Thrifting My Pregnancy
Pregnancy can be a huge financial rip off. Seriously. I think I wrote about that in my previous post where I turned my old just-for-work maternity jeans into a nice pair of skinny jeans. Well now I want to share with you a bit more of my maternity closet. I see many people excited that they bought a pair of leggings, jeans and a nice shirt at maternity store for just under $150. And they are so happy that they got such a great deal. I'm glad for them, that they feel they have accomplished a deal. however, for me that's not a deal enough. I realize that while pregnant, we get fat, we get bulging unsightly veins and can, at times, feel pretty crumby and having a flattering outfit that fits and looks good can be very helpful. But it shouldn't cost us a fortune especially when in a year, maybe less, these clothes wont fit and wont serve much purpose. (With exception to that amazing waistband once ol'aunt flo returns with her hellish cramps and bloating!)
Everyone knows I love thrifting. If you havent figured it out yet, well, then I suggest you start at the begining of my blogging career and get to know me a bit. I think out of my entire maternity wardrobe I have bought one new item (aside from the undergarments of course...I do draw the line somewhere), and even that was a $5 shirt.
So I went through my closet, pulled out a couple key peices and took some selfies to show you what you can get at thrift stores. Remember, I'm not a fashionista, But I wouldn't say I'm a frump either. I shop almost exclusively thrift and I think I come out looking okay.
The Bottoms:
Denim skirt $5
GAP skinny jeans $9
Denim shorts $3
Brown khaki shorts $3
Army green Khaki pants (these button up to capris) $7
The black goes-with-all maternity leggin $5 I do own a couple pairs of maternity leggings because as you can see I have a toddler who smears unknown substances on me everday. For example, as I was modeling my outfits, he accidentally exploded a container of berry applesauce on everything within a 1m radius. So having an extra pair or 2 of these is great.
(The grey tank is not a maternity peice. This is a great and simple tanktop from giant tiger. I have a couple of these as they fit well, pregnant or not and super soft.)
So for the bottoms that is 6 items and so far I have spent a wopping $33
Tops:
White blouse $5
Navy and teal stripes $5
Black and white sweater $6
Green sheer $2
Red and White stripes $1
denim shirt $5
Silver and black silk tank (with pockets!) $3
Plaid shirt/dress (Also with pockets!) $5
Purple tank with cute frill $3
Let's total the tops: thtas 9 items, for a cost of $36. Yikes!
Dresses: (and one skirt)
Black full sleeve $5
Grey GAP skirt $5
Bottom left silk maxi dress... okay I splurged on this one. I have a wedding to go to soon...$12.
Pink dress $7
Blue and white maxi dress $7
That's 4 dresses and a skirt for $36.
Now let's total everything up. I have shown you some of the key peices in my maternity wardrobe. That's 19 articles of maternity wear for a grand total of..... $105
Most of the pieces in my maternity wardrobe origianlly come from Tyme Maternity or Motherhood with a couple othe brands in between. The bottoms I often match with basic non-maternity items such as my grey tank top so I don't even need to buy those seperate. I also already owned several empire waisted shirts which are basically pegnancy shirts so there is no need to purchase those.regular shirts a size or 2 bigger than what you are and belt them, hem a sleeve, be creative! You can also by Hopefully I have shown you that just becasue you now have a growing and rounding belly you don't need to spend a fortune or wear your grandmothers curtains, sewn into a moomoo. I'm glad I wasn't pregnant in the late '70's and 80's. Yikes! This a time of our lives ladies, when we should feel as amazing as we look! I mean we are growing little humans, and it takes a toll on our bodies. It's an exhausting role and we shouldn't have to pay twice as much to dress our changing bodies. Although you can if you want to.
I also want to share one other thrift item that I am so glad I found. I currently own a columbia backpack diaper bag and it's great. I got it 2nd hand for something like $3.But with another boy on the way (yay!) and both in cloth diapers plus I pack a lot of just-in-case stuff like snacks and extra outfits, I wanted something with extra space. Preferaby two large pockets to separate tiny diapers from a little bit bigger diapers and room for a wet bag and everything two boys might need. Diaper bags usually run anywhere from $50 to $100 depending on features, quality etc. I saw a couple that I liked and debated a couple online but I always hesitated becasue they were never quite what I wanted. Then I was in my favourite local thrift store, to which I happened to have a 30% off coupon, and I found this AMAZING bag:
Not only is this an amzing colour, especially with the gold accents, it can be carried as a shoulder bag or a backpack! It has a front zip pocket where i can keep my things, and on the inside it has two separate areas divided by a zipped pocket where i can keep the wet bag with dirty diapers!. I realize it's not technically a diaper bag but for me it is offering me everything I want in a diaper bag. And it's stylish, at least I think it is. Oh and after my thrift store discount, I only paid $10 for it.
Please excuse the open cupboards in my kitchen. you other mom's of toddlers know what it's like.
