Budget Maternity Clothes
Budget Maternity Clothes
I am due in a matter of weeks, and have had a lot of problems in the beginning trying to find maternity clothing. I was surprised that some of the major retailers no longer have a maternity section. The only thing that the Walmart in my area carries is maternity bras, and they are a good price. I wanted to share some things that I have learned about maternity clothing with other moms to be, so hopefully they will find maternity clothing a little easier and stick to there budget.
Note:
I had to look for maternity clothing by my 4th month. I had gained almost 20 pounds and 10 inches. By the time I had my son my waist was over 60" and I had gained over 50 pounds.
A Maternity Clothes Shopping Experience
A few days ago I went shopping for maternity clothes. I started at Walmart. Walmart did not offer a maternity section, the only thing they had was maternity bras. The next place I went was a second hand donation store in my area, CCA. CCA had a small section for maternity clothing, but nothing that I could wear. There is another CCA a few miles away, so I went there. This CCA does not actually have a maternity section, but if you look around you can find nice maternity clothes and they are a great price. My next sop I went to Ross because they used to have a maternity section. They actually no longer have one, but I found a couple of shirts that worked great. My last stop was Target. Target had an actual maternity section, and had decent prices. Target is where I recommend starting your maternity clothes shopping, then shop around if you can't find what you are looking for at a budget price.
Breakdown of my Maternity Clothes Shopping Day:
CCA: Two pairs of pants $ 10
Ross: Two Shirts $13. One shirt was actually only .50
Target: Pants $20
I spent a total of $43 and have clothing that I can actually wear now and the shirts I will be able to wear for a while after the baby is born.
Make a Maternity Clothing Budget
Before you begin shopping for your maternity clothes you should know how much you can budget for those maternity clothes. Make a complete budget, and determine how much you can truly afford to spend on your maternity clothing. Make sure that this is a realistic budget. You will only be wearing these clothes for a short time, and do not want to overspend if it is not necessary. You should also consider finding clothing that you can wear after you have the baby.
Consider Second Hand Maternity Clothes
Some people do not like to think about second hand clothing, but some of us may have no choice in the matter. The best thing about maternity clothing is that women do not wear them long. Most of us will only wear them for a few months, and be back into our old clothing soon after the baby is born. If you are considering purchasing second hand maternity clothes think about these options:
-Yard Sales
-Second hand clothing stores
-Places such as Salvation Army
-Ebay or Amazon
-Neighborhood Consignment Shops
All of these offer nice maternity clothing if you can find it, and the prices will help you stay within your budget.
Shop Clearance Sales
I am the type of person that likes sales on anything, so maternity clothing is no different. Look around at Target, JC Penny, Old Navy and other retailers that offer maternity clothing. You can find great clearance items in these places that can save you a lot of money. This also works well for baby items when it gets time to purchase them. Don't presume you have to wear everything in maternity, you may be able to just go up a couple of sizes larger than what you already wear.
Discount Stores
In my area there are a lot of discount stores like Ross and TJ Maxx. You can find great deals on clothing in these places. You should also check for Outlet stores. There are a couple of Maternity Clothing outlet stores that I have recently found in my area. These are great places to find the name brand maternity clothing for a lot less than you will pay in most other places. We actually have two different malls in our area that is strictly outlet malls, and you can find maternity clothing as well as a lot of other great items.
Maternity Clothing Patterns
Making your own maternity clothing may be an option for those who have the talent for sewing. This is a few sites that I have found that have free or inexpensive maternity clothing patterns.
