maternity clothes--when to buy and what brands?

[Anonymous]

Old Navy is having a Maternity Sale right now and I'm wondering if I should take advantage of it now, or hold off and shop when I'm bigger. I'm 12 weeks along with my second and starting to show a bit. Is it too soon to buy maternity clothes? My last baby was born at the end of summer, so I need to buy jeans and other winter-y clothes for this pregnancy. We're living in a colder climate now too. It's been 4 years and I can't remember what I wore when as far as sizes, etc.

Also, how do Japanese Weekend clothes fit--are their size charts accurate? There are several tops on eBay right now I'm looking at. What are other fun brands to look for on eBay? I'm SAHM now so I just need casual, but want more than just boring long sleeve t-shirts.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I found the Motherhood store was the best for maternity clothes. They have wonderful trousers (both dressy & jeans) with stretchy material around the stomach area, and it stretches as you grow. I bought the jeans when I was 20 weeks and they still fit at 32 weeks. I think they call it "secret belly." If can still fit in your regular clothes, I would hold off. The stores are always have sales.

[Anonymous]

OP, I don't think it's too soon. Generally your maternity clothing size is the same as your pre-pregnancy size, so if you usually wear say a medium, then you could prob. order a few pieces in maternity medium and be OK. If not, then make sure you put your receipts in a safe place and you could always return the clothes later if they don't work out.

For what it's worth... I was also thinking about ordering a few things from Old Navy, and literally I got a positive pregnancy test yesterday. It's way early, but I was shopping online for my son and was trying to hit the $50 threshold to get free shipping. Like you, my son was born late summer so most of my maternity clothes are for spring/summer and for this pregnancy I'll need more winter clothes. I figure, can't hurt to buy a few things on sale, and i could always return them.

[Anonymous]

I personally like to buy the clothes as I go (I'm in my second pregnancy). You never know how things are going to look or feel until you are really *that big*.

Also I had the devastating experience of buying a lot of maternity clothes online with my first pregnancy around 8 weeks just to miscarry 2 weeks later. I hadn't worn any of them but had to get a friend to take them back for me - it was too difficult to even look at them.

Old Navy and Gap have maternity sales very often and you should always be able to find stuff on sale that you like regardless of what time year.

Hate to be the naysayer, but I would vote for waiting a while....

[Anonymous]

I've been looking at the same sales. Don't forget Target too, there are some real finds. But bear in mind it's mostly summer stuff on sale. Also check out consignment stores - I've found lots of great stuff at the places I usually go to for kids clothes and toys.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks for the replies. I'm mostly thinking about getting some jeans and khakis right now--I have a pair of Old Navy jeans from my first preg. that I loved and wore even in the DC summer, and the other jeans that have been "handed down" from friends just don't look stylish at all. I've got a few pair of non maternity pants that fit now, but am getting really sick of them.

Not sure if there area any consignment stores that carry maternity where I live, but am headed to our nearest "big city" next weekend and see what's up there.

[Anonymous]

I say buy them sooner rather than later. You're going to spend the money on them so why not get good use out of them?

I know that I was much more comfortable and happier when I had stretchy waists on my pants and skirts and shorts, instead of leaving things unbuttoned. You need a shirt that is long enough to cover EITHER a maternity waistband OR an unbuttoned one, so why not be comfortable?

I would recommend trying some stuff on and then buying online -- for example, I found a style of shirt that I really liked and so then ordered a few of those. But I ordered a couple shirts that once I got them, I really didn't like them, and barely ever wear.

[Anonymous]

Motherhood Maternity has good sales-- but boy do I hate their salespeople! As soon as you walk in the door they push their college fund savings plan. Then when you are in the changing room, they try to sell you bras, belly cream, etc. And when you check out, they try to sign you up for a million mailing lists. I find it so annoying!

[Anonymous]

i bought my maternity clothes relatively early so i had them on hand when i needed them!

i had the best luck with Gap Maternity - found the most perfect pants there for work and going out. bought two pairs in khaki and 2 in black. i had less luck with the maternity jeans from there - was only able to wear them twice before i outgrew them, though they were the same size as the pants. you might want to be a little generous with the cut of jeans, or pants if you think you might gain a little "extra" and don't like wearing your pants super-snug. found a couple of nice mock-wrap nursing tees from there, too, with long sleeves - they look great, and also found a couple of good skirts. (i think skirts are the hardest thing to find when you're pregnant - everything seem to be of the "long, flowing" variety, which doesn't appeal to me.)

i didn't like the pants i ordered from Old Navy, but i had decent luck with a couple of dresses and a few cute tops from there.

found a few things at Ann Taylor loft, but hated the pants i ordered from there - not flattering. found 2 decent dresses, though. Didn't like the pants i ordered from target, or the skirt, but found a couple of cute tops there.

I find Japanese weekend to run just slightly small, or rather short- the dress i bought from there is very short!

Check Wiggle Room, too - I found a few things there, including a nice IsabelleOliver camisole/tank for going out.

I'm super-picky about quality, so didn't buy anything from Motherhood - the few times i've been in there shopping for friends, i just didn't like the way things were made. (If Brooks Brothers made maternity wear, i'd sooooo be there.)

note: i have had the most trouble with finding button-down shirts that are suitable for work. i ordered white ones from 3 different stores and had to send them all back for being WAY too see-through. Also, the lightweight tees from Gap are too thin and really show your bra.

one last note: your feet will likely be swollen in the third trimester. if you see shoes on sale, pick up a couple pairs in a size bigger than you wear now. (this goes for workout shoes too.) i've had days where i had to wear flip-flops because none of my shoes fit - even my sandals. ugh.

good luck!

[Anonymous]

oh, and should have said this in my previous post... the stretchy "full panel" pants and skirts Gap offers are AWESOME. they keep the belly covered and give you support but are comfortable. Demi panels are decent too, but don't offer the same coverage/support.

[Anonymous]

I am only 14 weeks and have bought some stuff without the secret fit belly. I am prefering the maternity stuff as I am not liking anything constricting or fitted on my belly right now. Since I do not like the secret fit belly, I am assuming that I may need to buy another round of pants in a larger size once I am in 6-9 months (that happened with a girlfriend of mine as well).

I did get a few things at Motherhood (they are the cheapest it seems) but most things have that secret fit belly which I dont like right now and some of their fabrics are itchy.
I did order from Old Navy during this sale but havent received it yet. I looked at Mimi Maternity which tends to be in Macy's (pentagon City and Springfield have them) and found a few things. I did buy 2 dresses from Kohls (kingstowne). The other stores I have found but have not visited are Gap (fairOaks), Ann Taylor Loft (Tysons), Target, Jcpenney (springfield), H&M (in woodbridge) and Nordstrom.com (this has great dresses). Also the 2 boutiques I heard good thing about but again have not visited are PumpkinPatch in Tysons and Appleseed in Old Town.

Good luck

[Anonymous]

I'm at 33 weeks and in that last stretch with only 7 weeks to go....I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on things I'm never going to wear again. I checked out Kohl's this weekend, where they supposedly had a good maternity sale going on. I'm sure the two racks of maternity clothes was a "great selection" to someone who's never been pregnant! Sheesh. But I did end up just buying some clothes in larger sizes from the regular department. My focus was tops for the office, but they had a decent selection of casual too, at decent prices. Best part was the ego boost- I ended up buying some things like Petite Large and Petite Extra Large tops, and considering I feel like a house right now that was nice! (I'm no skinny minny, i'm up to about 164 lbs, starting at 146 lbs). Bottom line, I think these are tops I'll even be able to wear pretty well after the delivery, and they didn't have that screaming weird pattern of "i'm a maternity top!" that a lot of them seem to. I didn't have any luck with pants, but did get a couple of larger regular type skirts I thought worked well.
Pants came from the maternity shop in Pentagon City (not Pea in the pod, but the other one??), from my last pregnancy.

good luck! It's so frustrating just trying to look somewhat pulled together. I was about to start asking pregnant women I saw on the train, etc, in flattering clothes to find out where they got them!

[Anonymous]

I ditto Motherhood maternity. Really reasonable prices and cute clothes.

[Anonymous]

I'm in the "buy as you go" camp. Because I sort of panicked early on when I was outgrowing all my pants, and way overestimated how big my belly would be. So, at the beginning of the summer (about 16 weeks-ish), I bought some maternity dresses and tops that are STILL too big/long/baggy for me at 30 weeks, and that it turns out I hate. Some of them may fit for the last few weeks, when the belly is giant, but there are quite a few things I don't think I'm ever going to wear. Some are also very summery, and may not be useful when it gets cooler in a few weeks. Fortunately, I have a good friend who just got pregnant, so I can pass it all on to her. IMHO, buying stuff as you go along ensures that it fits you correctly at the right time, and is seasonally appropriate. I've also been able to wear a lot of my tops all through pregnancy - empire waist tops and t-shirts that are cut long and are stretchy. I also just sized up in a few basic things like tank tops & t-shirts. "Tall" sizes in tops also work well for covering the belly.

As for places to buy, I had the best luck when I bought online from Gap Maternity and Motherhood/Mimi Maternity. The selection was far better than in the stores. I bought a few Old Navy things online also, but found the Old Navy things didn't fit as well as Gap, which didn't matter much for casual stuff, but did for work stuff. I also bought a few Liz Lange for Target items that I liked (again, online). Once you find out what fits you, troll the sales on the websites - I got a black suit jacket and a beaded cardigan from Mimi that were each over $100 originally for about $25 each. Also, the return policies for Motherhood/Mimi are much better online! The stores only give you 10 days to return (boo!), while you have 30 days for online purchases.

If you're looking for something special, or know exactly what you want, there are also lots of things on E-bay. I wanted just ONE pair of designer jeans so I could feel a little more human, but wasn't going to pay retail at Pea in the Pod. So I tried on jeans there, figured out my size & style, and bought the same pair in great condition for less than half the price on E-bay.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, but believe it or not, I'm not really a shopper. I think I set foot in a bricks-&-mortar maternity store twice, and hated both experiences, thus retreating to the internet. I found it a lot more efficient to buy online, get it mailed to me, be horrified by how it looked in the comfort of my own bedroom, print out the easy-return labels, and send it back! Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I loved Japanese Weekend. They frequently have sales and I also found stuff on eBay. Very soft and comfortable. Also was more "fun" than much of the other maternity wear out there. I was also a big fan of Mimi and Pea in the Pod (on sale). I also tried to focus on buying some really fun tops to mix it up, so I didn't mind the splurge - made all the world when I was 8 or 9 months and feeling gross!

I have to say that I did not like Motherhood Maternity at all. I found it to be very bland and poorly made. Several of the items I bought from MM ended up with torn seams or just did not wash well. As a friend of mine once said, "Buy cheap, buy twice."