Maternity wear. Something I knew close to nothing about prior to getting pregnant. My knowledge pretty much extended to my coworker Erin’s pregnancy wardrobe.
Good thing I’m a quick learner with friends who are willing to help a girl out!
My maternity wear situation involved having the right clothing for work as well as the weekends. With that being said, I depended on a few different sources to clothe my pregnant self…
Starting at the end of February/early March, I subscribed to Le Tote after seeing how much Erin loved her experience with the company. Le Tote is an online maternity (and non-maternity) wear rental service, and it’s pretty awesome. There are also options to pair clothing with accessories if that’s more your thing.
For $69 a month, I chose to receive four pieces of clothing (tops, sweaters, dresses, pants, etc.) in every tote. Once I wear everything as many times as I want, I send it back using the prepaid envelope from Le Tote, pick my next pieces, and wait for the next tote. There are no limits to the number of totes you receive every month. It’s just a matter of how long you keep each individual one (shipping takes about two days). And get this, you don’t have to wash anything (major perk)!
Personally, when I weighed out buying a work appropriate maternity wardrobe versus subscribing to Le Tote, Le Tote won! It’s a fun treat for me to look forward to, and it gives me access to lots of different styles and options I wouldn’t otherwise have.
The only con to Le Tote is their sizing, specifically in the petite department. Some pieces, even when I picked XS’, would be too big. A little annoying when you only get four pieces to start with!
Other than that, I would sign up for this service all over again given the choice.
Dress – Le Tote
Dress – Le Tote; Jean jacket – Loft (non-maternity)
Top – Le Tote; Pants – Motherhood Maternity
Dress – Le Tote
TARGET
I personally didn’t buy too many maternity pieces from Target, but it’s a great/affordable option. If you’re looking for more casual clothing, I would check out a few different local stores. I quickly learned that the Target in the city isn’t the same as the one in the suburbs. I was blown away by how different the one by my friend Thea is. So many more options…the burbs for the win!
Speaking of the burbs, I went shopping with Thea back in February, and we stopped by the local Destination Maternity. This store carries both the Motherhood Maternity and the Pea in the Pod lines. I bought a few different basic pieces here and have no regrets – a pair of jeans, a pair of black work pants, and a casual top from the Motherhood Maternity line and two nicer tops from the more expensive Pea in the Pod line.
Top – Target; Jean jacket – Loft (non-maternity); Pants – Motherhood Maternity
Pink Blush Maternity is an online retailer that sells super cute maternity wear. I bought a few dresses from here and love them all! Everything is pretty much true to size and fairly affordable. I found this to be a great option for special occasion pieces like baby showers.
Dress – Pink Blush; Jean Jacket – Loft (non-maternity)
Dress – Pink Blush
EXISTING NON-MATERNITY CLOTHES
Other than the above, I also regularly wear a few of my flowy non-maternity tops. Don’t forget the pieces you already own!
So there you have it, the maternity wear that kept this working mom-to-be somewhat stylish (and clothed!) for the majority of this pregnancy.
i was just thinking about your earlier this morning…on that note, i need to get me a denim jacket..waiting to hear the exciting news anytime now 🙂
You look so pretty in all of them!! Such a useful post for mommy-to-be’s
Thank you!!!
I agree with all your picks. I would just add Loft Maternity on that list too!! I found it best for work and in a lot of cases bought similar pieces i already loved but in the maternity version. I found it to be the least frumpiest, fun selection of patterns (what is it with all maternity brands and stripes!!! grrr don’t get me started) and best quality maternity clothing. The only con was that it’s only online and you have to pay to return. But a couple staple work wardrobe pieces got me through my pregnancy feeling cute! 🙂
Ah yes, how can I forget Loft! Because of my regular Le Tote deliveries, I didn’t shop there. However, that didn’t stop me from some regular online browsing! 🙂
Hadn’t heard of the rental option before. That’s a great idea actually! Not sure what it’s like in the US, but here in the UK the range of maternity fashion on the high street truly sucks 🙁 I had major issues finding a dress suitable for a wedding (my hubby wrote about it here https://find-open.co.uk/blog/is-this-the-end-of-maternity-fashion-on-the-high-street ) and in the end I had to borrow one. Didn’t want to order online as wasn’t really sure on sizing, so a rental option would have been great. Off to check if they offer the service in the UK!
This post is very helpful for me and every pregnant lady. Awesome post, I really enjoy it. and I am also pregnant now and it’s the only 21week. And this is my first pregnancy. So I am very excited with that.
Nice look!
Thank you!
When choosing for maternity dresses or clothes, we can find those are wearable after. Nice article!