I'm calling foul, guys. I'm busting this thing wide open.
There's something amuck with the maternity apparel industry and after some extremely scientific
fact-gathering and a load of diagnostic research I've come to this conclusion.
It's a racket.
Glad I got that off my chest. Now allow me to elaborate...
(scroll to the bottom if you just want the method I used and don't care about the stores I visited)
Take a look at this... please brace yourself for some world class photography
Ok. Pretty significant difference in these two tops from Target, right? Maternity top is on the left, in a medium. Normal tank is on the right in an XL.
Maternity tank is $19.95 at my local Target.
Normal tank is $10.00 and some change.
Although that isn't the most significant difference, it was enough to give me pause. What is the deal with charging twice as much for a maternity top? Is there a ton more fabric? Is it infused with secret baby-growing powder? Does it magically make you look like a pregnant Giselle instead of Octomom? I gotta know.
Here's another perspective. That's the maternity tank peeking out the bottom of the non-maternity top. When the length is compared the maternity top has a solid three inches on the normal tank. Good to know, right? WRONG. I'm just kidding, it is good to know..I'm just overzealous.
Last perspective of these two...
Aha! Get a load of how much wider the XL is...the maternity top is long and narrow while the non-maternity tank is wide and short. Ok, with that information lets do some problem solving.
I started checking the seams on the maternity tops - only ones without ruching on the sides - to see if there was a significant difference in the placement of said seams. Not so much. Don't believe me? Go to Target, check it out for yourself. If there is a difference it is minuscule. I feel like that word means something totally different when it's italicized.
The biggest difference is in the length and relative width of a maternity top verses a non-maternity top.
So what do we do?
Well, lets think about the one place on earth where stretchy shirts seem to reach incredible lengths without getting exponentially wider...
I don't know about you but the first place that came to mind for me was the junior section of just about every store in America. Don't zone out..I know the junior section doesn't sound promising to most pregnant mommies, but this is just an example.
Certain stores tend to have longer shirts in general, junior or no, for instance..Walmart. I know, we don't like Walmart. I'm pretty sure covering your butt is optional there. They don't have a Starbucks in the front of the store. People show up without wearing bras, but stick with me.
These are ribbed tanks from Walmart. $3.94 per
Just for kicks I bought both a maternity t-shirt and maternity tank from Target in medium. Then I bought a non-maternity tank in an XL and a v-neck tee in a large from good old Walmart (I wanted to be thorough in my very scientific study).
Wonder of wonders...they fit almost identically, except the tanks from Walmart are more comfortable, the material is thicker, I could wear them whether I'm pregnant or not and they feel like they'll stretch much more easily to accommodate the sweet little baby I'm growing at the moment. I'm not a fan of Walmart clothes as a rule, I haven't purchased an item of clothing from them in years so the fact that I'm saying they're better than something else you can get is significant...that being said, I think you can find a similar style from another store for less than a maternity top will run you. My point is look for it!
I have to say, the t-shirt from Target is nicer and feels like it will last longer so I plan to hang on to it but I can't say the same for the tank top, I'll be returning it.
With all this taken into account, I must clarify...I'm not knocking maternity wear as a whole. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be incredible thankful for stretchy maternity waist bands pretty soon. As a matter of fact, my sister-in-law bought me a pair of Motherhood shorts that I've already worn around the house because they are incredibly comfortable... What I am saying, is that there are a few ways around the inflated prices in this niche market. You're going to wear these clothes for what, 6 months?
My Method
- Look for stretchy fabrics. Almost every maternity shirt I've looked at has a lot of give in it to allow for growth throughout your pregnancy so it stands to reason that a non-maternity shirt would need to fit the same criteria.
- Look for a lot of length. The shirt needs to be long enough to cover your belly now, and in a few months, the bigger your belly the more fabric is spent making sure it's not exposed so make sure you've got room to grow.
- Look for something that isn't already skin tight. I'll be honest, the maternity tank tops at Target in a medium were already uncomfortably snug on me. I typically wear a medium but those shirts were just clingy and not very flattering, I think that had something to do with how thin they were too, but I just wasn't a fan. The Walmart tanks and t's are snug but forgiving.
- Skirts with stretchy waistbands are nifty too...like these
AE Skirt
- I already had a few of these that were a bit too loose and I'm pretty sure they'll stretch plenty.
- Did I mention looking for things that stretch?
My Tips
1. It may take some time to track these things down, but it's worth it. Walmart isn't the only store with longer tanks cheaper than Target, although the ones I got from Walmart were $3.94 per and I don't know if you can beat that consistently even at a thrift store... certainly not at Goodwill. I checked *Old Navy as well, they might be a good option to look into as well for non-maternity clothes that would still fit the bill. Just take the time to look around because it's possible to buy quite a few items that will serve your purpose at a fraction of the price.
*Old Navy maternity tanks and t's were low quality and I could see through the fabric of half of them it was so thin.
2. Look for similar clothing structure between knit maternity and non-maternity items. You'll find a lot more will fit the bill than you realized. Just because it doesn't say Liz Lange doesn't mean it won't work.
3. Don't feel compelled to buy maternity clothes right when you find out you're pregnant...I'm guilty of this. I felt compelled but I didn't give in...except for this one pair of shorts I found...It's not a bad idea to keep your eyes open at thrift stores if you happen to find something you really like and are sure it'll work for you, but since this is my first and I have no idea what the heck my body is going to do I've done my best to hold off. The tank tops and t-shirts I bought are items I will wear when I'm not pregnant as well and I was running seriously low on shirts. I packed away things that are clinging in awkward places...which left me with, well, not a lot.
4. Buying maternity clothing isn't evil. Truth be told, I may eat my words when I'm 9 months pregnant and my knit tank tops have stretched to capacity (scary thought) so I am not saying there's no place for maternity clothes. I think it depends on your body structure, what you're comfortable with (what you can afford), and what you want. If you've always dreamed of getting a whole new wardrobe of brand name maternity clothing when you get pregnant, more power to you. I just like to get a lot of mileage out of my clothing and in my book, buying an exclusively maternity wardrobe right off the bat isn't the way to go.
5. Find your staple maternity wardrobe items. I scrolled through a few blogger's lists and the general consensus was as follows...
- Maternity jeans and/or shorts if it's summer time
- Some sort of maternity friendly dress - for me that means a maxi of which I have quite a few...
- Not your husband's shirts (heh...guilty of that when I'm not pregnant)
- A supportive brassiere...ahem.
Pretty simple. I feel like it depends on your personal style, if you're into very tailored clothing my methods won't be good for you, maternity clothing will probably be tough generally speaking...good luck. But if you're flexible and like your clothes to be the same way you should do fine in tracking down at least some of these items (shirts and dresses namely) in a cost effective way. Fingers crossed right? Here's to shopping smart and still looking cute.
A special note...should you ever cross into the wilds of Walmart: Although it isn't taboo to show up with untethered decolletage I feel it's worth mentioning that one should not do the same to remain incognito.
Just throwing that out there...
xo,
Rae
