Q: How can we afford maternity clothes when our bodies change so much?
A: This is a valid question and one I hear a lot.
It’s a pickle, I know, but the answer to this is simple: shop well. In the land of maternity, this means looking for basic pieces that can be worn multiple ways and that will physically stretch with you as you grow. Focusing on pieces that satisfy both of these requirements means that you’ll need to shop less overall.
Think of these pieces as the foundation of your wardrobe for the next 9 months (and beyond— because any piece that stretches with you will of course shrink with you, too, which sets you up well for postpartum). The idea is to have these on rotation, and to style them with pieces you already have in your closet. Of course, what will continue to fit from your pre-pregnancy wardrobe will change as you grow, but the goal here is to capitalize on what you already have, as much as possible. This means you get to hold onto your personal style, too.
Here are some pieces that I think fit into this bucket:
1. Leggings
I know, I know, not the sexiest or the most exciting, but in styling for our shoots, I really can attest to how far they’re able to stretch (I mean that both literally and the figuratively). Here are some cute lewks with our pair:
2. Pants with a roomy leg and an elastic waist
All hail the elastic waistband. A stretchy band means you can wear it at your waistline in the earlier months, and then move it sub-belly as your bump grows. We’ve styled with a pair of vintage wide leg, high rise pants a lot, and we recently launched a semi-fancy jogger that one test-driving mama has said is almost too nice to be called a jogger.
3. Stretchy tees + tanks
Having a variety of these means you can just layer on the jackets and coats you already have in your wardrobe, and continue look like you. If you find a tee or tank silhouette that works, get it in multiple colors.
To sum that all up:
Versatile basics + a stretchy construction = shopping well
Shopping well = shopping less = spending less
The math doesn’t lie.
- Patricia
p.s. These examples are by no means an exhaustive list and are just a few to get you going.
p.p.s. The Storq Basics Bundle is a good one-and-done for all of this, if you’re too busy to pick and choose your own.