While being pregnant is one of the greatest joys in your life, it may not feel like it when you feel like you’re carrying around a beach ball and don’t feel like going anywhere. Here are some maternity clothes shopping tips so you can accentuate your best features and not fall into common maternity shopping mistakes.
Image by DerekA via Flickr
We all know that looking stylish regularly can be overwhelming at times, but this often seems like a major feat when you’re pregnant. You have this tiny little baby bump that you want to show off when you’re newly pregnant, and then suddenly it expands to the size of a beach ball and nothing looks good on you.
Unfortunately, no one knows how quickly they will gain weight during their pregnancy as every woman’s body changes differently. Therefore, when you begin your maternity clothes shopping, avoid these mistakes.
How to Avoid Common Maternity Clothes Shopping Mistakes
You’re around two or three months into your pregnancy and your regular everyday clothes no longer fit properly. As you begin looking for maternity clothes ideas in person or online, keep these tips in mind so you don’t fall into the all too common maternity shopping pitfalls.
Don’t Go Maternity Shopping Too Early or Too Late
Sometimes, you’re so excited about your pregnancy that you may hit the maternity clothing stores before you’re actually showing and are tempted to buy a bunch of comfortable dresses long before needing them. Unfortunately, your body shape may change in ways you can’t predict, and your new clothes may go to waste.
Alternatively, don’t wait too long before buying your maternity wardrobe or you may feel like you’re popping out of your everyday clothes.
Don’t Buy Everything at Once
While you may need a few pieces at 12 weeks, you may want to wait to buy the bulk of your maternity wardrobe when you’re further along in your pregnancy. You’ll never know if you’ll go up a size between trimesters or if a cute black maternity dress you saw at four months pregnant will still look flattering at seven months pregnant.
Buying the Wrong Sizes
Since you may overestimate how much weight you’ll gain over your pregnancy, you may be tempted to buy the next size up in maternity clothes. A good idea would be to check Ripe maternity clothing and other good quality brands. Usually, such brands account for weight gain and a Maternity medium would work if you ordinarily wear a medium.
Tips for Buying the Correct Maternity Clothes
No matter if you decide to purchase your maternity wardrobe at a local boutique, through Zulily, or at Australia’s leading online maternity clothes website, keep some simple tips in mind. This way, you’ll end up with a good selection of high-quality basics in breathable fabrics.
Spend Money for Quality Clothes
Determine your budget for your maternity wardrobe and then check brands like Ripe maternity clothing, which carry all of the essentials affordably. Don’t skimp on the basics as you don’t want them falling apart.
Purchase several everyday tank-tops, t-shirts, and tunics, maternity jeans, and maternity leggings. When shopping for office wear, invest in at least one pair of comfortable black dress pants, and an empire waist maternity dress.
Choose Breathable Fabrics
Select soft materials like cotton or bamboo because they’re soft and they ease itchiness and hot flashes. If these materials are combined with Spandex, you’ll find stretchy clothes that support your ever-changing shape.
Invest in the Right Kind of Bras
So many pregnant women either try squeezing their growing breasts into their regular bras or buy nursing bras way too early, and neither option works well. You’ll spill out of your regular one or stretch them that they end up being useless after you lose the baby weight. Therefore, you should invest in a few basic maternity bras with wider straps to hold your bust line in better.
Many women feel overwhelmed about the amount of maternity wear out there nowadays. Therefore, it’s often best to keep your personal style in mind when you begin shopping and to follow the above-mentioned tips.
Do you have any tips to share?
Note: This post is contributed by Media Buzzer.
Join the Working Mom List
Join the Working Mom collective and get support and tools to help you thrive! Subscribers get access to my library of resources and printables.
Angela Gilmore says
Great tips! The bra is definitely key! Maternity clothes are so crazy expensive. When I was pregnant with Jack I went all out and got a bunch of work pants, casual pants, and tons of shirts. With Lorelai, I didn’t buy a single piece of maternity clothing. I bought about four bras right when I got pregnant, which is a good time because your boobs tend to swell at first. And then I used the shirts I already had on hand, which happened to be a stretchy fabric, and I dug up my old maternity clothes from years ago. Plus my sister in law gave birth about nine months before I did, so I was able to use her maternity clothes towards the end when things were getting really tight.
The funny thing is that I actually bought a shirt from the maternity store well after I gave birth because there was a really good sale and it was only four dollars, plus you can’t tell it’s a maternity shirt.
Another tip I would give it to get clothing that you really like because you can wear them in the awkward months after giving birth. I thought after giving birth I’d be able to wear all my old clothes, not realizing that by body would completely change! After Jack was born I bought a few more maternity shirts for work because nothing fit me right. Also fight the urge to donate your clothes after you are done with them, store them in a tucked away place just in case you want to get pregnant again. And if you are 100% positive you aren’t going to have more kids, I’d say hold onto the clothes for something you know. Maternity clothes are one of the best gifts a pregnant momma can ask for!
Julie says
I actually bought my maternity clothes at Kohl’s, which is where I usually buy my regular clothes, so they weren’t any more expensive. That’s a really great gift idea! I wore my maternity clothes for a while after, and still needed to get a different wardrobe cause my body is still quite different than pre-pregnancy.