Cheapy maternity clothes

ebmma

Hi girls, I got to 24 weeks without needing to buy anything, but I have to get more clothes now...I don't fit into any of my trousers anymore, except one pair of combats. But they don't feel like they will do me for long either, so shopping trip imminent

That's roughly my shopping list:

1. Maternity jeans
2. Some other type of trousers, combats preferably (do they make maternity ones?)
3. Belly bands
4. Jumper dress/loose jumper of some sort

Can anyone recommend good places to go to in town or South Dublin?
I am not interested in brand names at all, just want some decent comfortable clothes, slight preference towards brighter colours.

The reason I'm asking is because a) I don't find shopping particularly fun, so prefer having a list of places to go to in advance b) I only have about 50-70 quid to spend on everything in total, so don't wanna waste my time looking at nice things in expensive shops.

thanks in advance

annieee

New Look is great for combats and trousers.

H and M is good for inexpensive tops.

I've seen loads of Maternity stuff in the charity shops in Bray lately if you dont mind second hand stuff. (Typical, I could never find any when I was pregnant, now it seems to be everywhere.)

ebmma

annieee wrote: »

New Look is great for combats and trousers.

H and M is good for inexpensive tops.

I've seen loads of Maternity stuff in the charity shops in Bray lately if you dont mind second hand stuff. (Typical, I could never find any when I was pregnant, now it seems to be everywhere.)

Thanks! Don't mind second hand at all, but Bray is a bit of a journey (I live near UCD)... I'll check some charity shops in town.

Moonbeam

The sale rail in mother care supplied me with nearly everything very cheaply.E-bay is good too.

crazy cat lady

I think Heatons have a good few long jumper dress type tops, might be worth trying there?

You could always get some of those trouser extender things so that your own jeans/combats fit for longer?

I've also bought a few mens plain long sleeved tops in Dunnes for about 4 euro, they cover the belly nicely! Got a couple of plain hoodies in there too for under 10 euro

I've bought 2 pairs of maternity jeans, both in Next and I'm making them see me through the whole pregnancy. I've not really bought maternity tops as I've found just buying bigger regular tops ok. I think some of the maternity tops are hideous anyway!

As for belly bands, I got 3 in New Look for 12 Euro and they're brilliant.

ebmma

crazy cat lady wrote: »

I think Heatons have a good few long jumper dress type tops, might be worth trying there?

You could always get some of those trouser extender things so that your own jeans/combats fit for longer?

I've also bought a few mens plain long sleeved tops in Dunnes for about 4 euro, they cover the belly nicely! Got a couple of plain hoodies in there too for under 10 euro

I've bought 2 pairs of maternity jeans, both in Next and I'm making them see me through the whole pregnancy. I've not really bought maternity tops as I've found just buying bigger regular tops ok. I think some of the maternity tops are hideous anyway!

As for belly bands, I got 3 in New Look for 12 Euro and they're brilliant.

Thanks a lot! Is there a New Look in town? I've only seen on ein Dun Laoghaire

crazy cat lady

The one in Dun Laoghaire is useless, don't think theres a maternity section at all.

I don't know whether there is one in town, but I think there is one in the Square in Tallaght? I've only been there once and wan't pregnant so I don't know if they have a maternity section.

I go to the Bridgewater in Arklow, both New Look and Next have maternity sections there, and theres a huge Dunnes.

Forgor to say that Penneys is also great for jumpers. I know they don't last too long, but then neither does pregnancy

ebmma

crazy cat lady wrote: »

I know they don't last too long, but then neither does pregnancy

Everyone says that, but both me and OH have plenty of clothes from Penneys and they last us years. What other people do to make their clothes disintegrate is a mystery to me

Michellenman

Sorryh to intrude, just thought I'd fill you in, There's a newlook in Liffey Valley and a new one is openning in Blanchardstown in about 2 weeks

ebmma

Michellenman wrote: »

Sorryh to intrude, just thought I'd fill you in, There's a newlook in Liffey Valley and a new one is openning in Blanchardstown in about 2 weeks

Thanks! They're both pretty far away...although I have a friend living in the Liffey valley sort of direction. maybe I can combine shopping with visiting him

caprilicious

+1 for Penneys, got loads of cute dresses and long jumpers/jumper dresses they're so handy with a pair of leggings.
Dunnes also handy for the long jumpers, they had nice cowl neck long jumpers for €7 each last time I was in & theres plenty of stretch in them

I got lovely Dorothy Perkins bootcut maternity jeans on ebay for €12 new. I got them when I was only 14/15 weeks and thought they were massive but they're starting to fit nicely now I'm 25 weeks.

ebmma

caprilicious wrote: »

+1 for Penneys, got loads of cute dresses and long jumpers/jumper dresses they're so handy with a pair of leggings.
Dunnes also handy for the long jumpers, they had nice cowl neck long jumpers for €7 each last time I was in & theres plenty of stretch in them

I got lovely Dorothy Perkins bootcut maternity jeans on ebay for €12 new. I got them when I was only 14/15 weeks and thought they were massive but they're starting to fit nicely now I'm 25 weeks.

just realised I've no idea how sizing works. do you go for your normal size?

caprilicious

Well I'm normally a (generous!) size 12 so I got size 14 stuff, that said any of the size 12 maternity jeans/trousers are only massive on I would've been better off going for a size 10 in them!
Although I've another 3 months to fill them so no harm having them stretchy

I bought stuff that was kind of stretchy anyway and so far so good.

The maternity underwear can be quite dear so I got a few packs of size 16 undies in Penneys/Dunnes which are grand, a bit 'Brigid Jones' looking but comfy!

ebmma

caprilicious wrote: »

Well I'm normally a (generous!) size 12 so I got size 14 stuff, that said any of the size 12 maternity jeans/trousers are only massive on I would've been better off going for a size 10 in them!
Although I've another 3 months to fill them so no harm having them stretchy

I bought stuff that was kind of stretchy anyway and so far so good.

The maternity underwear can be quite dear so I got a few packs of size 16 undies in Penneys/Dunnes which are grand, a bit 'Brigid Jones' looking but comfy!

just back from my 24 weeks appointment - apparently just gained a bit under 2 kilos so far..Which means I'll probably baloon in quite a short time...Better go for bigger sizes, probably

loismustdie

emma i know you don't hav a lot of money to spend on maternity clothes and i can really empathise with that but this is ust a bit of advice from personal experience. on my last pregnancy i remained fairly small and was like you, waitin to get massive but it never happened. im 19 weeks now and unsure if i will get bigger, am still able to hide it although can't fit in any of my clothes since 8weeks! ive tried on maternity clothes in size , the smallest i can find and both the jeans and tops are still to big on me, it's very hard to judge

i just wanted to say that we tend to feel yucky enough when pregnant with regards to our bodys and bits and wearin clothes too big will worsen this. you could even try buyin a couple pairs trackie bottoms in pennys in the meantime?

just my advice but you know best yourself what will suit you.

congrads on appointment today, did yu get to find out sex or do you want to?

Nevyn

Best buy I got when I was expecting was two pair of maternity combat type trousers.
They had an extendable elasticated waist line with button hole on the elastic to let out as I went, a soft wollen strechy fabric for the bump and a pockets on the legs cos there was no room were you'd normally have pockets.

I lived in them for both pregnancies, 1 black pair one brown pair and they were easy to get on when bending was an issue.

Comfort and funcionality are so what you need and clothes you feel good about,
nothing worse then horrid frumpy clothes you don't like as they can be a right downer when you have everything else to deal wiht.

gibo_ie

ebmma wrote: »

Hi girls, I got to 24 weeks without needing to buy anything, but I have to get more clothes now...I don't fit into any of my trousers anymore, except one pair of combats. But they don't feel like they will do me for long either, so shopping trip imminent

That's roughly my shopping list:

1. Maternity jeans
2. Some other type of trousers, combats preferably (do they make maternity ones?)
3. Belly bands
4. Jumper dress/loose jumper of some sort

Can anyone recommend good places to go to in town or South Dublin?
I am not interested in brand names at all, just want some decent comfortable clothes, slight preference towards brighter colours.

The reason I'm asking is because a) I don't find shopping particularly fun, so prefer having a list of places to go to in advance b) I only have about 50-70 quid to spend on everything in total, so don't wanna waste my time looking at nice things in expensive shops.

thanks in advance

my sister has an irish site called www.bumpbasics.com and is very resonably priced, has been on TV3 a few times too.
She is closed this week due to illness but will be back next week.
Your 50-70 WILL go a long way i can guarantee!!

Congrats and good luck.

ebmma

loismustdie wrote: »

congrads on appointment today, did yu get to find out sex or do you want to?

Thanks! I've found out the sex during the scan (today was just a GP visit) - so happy to be having a little boy. It was like watching something on discovery channel. He didn't move much, just very gently, so sonographer had easy time measuring everything
Have a bit of cystitis (sp?) apparently, so needed some antibiotics

What I'm wondering about now is how much weight do you actually have to gain in pregnancy. You are saying you didn't really get that big?

I think I can get more time out of my clothes with skirts - got some warm cottony tights and they seem to hold my bump in, so don't look pregnant at all

Khannie

ebmma wrote: »

What I'm wondering about now is how much weight do you actually have to gain in pregnancy. You are saying you didn't really get that big?

It varies by person, but I heard twice the delivery weight at a minimum (to cover the delivery weight, amniotic fluid, placenta and whatever other stuff). So, I suppose, even if you gained zero fat or muscle (unlikely) you're looking at at least a stone.

Congrats btw.

edit: For what it's worth: My wife's up around 8 KG now at 30 weeks (she may shoot me in the face for saying that publicly). She looks to me like she has gained very little apart from the bump. I'm guessing it's natural for your body to want to store some fat to cover breastfeeding afterwards (not breastfeeding is a relatively recent thing for humans compared to how long we have breastfed, so your body is geared towards it....note: This is not a commentary on breastfeeding, only an observation on human evolution).

CathyMoran

Khannie wrote: »

It varies by person, but I heard twice the delivery weight at a minimum (to cover the delivery weight, amniotic fluid, placenta and whatever other stuff). So, I suppose, even if you gained zero fat or muscle (unlikely) you're looking at at least a stone.

Congrats btw.

edit: For what it's worth: My wife's up around 8 KG now at 30 weeks (she may shoot me in the face for saying that publicly). She looks to me like she has gained very little apart from the bump. I'm guessing it's natural for your body to want to store some fat to cover breastfeeding afterwards (not breastfeeding is a relatively recent thing for humans compared to how long we have breastfed, so your body is geared towards it....note: This is not a commentary on breastfeeding, only an observation on human evolution).

I have put on 9.5kg since the begining of pregnancy but I was very underweight at the begining (am only at 16.5 weeks!)

Have found getting clothes a nightmare - my daddy kindly gave me a few quid to spend on them but would rather spend them on the baby where possible. I found Next great for maternity trousers but splashed out on a Beneton maternity dress at about 45Eur. I need to get a heavy maternity coat (not dear ideally but at this stage I am getting desperate). I do have a dress from topstop that I got 2 years ago (is not maternity) and it is still fine and some loose dresses that I have years too. I cant stand anthing near my bump.

crazy cat lady

I wouldn't be wasting money on a maternity coat! I'm 33 weeks and my metabolism is working overtime, I'm so hot!

If I were to buy a goat tho, they have some lovely ones in Tesco which are zip up but also have buttons just at the top. I think if I were in any way cold one of these coats would do as I could just do up the buttons!

CathyMoran

crazy cat lady wrote: »

I wouldn't be wasting money on a maternity coat! I'm 33 weeks and my metabolism is working overtime, I'm so hot!

If I were to buy a goat tho, they have some lovely ones in Tesco which are zip up but also have buttons just at the top. I think if I were in any way cold one of these coats would do as I could just do up the buttons!

Thanks but I still have heat issues from the chemo...will look at Tesco though, thanks a million.

Am half temted to get some dearer stuff off the web at this stage, not that I want to.

Maternity tights are expensive but a good idea I found as the bump hates anything close to it.

fi1979

Hi, I'm 20 weeks and only now finding I need new trousers.
Was in Killarney for the day yesterday, and Dorothy Perkins have a 50% sale on. Admittedly they have a small maternity section, but their sale rail had loads of maternity clothes reduced, jeans, leggings and tops. I got several tops from there, some down to €6.
This may not be the case in all shops, but looked like a change of stock, they had most sizes on the sale rail!

Das Kitty

I'm getting a man's XL zip up hoody as my last leg coat. I really don't care what I look like I just want to be warm. Wearing the OH's hoody now but bumpy is hanging out the bottom (not fun in this morning's frost).

Will probably need a second pair of jeans too as I'm starting to grow all over, got one pair way back and have been living in them.

TargetWidow

Haven't gotten anything new yet this time, but last time I really really loved any of the tops I got in Redherring in Debenhams. Lovely long and cheap as chips tops. I couldn't find any trousers or jeans I liked. Mothercare cords were comfy but the elastics snapped under duress! Dressy Nike Yoga-pants in large stretchy sizes were lovely but stained if you looked crooked at them and bump began objecting to any waistbands being anywhere near it eventually. (Good for sucking in soft belly afterwards though!) Red-herring jeans irritated my skin as did almost everything else I put on my legs except for my old non-maternity Penneys large size black leggings (I love Penneys!). Dunnes in Tralee no longer are stocking maternity. I wonder if this is the case nationwide?Hope this helps.

ebmma

Went shopping the other day and it was a bit of a disaster
You know when you don't need something it seems to be everywhere, but once you do need it it's nowhere to be found?

I went to a few shops (Debenhams, Jervis centre, Ilac) and there was no maternity wear anywhere! Except some Redherring stuff in Debenhams. They had jeans that seemed good but cost 47 quid, so I'll try to shop around a bit more..

Got 2 stretchy normal jumpers in Dunnes (so annoying they don't have maternity section! I'd love it if they did!) and that's it.
Didn't find any belly bands.

I will continue my hunt on the other side of town tomorrow (stephen's green end) hopefully there's something...

hacked

hey guys.

I just went through the horrors! I feel your PAIN!

I got maternity jeans at like 8 weeks....i had a lot of fluid retention by the uterus, so I felt nd looked like I had a small bump. It went down, but it was very tender! I got some mothercare jeans. The quality is pretty ok and I get so many compliments on them from people who don't know they are maternity wanting to know where they can get some!

As for tops. Do not even bother with maternity. So many people told me that and I ignored them. I Was set on buying a maternity wardrobe. The maternity clothes around are useless...and expensive. My best buys were some thermal long sleeve shirts from Marks and Sparks -- basic colours, VERY stretchy and warm for winter! Also pennies...they didn't have many stretchy shirts the last few weeks, but they have some amazing looking wooly jumpers/waterfall jumpers/tunics. I got two really amazing ones that I adore. Also got some amazing stretchy dresses there.

I got a coat in A wear. Only found one maternity coat in marks and sparks but it wasn't that nice. So many of the styles out there are pregnancy friendly....even just a little altering and you can do what I did. Get a coat that will need to be altered in a little while, but can be put back the original way and used again next year!

Have a look around

LegacyUser

Just letting you know that I got a great coat in New Look for €49, whi ch I thought was great value. Debenhams are having a sale next week so there'll be 20% off the maternity stuff in red herring.

ebmma

Went for a second round of shopping - just Dundrum this time. Went a lot better.

Got jeans in Next for 32 euro (their maternity section is at the back of MEN's section! No wonder I could never find it!)

Penneys was brilliant for long and stretchy tops. Got nice long shirt as well, quite loose so should do me for ages.

They also have lots of fleecy jammies at reduced price

So the only thing I'm really missing now are belly bands.
Anyone knows where to get them??

caprilicious

@ ebmma - might be no harm trying ebay for the belly bands, that's where I got mine, think I paid about €7 for it, some of the maternity websites charge almost €20 for them :eek:

I found it v handy in the earlier days when my boobs started to expand as it can be worn as a tank top.
Not that I was out flashing my gut, I had a mortifying moment in work where the buttons on my work shirt popped open from being stretched that bit too far so was able to wear the tank top under my shirt to ensure my modesty was preserved

@ hacked - that's a very good idea about getting a normal coat let altered. I'm trying to get the most out of my current coats, so far so good & I'm 26 weeks now!

Michellenman

Topshop had some plain ones in their maternity section a while ago. Couldn't tell you the price though, sorry!

My mam held it up and was like 'That's a very short skirt!!'