You are reading an archived post.
To visit the home page click here.
I am SO READY to be done with maternity clothes (yes, I realize that I will still have to wear them after the birth). Now that I'm at the end of my pregnancy, I am down to one pair of pants and three shirts. This is partly because my stomach is so large that I just don't fit in some of my clothes, but also because I HATE most of my maternity clothes.
Here are the Best and Worst maternity clothes I've found:
Good: The quality, the fit, the style. The Gap Maternity clothes are the only ones I have that have not fallen apart in the laundry and, let's face it, with a limited wardrobe during pregnancy you're doing laundry A LOT. Plus, they fit correctly and are stylish. I got some great khaki pants and jeans from The Gap and the shirts are long enough to last through the entire pregnancy. I was able to get a lot of shirts from The Gap on sale, which leads to...
Bad: Expensive! It's hard to buy more than one pair of maternity pants at The Gap when they cost $50+ a pair. And, unless you can find shirts on sale, you're going to pay no less than $35 for anything stylish. That adds up quickly when you're simply trying to put together a week's worth of clothing.
Bottom Line: In this case, you get what you pay for. My Gap maternity clothes are the only ones that I plan on packing away for the next pregnancy. Everything else is going to Goodwill.
Good: It's cheap. Great, flowy dresses for very low prices. It's really the only good place to get a decent dress. Cute clothes.
Bad: It's cheaply made. The clothes do not survive 6-7 months' worth of washes in the machine. They simply don't. They fade, shrink, and fall apart. Also? I always felt badgered by the sales people to give them my phone number and personal information. I do not want to give it out and I got harassed EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.
The Bottom Line: Just like The Gap, you get what you pay for. Only, you don't pay very much. Don't expect these clothes to get packed away and survive any subsequent pregnancies.
Good: Great bras. I found some very comfortable bras that stood up to multiple washings. The bras are also priced very well, at about $36 each. The sales ladies are very knowledgeable about bras and will fit you correctly for them.
Bad: Their underwear are AWFUL. I bought 3 pairs a few weeks ago and they are literally falling apart. I have followed the washing directions faithfully and even have line-dried them, and still they are tattered. (Sadly, I didn't save my receipt and I just can't bring myself to bring tattered undies in for a refund). Also? Their prices are pretty high for clothes that aren't as high quality as The Gap. Mimi clothes seem to have the quality of Motherhood but the price of Gap Maternity.
The Bottom Line: Great bras. Otherwise, don't bother.
Good: Cheap. I did find a few t-shirts that were great for the first half of the pregnancy, but shouldn't have bought anything past that.
Bad: Everything shrinks. The fit on these clothes is terrible. Nothing is long enough to last through the 3rd trimester.
The Bottom Line: Don't bother.
Good: Inexpensive. Neutral in style. There's not a whole lot to be said about the look of the Target clothes, but they seem to be of decent quality and are priced just like any other item from Target. I got a pair of shorts and a couple of shirts from there and have been very happy with the way everything has held up in the wash.
Bad: The Target line of maternity clothes is incredibly limited. I would've loved to find more clothes there, but it's pretty much limited to a pair of jeans, a pair of khakis, a pair of shorts, one dress, and just a handful of tops.
The Bottom Line: Great for weekend/casual/workout clothes. You'll find comfortable clothes at Target, but they're not going to be ideal for work or for going out.
I loved Old Navy maternity. That's where I got most of my prego-clothes. They weren't expensive and they were super comfy and cute. (Yes, I just called maternity clothes cute! What can I say, I'm a freak.) They, like GAP, held up during both of my pregnancies and some friends even borrowed a few things! I love me some Old Navy!
I bought most of my maternity clothes from Gap online. I didn't have the option of buying from a local store because they didn't carry the maternity clothes. But the great thing about buying online was that I could shop the sales (I got most of my pants for $20 each) and anything that didn't fit, I could return to the local store. I would buy $100 worth of clothes to take advantage of free shipping and then take back whatever didn't fit. It was great for me because I needed to have "work" clothes and didn't have to spend a fortune. I loved their t-shirts and still wear them a year after my daughter was born. They're just so dang soft!
Baby Style was an online horror story! They had cute clothes, but their sizing was all off and their return policy basically made it impossible to get your money back.
I did like Motherhood Maternity's sleep bras. They were very inexpensive so I was able to buy several. A good thing, because I hated waking up in a soaked shirt from waiting too long to nurse.
After my daughter was born, I couldn't bear to put on my preggo pants again. The Demi-panel was just too depressing. Instead, I went to Target and bought some staple "normal" clothing to transition into my pre-preggo clothes. It made me feel less huge.
I just bought a pair of yoga pants (on sale) from The Gap and immediately packed them in my hospital bag. I'm so sick of the maternity clothes that I have... I don't want to see them again. I figure I'll be wearing these new yoga pants A LOT after I give birth.
I'm scared to buy "regular" clothes afterwards because of the size I'm going to have to buy. My ass is so huge right now and I don't see that changing much when I have the baby. I'm actually terrified of my post-baby body. It's going to be so flabby and depressing.
Get the Mother Popper: Podcast -- Free in iTunes!
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/26124/20806276
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference The Best and Worst Maternity Clothes:
a Delta Park Project - © 2007-2008 Anna Johns - Contact Me
Subscribe to my blog (RSS) | Free Podcast in iTunes
Podcasts produced by Morley Studios.
Anna Johns is a blogger, podcaster and mother living in rainy Portland, Oregon.
Mother Popper is a daily blog and weekly podcast bridging the worlds of parenting and pop culture.
I really liked what limited Target maternity clothes I could find too, but they really didn't fit for the end of the pregnancy. But for the beginning, they had great pieces.