Aug

Low Cost Maternity Wear

Finally getting out of the morning sickness phase and I’m finding that my clothes aren’t fitting already. I’ve been scouting around the internet for low cost maternity wear ideas, but I’m really not ready at all for maternity wear. A the moment I’m doing the old rubber band round the button trick, but that is only going to last so long.

If you have been down this road already – help! I would love to hear your ideas for low cost maternity wear. My budget at the moment is a shy above $0.

After doing some research, here are some low cost/ no cost options I found for maternity wear.

The Belly Band. This is like a ‘boob tube’ for your waist. It is supposed to help keep pants up when you can’t do up the buttons and zips (and hide the fact your duds are undone), and cover your belly and your plumber’s when your tops get too short. In other words it extends the life of your pre-preggers clothes (as long as you can still fit into them otherwise!) It also helps keep loose maternity wear from falling off.
Borrow maternity wear. If you’re lucky enough to know someone who has maternity wear lying around in the cupboard then borrowing it is a no cost alternative.
Buy second hand. This can be at charity stores or some specialty maternity wear stores that buy and sell second hand maternity clothes.
EBay. This is a popular suggestion. I’ve bought clothes off eBay before, but browsing through the maternity wear, I didn’t find it all that cheap. There seemed to be high demand for maternity wear and therefore more bids and higher costs (something to keep in mind for later!)
Buy Online. Depending on your budget and what you’re looking for, buying online can be cheaper. I found a nice pair of pants for $38AUD which I guess is reasonable (but beyond my current budget).
Raid hubby’s wardrobe. Particularly for the in between period where your clothes are too small and maternity wear is too big.
Buy bigger ‘normal’ clothes. Again for the in between period.

If you have any other ideas or you would like to share what you did for clothes during pregnancy, I would love you to share your thoughts in the comments section.

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2 Responses to “Low Cost Maternity Wear”

Linda Moore Says:
August 5th, 2009 at 8:58 pm

Hey congrats!! I am actually keeping a bunch of clothes that are currently too big for me in the expectation that they will come in handy once I’m preggers.
Fiona Olive-Grosser Says:
April 3rd, 2010 at 9:08 pm

Ok, you will need a few proper maternity items, for nice occaisons, or just the occaisons when you feel so fat and frumpy and horrid that you NEED to wear something nice to save your life! Pregnancy does that to you! So go to Kmart & their maternity range Bub2Be is the cheapest stuff I’ve been able to find, and every single time I go there they ALWAYS have stuff on clearance too! My bub is 2 months old now, and I’m still buying maternity stuff when I can spare the dosh, as it’s the only clothes that fit my boobs! Plus size is too wide and I swim, but normal size are all too squeezy for my boobs! So thank god for pregnancy or I would never have discovered this!
In the 2nd trimester maternity jeans will be heaven, even the belly bands are useless for holding the jeans up. But in 3rd tri you’ll find your normal jeans with the fly undone but the loose corners tucked inside and the belly band over to be the best. In hot weather too, as no bikini top would fit, and heatwaves KILLED me, I’d wear the belly band as a bandeau/boob tube too, only at home but.
Op shops are useless for maternity wear. All the good stuff goes online on ebay, and gets sold for mini-fortunes plus postage, always get caught out on postage!
Ummm. This past year, baggy/oversized tops have been in fashion, and they make great maternity wear, and so cheap! (well kmart ones anyways)
But yeah, I mainly lived in jeans, singlet-tops with belly band, and open shirts or cardigans. Still do actually. Belly bands fill the void I always had pre-preg finding long enough singlets to layer underneath things!
Oh, and when your feet swell, get a pair of crocs, any cheapo imitation will do, they will be the only things that will actually fit, and you don’t have to bend to put them on! (Handy for when bubs won’t let you put her down too, as much as I think they are ugly, I’m wearing them everyday!)
Sooo, after rambling on so much, here’s my basics:
- kmart bub2be bra’s on clearance for 15bucks a few pairs, as they do wear out, and your boobs go through so many sizes through preg & feeding
- kmart bub2be jeans usually 20-25 only really need one pair
- couple belly bands (would also be easy to make out of old t-shirts too)
- singlet tops & shirts/blouses/cardigans (any old types, op-shop, etc)
Don’t get fooled by maternity underwear, I mean, seriously!