It can be told… I’m due with my third baby in February. With my previous two pregnancies, I learned something about maternity clothes- you can look good without breaking the bank. Here’s how:

1) Don’t even start shopping for maternity clothes until you’re at least 10 weeks pregnant. You want to just buy a small selection of clothes that will take you all the way through, and until you have some kind of belly bulge (even if you’re not actually showing), you’ll have a harder time getting a good fit.
2) Before you shop, consider what you need. You may need suits for work, or you may need casual clothes and one or two special occasion pieces. It all depends on your lifestyle. Splurge only where you need to.
3) Stick with the styles and colors that work for you. Your best colors don’t change when you’re pregnant, and if you looked good in chocolate brown before, you’ll still look good in it now.
4) Stick with neutrals as much as possible. Your maternity wardrobe will be very small, and you need to be able to mix and coordinate. Do use brighter colors as accent pieces and for accessories. And with accessories, feel free to go wild (within your budget, of course) because they’ll give you the most variety.
5) Don’t try to “camouflage” your pregnancy by wearing anything too oversized. A fitted look may show off your pregnancy, but it will also make you look healthy and svelte. And pregnancy is normal, healthy, and beautiful, so there’s no reason to “camouflage” a pregnant belly. Go with clothes that fit you well. Just stay away from anything skintight, which will emphasize any other, not-so-healthy bulges.
6) Once you have maternity clothes, don’t wear them until you absolutely have to. You’ll have more variety that way, so you won’t get bored as fast. If you have any clothes that are 1-2 sizes too big, use them now. Large safety pins and rubber bands will allow you to wear some of your bottoms (just hide it under a loose top).
7) Wear regular clothes as often as you can, as long as you can. While you may not fit into your favorite jeans, you can still wear your jackets and button-down shirts. Just wear them open over shells and undertops.
8) If you plan on any more pregnancies, be careful with your maternity clothes, and store them away carefully when you’re finished with them. That way, you won’t have to buy a whole new maternity wardrobe for the next one.

Now I’m just glad that the morning sickness is over.

First, congratulations Machazait! How exciting!

Second, GREAT tips and advice. I’m especially on board with #5, as the trend in the last 10 years or so has definitely skewed towards showing off the belly rather than disguising it—a trend which came too late for me (my youngest is 11, and I definitely had my share of maternity fashion faux pas, including a red plaid tent-like top with a ruffles at the neck—it really was quite horrific).

If I also can add a few sources for good and reasonable maternity clothes: Target’s Liz Lange maternity line; Old Navy’s maternity line (online shopping only); Ann Taylor LOFT’s maternity; Gap.com; and Motherhood Maternity (which is currently having some great online sales).

And finally, for deals and tips on maternity fashion, be sure to check out our budget family style blog, The Budget Bambino

When I was pregnant with my daughter, the fitted look was in, but I couldn’t find fitted styles that were also appropriately modest, so I wound up with a lot of loose things. The jumpers and big tops were fine for weekdays because I was more interested in comfort, but the Sabbath clothes were disastrous. The midcalf skirts made my legs look stumpy, and the tent tops made me feel fat and frumpy.

When my daughter was an infant, I heard about a Mimi Maternity that opened in Brooklyn and catered to Orthodox Jews, and when I became pregnant with my son, I needed new things because what I had from before was not appropriate for summer. I found a bunch of wonderful things that fit me well and made me feel healthy and svelte. I still have them, and I will wear them as soon as I have to.

Congratulations!  LONG AGO, when I was pregnant, I actually made several jumpers...great, because you can wear your own blouses with them, just unbutton them ‘til they fit!  I remember “borrowing” a sweater from my husband and buying some new shoes.  I told myself that post-pregnancy I could alter some of the clothes tofit me...and I did...but I never wore them because I always FELT pregnant in them, even though I looked ok.  The bad part is that you have to spend money you’d rather spend on clothes to buy new underwear and bras.

In my first pregnancy, I borrowed a few of my husband’s shirts. In fact, we had bought them together, and I purposely steered him toward shirts that I liked (they all had blue in them, so he liked them too). After my daughter was born, I had stocked up on fitted button-down shirts, and with my second pregnancy, I found that I could wear those shirts as shirtjackets over shell tops. This means that I can still wear fall colors as they come in.

So far, I’m showing a teeny bit, but I can still wear enough of my regular things, so I’m avoiding maternity stuff until I absolutely need it. My maternity things are great, but I know I’m going to be sick and tired of them by February, so I need to wait as long as I can.

About a week ago, I went to a wedding. Originally, I was going to wear a maternity outfit, but then I decided to wear my favorite black jersey dress. That dress gives me a very feminine figure when I’m not pregnant, but it also works for small baby bellies. I just dressed it up with earrings and a slightly unusual but very dressy hair covering. It worked.