.
http://cosprings.craigslist.org/clo/1627114931.html
I think the best way I’ve saved money on maternity clothes is to borrow from friends! Several friends and I just pass our stash of clothes back and forth if we’re not pregnant at the same time. Even if things are off season, a lot of it still works if you layer!
I have found some great deals shopping Old Navy’s clearance racks and online sales. I bought the basic staples (jeans, solid colored shirts & sweaters) and filled in with other stuff. I also agree with the idea of buying long t-shirts. I wore regular sized long t-shirts thru most of my first pregnancy.
Oh, and Jen who needs something to wear to a wedding…I’m selling two brown maternity cocktail dresses on craigslist that I bought for my sister’s wedding! Search “brown cocktail dress” in the baby/kids section.
I was told in my first pregnancy to pick up a couple items in a size up from normal, to bridge that gap, and found some cute things on clearance, that helped a lot, both before needing my maternity clothes and those first few weeks/months after delivering.
My mom told me about the rubber band/ponytail holder trick, and that helped stretch things. I found that buying basics like solid color tops, and fairly classic shaped bottoms (no flares or skinny jeans) made a big difference, as I could pair them with lots of different accessories – jackets, jewelry…
The biggest tip for this time around, as a SAHM at the end of my 3rd pregnancy? Wearing yoga or workout gear…I wore my yoga pants around the house until I was 20 weeks…and I’m not a skinny little thing to begin with. They were great! As I did the housework and all the other Mom things, I was comfy, I didn’t look like a frump if someone showed up at my door…plus, it let me save my “good” stuff that did fit for when I had to do my errands, go to Church, or was out for girlfriend time.
When I was pregnant with my first I bought a lot of my maternity clothes on clearance at JC Penney.
I bought the bella band with my second pregnancy and didn’t like it much at all. I had to keep adjusting it all the time and it was a pain to use the bathroom while wearing it, I thought.
I *think* Alliance Breastfeeding Center on Academy and Vickers behind the Taco Bell had a small maternity consignment section (and baby clothes too). I haven’t been there in ages, though, since my daughter stopped nursing over a year ago. It’s a nice, small, locally-owned shop.
I also thought Burlington had a good selection of maternity wear for good prices. I found my favorite nursing bras there for about $6, though the selection on those was pretty hit or miss. I kept going back to look for more and it seemed like they never restocked them! I never found nursing bras anywhere else for less than $15.
I also found a lot of nice clothes at Kohl’s, just make sure you’re shopping the clearance rack!
My baby just turned three, but I liked the maternity shop at the outlets in Castle rock. I would ask them when they did their markdowns and then shop that weekend. i fouond Mimi dresses, jeans, etc for so cheap. My favorite was a $350 dress from the season before for $3.50! Loved that place! I also liked Old Navy. Good quality and often good sales and I had an easier time finding smaller size maternity jeans that were also long that weren’t cut too wide in the thighs. At the beginning in between stage I just wore jeans a size larger than usual and these are what I wore again after I had the baby until I went back down to normal. I think used is great too. I know I sold some clothes in great condition on craigslist because I just couldn’t stand ever having to wear them again! So, great condition but I had to rotate them so often, I couldn’t bear to have them in my closet again. Seems like we all have a bunch of maternity clothes to get rid of. I know I still do. Maybe we need to set up a big sale and/or exchange.
Is there a specific maternity shop at the Outlets? Do you recall the name?
it is Maternity Works/Motherhood Maternity. I haven’t shopped the Castle Rock one, but the one in AL was just like a regular MM store $$ wise.
Yeah I think that’s it. No idea if it’s changed the last few years, but it carried Mimi and Pea in the Pod brands as well as motherhood.
Shadeclothing.com has nice basic maternity and they have sales regularly so you can pick up some cute clothes for cheap (Like $5)
Julie – I checked the outlet maternity store a few weeks ago and they had nada for clearance!! All their clearance was still like 60 bucks for a top! OUCH
I mostly just wear normal shirts. I buy them long because I am tall and like them that way, and they fit through my whole pregnancy. I think I bought maybe 3 maternity shirts when I was preggo with my DD 2 years ago. I am now preggo again and I have 3 pairs of jeans I rotate….someone gave me a couple pairs of capris but I need shorts! I tried to catch them on clearance but by the time I found out I was preggo there wasn’t much left. I did buy the secret belly pants from motherhood and I love them, they are super comfy. Kind of expensive, but maybe if we have another kid I will get to use them again.
Thanks for all the great ideas!!
I got almost all of my maternity stuff from Kohl’s clearance. I know I hit it at a lucky time, but it was quite a haul of clothes. Also keep your eyes open at garage sales, a lot of time they mix the maternity stuff in with the regular stuff! I pick up stuff if its cheap when I’m not pregnant and store it. I know I’ll be needing it later!