Here's the big question:
"Do I really need to buy maternity wear? I've heard it's expensive and ugly plus the nearest store is over an hour away. Can't I just buy normal clothes in a bigger size?"
Now straight up I'm going to tell you I'm biased on the answer to this one because my livelihood depends on you buying maternity wear but my answer to this is very similar to how I answered the question in an earlier blog: "Do I really need to buy nursing wear?"
You see about 15-20 years ago there were practically no maternity wear stores at all in Australia and online shopping was practically unheard of. So when you fell pregnant you had 2 choices. You could make do with larger sizes or make your own. You still have those two choices open to you but why make do when many companies work very hard to design and manufacture stylish comfortable clothing designed specifically for maternity and breastfeeding.
I had to make do but I was lucky enough to have a Mum that sewed and she made me a few pants, skirts and tops for work because although stretchy tracksuit pants and light cotton maxi dresses (which is basically what was available in the normal stores at the time) were fine for home they weren't appropriate for work. It was also very soul destroying to be buying pants from Millers with high elastic waistbands at the age of 28. If I were pregnant today I would most certainly be visiting a maternity store if there was one with in an hour of me, otherwise I would be shopping online. I wear maternity clothes now and I'm not even pregnant! They are just so comfortable, very stylish, well made and no they don't make you look pregnant.
It's funny, I get so many people visiting the store in awe of the size and range we have available and they all say how hard it is to find a maternity store. The fact is that so many people seem to take the option of buying bigger clothes instead of supporting maternity stores and therefore more and more stores are closing and the choice is getting less and less.
So what makes maternity different and why should you buy it?
Well the pants are probably the main thing that is different to normal pants. Yes you can buy devices to extend the use of your own pants but it's such an uncomfortable option. Maternity pants either are made from a stretchy fabric or they have a stretchy waistband. No uncomfortable buttons and zippers. They used to sit way up under your bust but those days are long gone. The bands are either designed to fold over or they sit under your belly button. This allows them to stretch as your belly gets bigger without digging in but many ladies find the style so comfortable that they never go back to normal waistbands. They can just as easily be worn non pregnant.
You know it makes no sense to go out buying bigger sizes and belly belts etc in order to make it through to the last 6 weeks or so of your pregnancy and then be faced with the prospect of having to buy maternity wear to get you through those last few weeks. You would have been better off buying maternity clothes early on that would have seen you all the way through rather than buying them for a few weeks use, on top of the money you've spent on clothes that now no longer fit.
Now tops and dresses are something that many people shop for in normal stores rather than buying maternity but again I believe it is false economy because you are unlikely to be able to wear them for breastfeeding. So many maternity dresses and tops are dual purpose these days and can be used while pregnant but also used for breastfeeding afterwards.
The most wonderful thing about visiting a maternity store is the service and the choice. If you walk into a department store you can take 5 garments into the change room at a time then you have to get dressed, head back out and grab another five, or different sizes. Try doing that with a small child in tow! Not fun! But in a store like Maternity Revolution you get to wander around at your leisure while your child plays in our playroom. Our staff are all very good babysitters if need be. You can take as many items into the changeroom as you like and you don't have to put anything away afterwards. You can get as much or as little help as you like. We are here to help with sizing, opinions, photo taking, note taking etc, if you need it but if you want to be left alone, that's fine too.
So that's all well and good if you live within a respectable distance of our store (or any maternity store for that matter) but what if you don't? Online shopping can be all too hard for many people and I agree but Maternity Revolution is different. We recognize that knowing what size to buy is hard and knowing whether the style will suit you is even harder. It can get costly paying postage to get the item and postage to return the item and I really cannot understand some businesses that don't allow refunds. That's just plain stupid.
At Maternity Revolution we put so much effort into making your online shopping experience as streamlined as possible. We may not have the biggest and best website in the world but be reassured that there are real people offering real customer service at the other end of your order. As soon as your order is received we check we have the items and if we are concerned that the sizing of the item is particularly big or small, we'll contact you to discuss it. Likewise, if we are out of what you wanted, we contact you to let you know and if we can order it in, we will. We'll check your past orders and make sure that we agree with the sizing you have chosen.
Often we send two sizes of something out to a customer and only charge for the one item. That way they can compare the sizing and send back what doesn't work. We have also been known to send a selection of items to customers and they can try them all and return what doesn't work. This works well if you have a wedding to go to and have left finding a dress till the last moment.
Repeat customers love that they can just ring us, tell us their name and we have all their details (except credit card details) on file.
If we receive an order today and the item is in stock it will usually be posted same day and we offer Express Post if you are in a hurry.
Our postage charges are well below what it actually costs to post an item. $5 normal post and $7 Express Post for 1-2 items. $10 normal post and $12 Express Post for 3-5 items. Spend over $150 and postage is FREE.
Now here's another unique feature of our online sales. If you receive the items and would like to try another size, we let you hold onto the size you have while we post the exchange size to you free of charge! This way you can compare the two sizes and return what you don't want in one go, rather than making several trips to the post office. We don't charge postage for exchanges. That's pretty good!
Most importantly, we offer a no questions asked refund policy if the item is returned within 14 days and of course they have to be unworn and with tags still on etc.
So there you have it. Many reasons why I think you should be buying maternity wear rather than just making do. You'll look better, feel better and put food on my table.
Lisa
Maternity Revolution
1/124 South Pine Rd
Brendale QLD 4500
Ph: 07 3205 1818
lisa@maternityrevolution.com.au
www.maternityrevolution.com.au
