Hellobee

Finding good maternity clothes is a daunting and sometimes frustrating process. In my area, we don’t even have maternity stores — even our Old Navy stopped carrying their maternity section. This proved to be very difficult when I got to the point of actually needing maternity clothing. I was lucky the first time around because my sister sent me a bunch of clothes, but for the second pregnancy, I was not so lucky. I was bigger than the first time around, and it was a different season, so almost none of the clothes I had were workable. I started doing some searching, and found a few options that were beyond the regular stores.

Local Consignment shops: This was my best bet for finding jeans. I was really hesitant to purchase jeans online because I have a kind of strange shaped body, so oftentimes pants just didn’t fit well if I didn’t try them on. The consignment shop I went to had a whole section of just jeans, plus tons of other clothes. There was also a baby and children’s clothes section, which was awesome for later on. I found that shopping consignment saved me a bunch of money and I felt really good about that. Plus, as I grew bigger and bigger, I had the option to consign the pieces that no longer fit and that sometimes ended up paying for the new round of clothes I needed.

Online Consignment shops: The two options that I used the most are Thredup and Swap. Thredup is a little bit higher end and the clothes are often in great shape and a bit more fashionable. The pricing is somewhere around 50-80% off of retail. I have often found brand new items with tags on for way cheaper than the original price. Swap is similar but the clothes are slightly less fashionable. The pricing is also less than Thredup, but it’s nice for t-shirts, tank tops, and other layering items. Both sites offer free shipping if you purchase a certain dollar amount and also sell non-maternity clothing.

Men’s Department: I found a lot of great options in the men’s departments in clothing stores. I wore a long sleeve button up wool shirt with a belt multiple times throughout the second pregnancy. I also found hoodies and t-shirts that fit better from the men’s department. This was a great option for things to sleep in too. I occasionally found some men’s pants that worked during the middle months of my pregnancy, when I was big, but not huge yet.

Facebook Swaps: I have a few facebook groups that I am a part of and they often have offers of maternity clothing swaps. This is a nice option because it tends to be really cheap, and it is usually with a local mom, which means I can pick it up and pick through the clothes to find pieces that work for me. The other part of this that is nice is that you can sell/give away your clothes when you are done with them. I gave away most of my maternity clothes after Little Bug, and I found a really sweet mom-to-be that was in need of clothing and on a low income. I didn’t need the clothes anymore, and we were close in size, so I sent her what I had left.

Your Own Closet: This is my favorite option! I’m not particularly fashionable, but I do have a lot of stretchier dresses, leggings, jeggings, loose fitting t-shirts and tops, and cardigans. Most of the clothes I have can work for maternity well into the second and even sometimes into the third trimester. I loved being able to work some of my regular clothes into my maternity line-up, and an added bonus was that it saved me some money.

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Trying to find clothes is tough even when you are not pregnant, so having some options that are affordable and easy is always a plus. What are your go-to maternity clothing stores? Do you prefer new or consignment?