If I had unlimited funds (and lived in a trendy apartment in New York) I would have bought the entire Hatch maternity collection and called it a day. Unfortunately though, I can't afford to spend $380 on a maternity dress, and come to think of it, I'm not sure I would even if I did have the money!
It was easy when I was pregnant with Sophie as it was the middle of summer and maxi-dresses had just come into fashion. I don't think I bought a single piece of maternity clothing the entire pregnancy.
This time though, it is the middle of winter and most of my long sleeve tops and jumpers stopped fitting me about 3 months ago so I have had to stock up on a few basic maternity pieces.
I really don't like maternity clothes.. I find them so ridiculously overpriced and most of them are so ugly. I had quite a hard time finding decent basics so I thought I would share a couple of my finds with you.. and of course, all of these websites deliver to your home!
'Trimester' black maternity leggings from Queen Bee.
One of the best things I have bought. They have loads of stretch around the waistband and sit comfortably under your belly. I literally live in these!
Maternity jeans from ASOS.
These are the best maternity jeans I have found at a decent price. They fit really well and come in a good range of colours/ styles.
Basic long sleeve maternity tops from Next Direct.
These are the cheapest maternity tops I have found.. and surprisingly, they best fitting ones. They are nice and long and 100% cotton.
I have found the rest of my maternity wardrobe from places like Cotton On, Sussan and other similar stores. I have found some really cheap over-sized t-shirts, jumpers and cardigans that all fit nicely over my bump.
Usually when buying clothes I am happy to spend more money to buy something that is hand-made or Australian-made or organic rather than something that is cheap and won't last, but with maternity clothes I just tried to find things that were cheap and comfortable as I will only be wearing them for a few months.
Let me know if you have any other good maternity finds...
10 comments:
I'm 10 weeks behind you so just starting to think about this now. Of course i threw everything out after the twins with everything stretched to oblivion. Summer is so much easier. It's freezing here. I also have the ASOS jeans and wear them pregnant or not. I have 1 stretchy maternity dress from Birdsnest.com.au and a few Intimo black stretchy basics and everything else cheap from Target or Kmart. I love dresses over leggings and hubby's track suit pants around the house. I haven't checked out Nextdirect, thanks for the tip. You really don't have long to go now though. So exciting! Mel x
oh gosh, that hatch collection - divine! I think I could probably justify buying one piece and wearing it over and over and over again. I always end up looking like Marcel Marceau in the last trimester - black leggings and black long tee. I dress very similar to you and you know what, in the first six month with Poet I still wore a lot of those cheap clothes and didn't care too much about how dirty/stretched they got with feeding, spewing etc. Although no doubt you'll be rearing to get out of the house with your babe. 28 weeks - go you! x
When I was pregnant first time around, it was summer for me too and I was able to make do with 'normal clothes' so long as they were fairly stretchy plus a pair of maternity jeans. Second time around though it was winter and NOTHING I owned fit but I too didn't want to spend ridiculous amounts of money on maternity clothes. Once again I loved my jeans, stretchy long length tees (I found Witchery good), long open style cardigans) and I lived in leggings.
A post after my own heart - I am currently 21 weeks pregnant and also hate most maternity wear as it is expensive and usually not very nice.
I have found long singlets from Cotton On and singlet "dresses" from Supre to be great for coverage (pregnant or breastfeeding).
Jeanswest skinny black maternity jeans are very comfortable (although they do get a bit baggy, so need constant washing to shrink them back).
During my first pregnancy I was living in Melbourne and picked up some great pieces from Nique's White Label - beautifully comfortable soft cotton. You can also buy these online.
There seem to be more smock type dresses around now, compared to the first time I was pregnant. I already had the organic bamboo/cotton Jetsetter dress from Obus' Traveller collection and just picked up a couple of things from Seed (when holidaying, no Seed in Tassie) that are roomy enough for an expanding belly and on sale too!
During my last pregnancy I found 'The Gap' and it's affiliated online stores had some great stuff & will also ship to Australia.
I have just come across your blog & I can certainly relate to your situation. After having my twins (a daughter & son) at 21 weeks in March 2011, I also was placed on bedrest after having a stitch placed at 13 weeks. It's a strange feeling having your whole pregnancy focusing on the length of your cervix. I will admit it was the first thing I would ask at each ultrasound we had (too many to now count!). I too counted down the days, first to reach that crucial 'viability' (gotta love the terms) threshold of 24 weeks, and again the magical 28 week mark. Thanks to that little stitch we now have a 5 1/2 mth son, although he was born at 30 weeks (due to other pregnancy complications) he is doing very well & brings us unimaginable joy each day.
Take care, not long to go now!
Thank-you for this post! I have just stopped fitting into my 'normal' jeans and so far I have been struggling to find decent maternity clothes. Much appreciated :)
At 36 weeks I've given up! It's my last week at work and there is no longer any pretence of a professional work outfit here... it's tights, boots and long cardis! My colleagues and I were just looking up adult onesies... I think they may do the trick for the final few weeks at home...
Next time around I will actually invest in some maternity pieces, just for the sanity of having a wardrobe you can fall into without thinking about and know you will look half decent.
You're looking gorgeous Katie, good luck for the last few months Sx
Hi Katie!
I am a sneak-reader of your blog for the last couple of days.
I would like to wish you good luck with your little boy and the rest of your gorgeous family!
Re the maternity clothes: I found it really hard to buy anything that was maternity and still looked and fitted well. I only bought a pair of maternity jeans and two pairs of linen pants, all the rest was from non-maternity stores. My best find was a tight, straight maxi skirt (navy and white stripes, of course) from Portmans, I bought it in 2 size bigger, pulled it up, and wore it as a dress.
Take care,
Agnes
They are just fab!i must say
http://www.mommyliciousmaternity.com/
Thanks for this post dear. Hatch is really very popular brand for modern maternity clothes. Have a look at the best collection of Hatch maternity wear dresses at Lovemere.
https://www.lovemere.com/pages/birch-collection
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