Maternity Clothing

Limited Choices

Closet Content Analysis: Pregnancy & the Clothes in your Closet

NICE                   NO THANKS         NOTE-WORTHY            NEED          NEW

This is a category of clothing I have never had in my closet so all that you will read comes as my interpretation from a few different sources. From what I have gathered, many pregnant women make do with what they have, are given, borrow or find on sale. With such short term "wear-ability" it seems that the "ladies in waiting" want affordable comfortable casual items and their choices are limited.

Carly from Kelowna with about 4 weeks to go.

NICE: Carly who is now at about the three week mark before birth has been wearing maternity jeans, but was able to wear the tops she had, albeit the profile progressively changed. 

It seems also that in the summer, the consensus is that maternity dresses are cooler and easier to wear than jeans. 

Tunic tops and dresses suffice in the first five to six months - of course, dependent on how big your progression goes.

Christina from Ottaw at 31 weeks.

NEED: To quote Christina, with just about three weeks to go as well, "being pregnant is the best reason out there to go out and buy a new wardrobe. It’s not just a “want”, it’s a real need for new clothes. It sounds fun and exciting, but unless you have a bottomless bank account, the excitement stops when you see the first price tag." Nonetheless, the need is still there. 

NOTE-WORTHY: Christina found that, "It’s impossible to find regular, around the house lounge clothes for pregnancy. I’ve been on a mission for the last 5 months to find just a simple pair of athletic shorts and a regular t-shirt that I can wear around the house or outside when I’m working around the yard. IMPOSSIBLE task!" Christina had visited the specialty maternity shops in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada as well as the maternity section in Wal-Mart, yet she says, "No matter where I have shopped, I have not once come across a real t-shirt or pair of shorts. That has been annoying. The only maternity shorts I have are cotton/khaki type material and I paid too much money for them to wear them in the yard! What’s a girl to do? If I was a maternity clothes designer, I’d go after casual/athletic styles. It’s just not out there."

"Getting bigger everyday!"

August, 2012 Update:  Welcome to the world Michael Joseph James (Carly) and Maximus Joseph (Christina) - everyone is healthy and Carly and Christina can pack away their maternity clothes!