How to Build A Maternity Wardrobe with Less Money

One of the harshest realities of the pregnant woman is how hard it is to find decent maternity clothes that are affordable, wear well, and make you feel good. A maternity budget of $200 can easily be blown on two or three items at specialty shops. The mom-to-be can save her time, sanity, and most importantly, money by using the following tips.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A sense of humor
• Hair elastics
• An estimated budget

1. Wait as long as possible before you start wearing maternity clothes. Most women don't start showing until the second trimester. Work with what you have for as long as you can.

2. Extend the life of your existing clothes. A hair elastic, looped through the button hole of your pants gives you an extra ½"-1" of space, keeping you in the pants you already own for an extra 4-6 weeks. Wear shirts long enough to cover "your secret."

3. Work with today's trendy styles to avoid living in maternity clothes. When you begin shopping, think about what hot styles of today might become tomorrow's maternity clothes. Kimono tops will cover your second trimester belly in style and still look great long after you're toting baby around.

4. Evaluate what you already own. Sweat pants, elastic-waist pants and skirts, the ski sweaters of winter, empire-waist anything...all of these are things that might work with your body throughout your whole pregnancy.

5. Ask your friends...and anyone else you know. Most women will only wear the maternity clothes they invest in a handful of times. Think about women you know who have been pregnant recently and are similar in size and build to you. Ask them if they have maternity clothes they would be willing to loan you. The clothes are usually in mint condition because they are worn so infrequently.

Tips & Warnings

• Try everything on before buying. Some maternity stores have very stringent return policies. Ask about return policies and keep your receipts as long as necessary, preferably until you outgrow the item or at the very least, have worn it several times.
• Splurge on a few key items. You will need a few things to make you look and feel great, no matter how tired or nauseous you are. Just make sure your splurge items work with a number of pieces you already own.
• Don't scrimp on bras or shoes. You will need good ones of each to provide support to your changing body throughout your pregnancy.
• When you do buy, think simple, interchangeable and coordinated. Make sure they are all washable and in like colors, then mix and match your way through your pregnancy.

[kimarkent]

on 4/6/2009 consignment shops and thrift stores are awesome too. Great first article... 5* and recommended.

[AdirondackTrina]

on 4/5/2009 Great article about what to use for maternity clothes! Can't wait until write some more!Ü

[GilinAtlanta]

on 4/3/2009 I would recommend the mothers in eHow to set up a Consignment store focus group for new mothers who might be in need of maternity clothes. In either case, women today can benefit from networking with great ideas like this one. Good first article!

[KRLawrence]

on 4/3/2009 While I hope to never need this personally again, great tips.

[Sanat]

on 4/2/2009 HeyIt's really an excellent article...come on you write more on various topics..my wishes..if got time read my articles...I'm gonna recommend you