Maternity clothing advice

January 5, 2006 4:55 PM

Your experiences with/advice on maternity clothing?

I had a difficult first trimester with almost three months of down time. Though I'm feeling much better now, I'm still not up to shopping for clothes just yet. Problem is, I've outgrown most of my clothes. Solution: buy online. I'm baffled by a couple of things though:

1.) Panel. What's up with the different panel styles in pants? Are some more comfortable than others? How does the whole thing work with shirts? Do you have to buy extra long shirts to cover that?

2.) Size. Do most maternity clothes take into account the fact that you'll be gaining weight, or do you size up in anticipation? If so, by how much? (Also, any hints on where I can find lengthier inseams might help, if you're feeling especially generous.)

Any advice is welcome.

posted by moira to clothing, beauty, & fashion (12 comments total)

I am nearly 3 months pregnant myself and prior to pregnancy, lost a significant amount of weight, so for the first 3 months I've been wearing my "fat" clothes. I did get a pair of maternity corduroy pants for christmas and they are so damn comfortable. They have a wide elastic band around the top of the pants where you'd normally button. I have to buy a few more work pants so I'm curious to see what the other paneled pants feel like. I suspect the big scooping panels in front will feel more comfortable when my belly is really big and not just oddly shaped as it is now.

As I understand it, you buy your normal, pre-pregnancy size, presumably so the rest of the pants besides the elasticized belly piece fits.
posted by cajo at 5:08 PM on January 5, 2006

and congrats on your pregnancy!
posted by cajo at 5:08 PM on January 5, 2006

My wife is six months pregnant. She normally buys all her clothes through catalogs, but for maternity clothes she gave up on that after realizing that her body was being too weird and it would be too hard to find comfortable clothes without trying them on. Since then, she has gotten clothes from three sources:

1) used clothing shops. Maternity clothes get recycled very quickly. They don't last in used clothes shops for very long, but you can get very good deals. She got something like ten articles of clothing including nice sweaters, pants she could wear to work, etc, for about $120.

2) new clothing shops. She bought just a few items to fill out her work and "fancy" wardrobe.

3) previously pregnant friends, and friends of friends. This took a while to get going, but at this point we have several trash bags full of really nice clothes. She has so much that she's basically given up on going through it and hanging it our closets. She wishes she had started on this earlier, and saved some money.

I realize that doesn't answer the specific questions you asked. When she's home later tonight I'll see if I can get her to pipe in.
posted by alms at 5:15 PM on January 5, 2006

Congrats! I was miserable the first trimester and had a ton of energy during my second trimester. YMMV, but I'm sending good vibes your way. I'm now 3 weeks away (Gah! So soon?) from my due date.

The retailers will size items based on the size you wore pre-pregnancy. So, if you were a medium, try that first. However, the size you are most comfortable in will depend upon the brand, the style and how much weight you gain during pregnancy (average? less? more?). When choosing pajamas and such, try to think ahead to "easy access" items for nursing if you want to nurse. This will lengthen the lifespan of any clothes you do buy.

This is where I picked up maternity clothes:

1) used clothing shops in nicer towns than the one I'm in...some things still had tags!
2) from friends. This is where I received the most things...also gently used. I'll add some of my purchases to the lot and pass them along to another friend when I'm done.
3) eBay. Some really good bargains to be found there. You can try on some brand names in the stores and then you'll see the same brands up for sale there for a fraction of the price. (I love Japanese Weekend maternity, I just didn't want to pay full price.)
4) used clothing shops just buying items that are larger than my regular size. Now, this worked for sweaters and t-shirts more than anything else. Pants, tailored items and skirts? Not so much.
5) My sisters who wear larger sizes than I do. I borrowed some things.
6) Old Navy and Target have more "casual" items, but it can be hit or miss.
7) Mimi Maternity has their seasonal sale going on right now. Some Mimi stores sell the Motherhood Brand, which is much cheaper and just as nice, IMO.

I purchased a few items new. Especially undergarments. I learned early...COTTON maternity panties are preferable for reasons I won't go into here. And, at least 2 if not 3 comfortable maternity bras. I was able to make slacks and skirts last longer by using an extender. I never used a Bella Band for this (I learned about it towards month 8) but I had a pal who swore by it.

I had more cold weather than warm weather items, so my essentials were: two black pairs of maternity pants, a pair of grey wool maternity dress slacks, a black long skirt that was larger than my normal size and had an elastic waistband, four sweaters (2 maternity, 2 just large), two cotton tanks with shelf bras built in, three short sleeved t-shirts, three long sleeved tops, two dressy maternity tops, and three larger/longer shirts that I would wear without tucking them in, and a few shrugs. I would wear unbuttoned suit jackets up until my 7th month.

Best of luck!
posted by jeanmari at 6:05 PM on January 5, 2006

i am almost 7 months pregnant and still have no use for the giant scoopy panel pants. they end up slipping down my stomach and creating an unattractive wad of fabric over my crotch. the only solution is to hitch them up way, way up. it's getting harder to breathe, and a strip of elastic compressing my diaphragm doesn't help. the wide, soft elastic (3" or so) is most comfortable.

most maternity shirts are the appropriate length to cover your tummy without constant tugging down. i've found that regular shirts that are a bit longer don't work very well because they tend to stick around the middle and eventually bunch up.

unless you gain a great deal of weight, your pre-pregnancy size should be appropriate.

normally i hate the gap, but found a pair of maternity jeans there (their version of full panel) that were very comfortable. they might be able to send you unhemmed pants so you could get a tailor to hem them to a good length for you. and i second the used clothing shops. i've probably spent less than $100 for enough clothes to do laundry once a week.

congratulations on surviving the first trimester! good luck.
posted by littlegirlblue at 6:20 PM on January 5, 2006

It's all about the used clothing. My best stuff came from the thrift stores and friends. And I loved the panels, but found that every panel fit/felt different, so I'd highly recommend trying stuff on rather than buying from catalogs.

Good luck and Congratulations!
posted by eleyna at 6:43 PM on January 5, 2006

Seconding the ebay suggestion. I found that price really did matter when it came to comfort, and while I would never shell out the retail price necessary for Japanese Weekend and Babystyle clothing, I found them more than affordable on ebay, either used or last season. Both Babystyle and Lands End often have very decent sale prices, if you don't mind wearing last seasons styles (Me? I was happy to be dressed at all).

I found it useful to splurge on pants, whose fit determined about 90% of my comfort, and to shop Old Navy or Target for tops. As for panels, its a matter of taste, I suppose. I never could stand having lots of fabric over my stomach, which tended to itch throughout the later part of the pregnancy, so I really like the OK waistbands in the Japanese Weekend jeans. Some people might like the support.

Long shirts - you'll want to cover your belly anyway, but some panels are the same color and fabric as the rest of the pants - I had a pair of Babystyle pants in this style - and look much better if you are wearing a more fitted shirt that might rise up.

As for size, I would go ahead and buy your size now with the caveat that you might need a larger size during the last month or so. Both my pregnancies, I spent months 8 and 9 in yoga pants and overalls.

Congratulations. As the mother of 2 small ones, may I suggest you sleep as much as you can now.
posted by bibliowench at 7:06 PM on January 5, 2006

p.s. I lived in pants like this for the first 6.5 months...but switched to fold down waist pants for those last 2.5 months. (These are nice enough for work.) That way, I could wear them where they were most comfortable (under or over the belly).
posted by jeanmari at 7:18 PM on January 5, 2006

My entire maternity wardrobe consisted of clothes from Old Navy and Target - all reasonably priced and usually very comfortable. I never did buy any of the panel pants.

You will want to buy your pre-pregnancy size in most cases. Congratulations and good luck.
posted by Ostara at 7:59 PM on January 5, 2006

All of the ideas here are great...I don't have much to add!

You could try Freecycle.

La Leche League chapters and other mother's groups often have a collection of member's old maternity and nursing clothes available.

Good luck!
posted by Biblio at 8:19 AM on January 6, 2006

I was going to say basically what jeanmari said so well. There is a big price range for maternity wear, so you should be able to find lots of stuff you can afford.

Re the panel debate, I swear by them. I'm 5 mos pregnant with twins and while the rest of me has stayed relatively the same size, my belly is ... well, big. I like having it covered, especially during the winter months. The wide elastic bands are nice in the early months, but they will probably be too restrictive later on.

So many pregnant MeFites - exciting! Congratulations and good luck!
posted by widdershins at 9:19 AM on January 6, 2006

Wow, thanks everybody for the helpful tips. Looks like there are a ton of options I wasn't aware of.
posted by moira at 2:44 PM on January 6, 2006