We all know cute pregnancy clothes exist, but paying top dollar for something you’ll only wear for 9 months may feel a little wasteful. Since you won’t be pregnant forever, you probably don’t want to spend too much cash on new clothes. Instead, enhancing and adding to your wardrobe is best to fit your growing belly.
Pregnancy doesn’t mean you must sacrifice style or break the bank. Every mom-to-be deserves to look and feel amazing throughout pregnancy without compromising affordability. With these workarounds, tips, and a select few pieces of affordable maternity clothes, you’ll be comfortable and on-trend throughout your pregnancy.
Build Your Wardrobe with Affordable Maternity Clothes
If you’ve begun browsing adorable maternity clothes on sites like PinkBlush and HATCH but are now worried about how to afford them, don’t panic! You can make your existing wardrobe plus a few essential basics work for your style and budget.
Follow these 8 tips to learn how to build your wardrobe with affordable maternity clothes:
1. Check Your Closet
Most women already have clothing that could make it through their entire pregnancy. Cardigans, yoga pants, oversized button-down shirts, empire-waist dresses, and stretchy skirts with a smock waist can likely all be worn well into your pregnancy.
Pull these items to the front of your closet so you can access them easily. Then, to save space, pack away items you know won’t fit you pretty soon. Your too-small clothes will just take up space in your closet.
Comfort is key for pregnant moms, so pack away items with scratchy tags, rough fabrics, or stiff, structured material until after you give birth. Yoga pants and leggings will become your best friend!
And time it right: it’s best to do most of your maternity clothing shopping during your second trimester. That’s because your body will change the most beginning around week 13.
2. Choose Your Colors
So that everything in your wardrobe can mix and match, stick to forgiving silhouettes in a chic, neutral color palette (black, brown, navy, or beige). Anything that helps you feel even a smidge chic as you squeeze into elasticized pregnancy clothes is worth a second look!
You can mix and match clothing pieces if you pick your colors and stick to them. Plus, you won’t have to spend a fortune on new items because your basics will match your existing wardrobe.
3. Buy the Basics
It’s not necessary to completely overhaul your wardrobe when you’re expecting. Instead, focus on buying essential maternity pieces. Then, you can add items to your wardrobe that you can continue to wear post-pregnancy.
Many pregnant women buy these basics as their belly expands:
- Maternity jeans (check out this affordable pair from Old Navy)
- Tank tops
- Leggings (a versatile basic that you can wear long after pregnancy!)
- Dresses (such as this flattering, fitted knee-length dress that’s under $20)
- Maternity sweater or two
- Two blouses/tops
Add a couple of cardigans and scarves from your pre-pregnancy closet, and your maternity capsule wardrobe is ready! Most women find these maternity basics functional well into the fourth trimester and beyond.
4. Shop Secondhand
You can find some pretty stellar deals at consignment and thrift stores! If you live in a very rural area and there aren’t any thrift shops in your town, go online. At online thrift shops like ThredUp or Motherhood Closet, women sell the maternity clothing they outgrew (and sometimes never even wore!)
Facebook Marketplace is a great place to find people selling maternity clothes in lots. Many women end up selling all their maternity clothes there, so you could get an entire wardrobe at once! While you’re on Facebook, search for a local “buy nothing” group or a mom support group. You can often find people giving their maternity clothes away for free.
If a friend or relative was recently pregnant, accept their offers of hand-me-downs. They might have some great maternity clothes to pass down to you. Dresses, jackets, and blazers are usually pricey and don’t get worn much, so being given these hand-me-downs can really save you some money!
5. Accessorize
Scarves, jewelry, and bags are great ways to change up your maternity wardrobe without spending a lot of money. And, you’ll be able to wear it again after you deliver.
While we’re on the subject of accessories, go ahead and wear whichever shoes make you the most comfortable. As you get farther along, your ligaments will get more flexible and your feet may spread.
Consider saying goodbye to high heels altogether. If you love a bit of extra height, opt for wedges instead. As your center of gravity shifts, you increase your chances of falling. The risk of injury just isn’t worth it!
6. Rent
If you’ve tried a clothing subscription service before, you know that they offer a wide variety. Renting maternity clothes allows you to wear designer ‘fits during your pregnancy at an affordable cost.
Renting is a good idea if your goal is to dress better while accommodating your growing bump and keeping your closet clutter-free. If you love an outfit you’ve rented, sites usually offer you the option to buy it at a discount.
Motherhood Maternity, Rent the Runway, and Nuuly are a few of the most popular maternity clothing rental services.
7. Extend the Life of Pants
Did you know you can wear most of your pants and jeans well into pregnancy? You can use a maternity band over pre-pregnancy pants to cover your belly.
A belly band or maternity support belt will allow you to wear non-maternity jeans throughout pregnancy. These provide extra support throughout your second and third trimesters. And if your 34B needs to be a 38B, there’s also an extender for your bra.
When your budget is tight, these items will make your non-maternity wardrobe go a long way.
8. Reach Out for Help
Pregnancy can be expensive, with costs like nutritious food and frequent doctor’s visits adding up quickly. If you have had to call in sick to work due to morning sickness, your income is probably stretched pretty thin. At the end of the day, you might be left wondering how you’ll afford new clothes, too.
If you can’t afford maternity clothes, look into nonprofits and charities like Goodwill and Salvation Army, as well as your local food bank. Many churches have community outreach programs and can connect you with maternity clothing. Birth Mother Blessings is run by a nationwide nonprofit dedicated to supporting women who are considering adoption. They provide maternity clothes at no cost to those in need.
To find nonprofits or organizations in your area who can help, dial “211.” By simply dialing 211, you can be referred and connected to the right organization. If you qualify, programs like WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) may provide additional resources like clothing.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on February 3, 2017, and has since been updated.
Heidi Keefer is a Content Creator for Lifetime Adoption and has over 15 years of experience in the field of adoption. An author of thousands of articles and social media posts over the years, Heidi enjoys finding new ways to educate and captivate Lifetime’s ever-growing list of subscribers.
Heidi has a keen eye for misplaced apostrophes, comma splices, and well-turned sentences, which she has put to good use as a contributor to Lifetime’s award-winning blogs. She has written and published hundreds of adoption articles which explore the various facets of domestic infant adoption today.
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