Maternity wear tips?

heleen

I am in my 10th week of my first pregnancy and am starting to finfd my trousers very tight (though I think it's just gas! ;D)

I'm going to have to start looking at maternity wear and was hoping some of you moneysavers might have some tips for me , e.g.

where to buy
what kind of clothes are recommended
how you've minimised the cost

Thanks for any tips!

plumpmouse

Hi dutchgirl,,


I never bothered with maternity wear, I just bought bigger sizes of normal clothes.

jo_b_2

I tried wearing bigger sized clothing until I got very, very big! Proper well-designed maternity wear is so much more comfortable though and well worth getting. Have you had a look on Ebay? They seem to have loads of stuff at the minute and, bearing in mind the limited time of wearing, all stuff should be in good condition. I borrowed all my maternity clothes from a friend.

Just remember to think about the time of year it will be when you're at your biggest. Good luck!

System

Just stick to loser fitting clothes.  My friend wore stretch jeans/trousers and baggy tops all though her pregnancy.  Unfortunately, being only little, i tended to look huge from very early on and stuck to tents. You will need to invest insome good quality sexless bras though. :-[ Just to warn you, your man may not come near you for the whole time you are wearing them though. ;D

System

NCT does maternity wear hire scheme -- £1-£2/item, for duration of your pregnancy. For best value you can't beat that. Contact your local NCT branch... you can also find items cheap on Ebay if you don't like to hire.

halloweenqueen_2

It is getting more fashionable now to raid the charity shops, sometimes there are bargains to be had, also surf eBay, you don't have to leave home for that!

Sarahsaver

i got some stretchy trousers - not maternity ones, useful afterwards too, and wore dresses id already got as tops, like empire line or flared shape just above the knee. Also used ebay, ask friends who have had kids, it neednt cost much. I didnt get on too well with maternity jeans and found they fell down until i was really big.
The best thing i had was a pair of pvc maternity jeans !!! from the now sadly defunct C&A. Sadly i sold them on ebaybut did get over £14 for them:)
If you do get any new maternity clothes they do have a good resale value on ebay.
I think H&M are the trendiest, but what you may find will happen is that you will wear the same stuff over and over again. I liked Mothercare maternity knickers the best, the ones that went over the bump. La redoute do maternity clothing and there are several codes on a thread on this site so you could get a big discount. I have got some things in my cupboard, PM me and if u live near me you could come and fetch them if that would help?

heleen

Thanks for all the great tips!

I will have to investigate the pvc maternity jeans to compensate for the sexless bras ;D

System

Congratulations, Dutchgirl!

A friend from work went all through her pregnancy with leggings, a couple of dresses in stretchy material and her normal jeans.

She's very skinny anyway and only put weight on on her bump, so her Mum very cleverly added a section of stretchy material in the gap where they didn't zip up. She just covered it with big T-shirts and sweaters. Then she removed it when the baby was born.

Ms Thrift

plumpmouse

You can buy maternity belt which like ms thrift's friend used extend with you normal pants. I know that Lloyds pharmacy can order them via their home heatlh catalogue but can't remember where else i've seen them. Will have a look around for you.

System

Looking for materinty wear is a nightmare, but I have noticed the 'George' at Asda has now brought out a maternity range. Also Debenhams, Additions & Dorothy Perkins.
Happy hunting.