So you want maternity wear bargains! Well you need to visit us at #Maternity Revolution soon.
We have reduced all our Precious Cargo maternity stock to just $10. Most these items were priced at over $100 originally but we have to clear it all out. Seriously, you should see my shed. Boxes and boxes of stock.
There are maternity pants, maternity dresses, maternity skirts, maternity tees, fully lined maternity jackets and more.
We have also reduced our already reduced Egg Maternity stock by a further 20%.
The Egg stock includes maternity evening wear dresses and some casual #maternity dresses and #breastfeeding tops. Prices start from $19.95.
Then of course there is our most popular and top selling label, Ninth Moon Maternity. Even at full price the Ninth Moon stock is reasonably priced but we at Maternity Revolution have all our Ninth Moon Maternity stock at well below recommended retail price.
In fact, there isn't much in our store that isn't reduced so visit us instore or online today.
www.maternityrevolution.com.au
PH: 07 32051818
1/124 South Pine Rd, Brendale, QLD, 4500
Open 7 days
Lisa Hovar
Monday, 11 May 2015
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
WHERE HAVE ALL THE MATERNITY WEAR STORES GONE?
It's a fact! The maternity industry in Australia has shrunk to the point where it should be listed on an endangered species register!
I should know. I have owned my own store, Maternity Revolution, in Brendale on Brisbane's northside for 11 years now. I have been in the maternity industry for 15 years.
Here in Brisbane we probably lead the country with a whopping 5 stores (2 inner north, 2 outer north and 1 in the west). Elsewhere in Australia you would be lucky to count more than 1 store in each capital city.
David Jones don't do maternity, nor do Myers. From what I am told by my customers, Big W's range is now so small they may as well not do anything while Kmart and Target specialise in black cotton lycra basics only. Pumpkin Patch have dropped their maternity range. Room 4 Two and Mothercare, two very big retail chains situated in most the Westfields, both closed their doors some years ago.
As you can imagine, if the big players can't make a go of it, the little guys have even less chance and hence we have seen a lot of small boutiques close their doors. I can count at least 20 stores that have closed over the past 10 years.
The big question is :Why?"
Aren't people still getting pregnant?
I am so sick of people walking into the store in late pregnancy, perhaps coming in for bras or breastfeeding clothes and saying: "Wow! Great store. Wish I'd known about this earlier." My standard response is to ask why they didn't know about it till now. The standard answer is: "I DIDN'T LOOK!"
Holy moly! How does a small business overcome that hurdle. It's hard enough these days to get people's attention with the virtual death of print advertising and email being about as effective as whispering in a night club. Google hasn't helped. It has meant that you have to sit back and wait till customers are looking for you and in the meantime you pay $1000's of dollars a month to try and be found on Google when and if they decide to look. So if they are not even looking....then what?
I suppose what I am trying to say, is don't complain about the lack of something if you don't plan to give it your full support. This is similar to what's happening in the fresh food industry at the moment. Cries can be heard from every corner for better labelling laws and more Australian produce but in reality, few people are prepared to pay for it. Soon Australian frozen berries will hit the supermarket shelves and I will be interested to see what support they get. Many people will undoubtedly want to buy them but whether they are prepared to put their money where their mouth is remains to be seen.
So it is also with maternity wear. I hear requests for plus size maternity wear, maternity bras for larger cups sizes, maternity sports bras, strapless maternity bras, more maternity evening wear, maternity wear for tall people, maternity wear for short people, and so on and so on. I could go and spend $5000 on some plus size maternity shorts, 3/4 pants, jeans, cargos, and a few tops and to make it worthwhile all I would need to do is sell 1-2 pieces of it a day. That way, by the end of 60 days, when the bill comes dues, it is all sold and I can pay the bill and order more. That just doesn't happen though. If people want plus size maternity then I need at least 1 customer a day. I don't know what the birth rate is for plus size women in Australia but given that a business can only really expect to grab about 2% of the market there would need to be nearly 20,000 plus size women giving birth each year. With just over 300,000 births nationally each year, that's about 7% of total births. In truth, that is perhaps a possibility but it doesn't happen so obviously the percentage of plus size women wanting maternity wear is less than 2%. Or perhaps they do want it but don't want to buy online and I think this is more accurate.
With the expense of running a bricks and mortar store, many have ventured down the path of an online maternity store. Overheads are reduced to almost nil with no rent, no insurance, no wages, no electricity for running shop lighting and air conditioning, no merchandising displays, no signage, and no cleaning. An instant saving of about $150,000 a year but the catch is that not everyone wants to buy online and when you expose yourself to the online market you are in direct competition with some of the very big players of the maternity industry who have very large advertising budgets, very sophisticated websites and quite enticing returns and free postage policies. When the average internet sale costs about $15 to post, and the average gross profit on that sale is about $40, you can't afford to be offering free post and free returns. So unless you plan to plough that $150,000 saving into internet marketing and hope it brings returns, you perhaps shouldn't go down that path.
The real answer is a little like the answer to the age old question: " What came first? The chicken or the egg?" Did people stop buying maternity and therefore stores closed and people lost their awareness of there ever existing such a thing as a maternity store or did shops start closing due to the GFC and poor business practices and economic cycles which left shoppers with no other choice than to make do with non maternity clothing and as a result the awareness of specialty maternity stores disappeared. If it was simply that people stopped buying, then why was this and is that reason still valid or would people start buying again if more stores opened and the awareness was lifted?
I personally feel that a very successful maternity store needs the financial backing of a big player. It will need work and money to get it up and running successfully and the money is what's missing with most small businesses. Imagine though, a mini store within a department store. This store would be manned by experienced and dedicated staff who could also offer bra fittings and help with support garments. On the same floor would be the baby goods section and baby clothing. Myers are looking to revamp their image. Maybe this is something they could take on board.
Anyway, after a very long ramble, I suppose what I am trying to say is if you want maternity stores to be around in coming years and you want variety and good prices and personalised service then support the ones that are still here now.
Lisa Hovar
Maternity Revolution
www.maternityrevolution.com.au
1/124 South Pine Road, Brendale, QLD, 4500
I should know. I have owned my own store, Maternity Revolution, in Brendale on Brisbane's northside for 11 years now. I have been in the maternity industry for 15 years.
Here in Brisbane we probably lead the country with a whopping 5 stores (2 inner north, 2 outer north and 1 in the west). Elsewhere in Australia you would be lucky to count more than 1 store in each capital city.
David Jones don't do maternity, nor do Myers. From what I am told by my customers, Big W's range is now so small they may as well not do anything while Kmart and Target specialise in black cotton lycra basics only. Pumpkin Patch have dropped their maternity range. Room 4 Two and Mothercare, two very big retail chains situated in most the Westfields, both closed their doors some years ago.
As you can imagine, if the big players can't make a go of it, the little guys have even less chance and hence we have seen a lot of small boutiques close their doors. I can count at least 20 stores that have closed over the past 10 years.
The big question is :Why?"
Aren't people still getting pregnant?
I am so sick of people walking into the store in late pregnancy, perhaps coming in for bras or breastfeeding clothes and saying: "Wow! Great store. Wish I'd known about this earlier." My standard response is to ask why they didn't know about it till now. The standard answer is: "I DIDN'T LOOK!"
Holy moly! How does a small business overcome that hurdle. It's hard enough these days to get people's attention with the virtual death of print advertising and email being about as effective as whispering in a night club. Google hasn't helped. It has meant that you have to sit back and wait till customers are looking for you and in the meantime you pay $1000's of dollars a month to try and be found on Google when and if they decide to look. So if they are not even looking....then what?
I suppose what I am trying to say, is don't complain about the lack of something if you don't plan to give it your full support. This is similar to what's happening in the fresh food industry at the moment. Cries can be heard from every corner for better labelling laws and more Australian produce but in reality, few people are prepared to pay for it. Soon Australian frozen berries will hit the supermarket shelves and I will be interested to see what support they get. Many people will undoubtedly want to buy them but whether they are prepared to put their money where their mouth is remains to be seen.
So it is also with maternity wear. I hear requests for plus size maternity wear, maternity bras for larger cups sizes, maternity sports bras, strapless maternity bras, more maternity evening wear, maternity wear for tall people, maternity wear for short people, and so on and so on. I could go and spend $5000 on some plus size maternity shorts, 3/4 pants, jeans, cargos, and a few tops and to make it worthwhile all I would need to do is sell 1-2 pieces of it a day. That way, by the end of 60 days, when the bill comes dues, it is all sold and I can pay the bill and order more. That just doesn't happen though. If people want plus size maternity then I need at least 1 customer a day. I don't know what the birth rate is for plus size women in Australia but given that a business can only really expect to grab about 2% of the market there would need to be nearly 20,000 plus size women giving birth each year. With just over 300,000 births nationally each year, that's about 7% of total births. In truth, that is perhaps a possibility but it doesn't happen so obviously the percentage of plus size women wanting maternity wear is less than 2%. Or perhaps they do want it but don't want to buy online and I think this is more accurate.
With the expense of running a bricks and mortar store, many have ventured down the path of an online maternity store. Overheads are reduced to almost nil with no rent, no insurance, no wages, no electricity for running shop lighting and air conditioning, no merchandising displays, no signage, and no cleaning. An instant saving of about $150,000 a year but the catch is that not everyone wants to buy online and when you expose yourself to the online market you are in direct competition with some of the very big players of the maternity industry who have very large advertising budgets, very sophisticated websites and quite enticing returns and free postage policies. When the average internet sale costs about $15 to post, and the average gross profit on that sale is about $40, you can't afford to be offering free post and free returns. So unless you plan to plough that $150,000 saving into internet marketing and hope it brings returns, you perhaps shouldn't go down that path.
The real answer is a little like the answer to the age old question: " What came first? The chicken or the egg?" Did people stop buying maternity and therefore stores closed and people lost their awareness of there ever existing such a thing as a maternity store or did shops start closing due to the GFC and poor business practices and economic cycles which left shoppers with no other choice than to make do with non maternity clothing and as a result the awareness of specialty maternity stores disappeared. If it was simply that people stopped buying, then why was this and is that reason still valid or would people start buying again if more stores opened and the awareness was lifted?
I personally feel that a very successful maternity store needs the financial backing of a big player. It will need work and money to get it up and running successfully and the money is what's missing with most small businesses. Imagine though, a mini store within a department store. This store would be manned by experienced and dedicated staff who could also offer bra fittings and help with support garments. On the same floor would be the baby goods section and baby clothing. Myers are looking to revamp their image. Maybe this is something they could take on board.
Anyway, after a very long ramble, I suppose what I am trying to say is if you want maternity stores to be around in coming years and you want variety and good prices and personalised service then support the ones that are still here now.
Lisa Hovar
Maternity Revolution
www.maternityrevolution.com.au
1/124 South Pine Road, Brendale, QLD, 4500
Wednesday, 4 March 2015
BREASTFEEDING DRESSES AND TOPS ON SALE
We have come to a special arrangement with Goosebumps Clothing and until Sunday 15th March, 2015 we are offering 20% off the original marked price of all Goosebumps Nursing Wear.
To take up this offer, simply visit our Goosebumps Breastfeeding page and see what is available in the Goosebumps range. Then either phone us with your order on 07 3205 1818 or pop into store. You can also email us lisa@maternityrevolution.com.au .The specials are not available online (only phone orders).
Tracey, the owner of Goosebumps Clothing is a lovely lady who lives on the beautiful North Coast of NSW. She is the mother of 2 lovely girls and this range is designed with all her invaluable personal experience in breastfeeding. The fabrics are top quality and drape so well. Please support local little businesses like myself and Goosebumps Clothing. Our prices are great and the quality is so much better than anything you will buy in a chain store.
Here is just a small sample of what's on offer.
Remember that this offer is only valid till Sunday 15th March, so hurry!
To take up this offer, simply visit our Goosebumps Breastfeeding page and see what is available in the Goosebumps range. Then either phone us with your order on 07 3205 1818 or pop into store. You can also email us lisa@maternityrevolution.com.au .The specials are not available online (only phone orders).
Tracey, the owner of Goosebumps Clothing is a lovely lady who lives on the beautiful North Coast of NSW. She is the mother of 2 lovely girls and this range is designed with all her invaluable personal experience in breastfeeding. The fabrics are top quality and drape so well. Please support local little businesses like myself and Goosebumps Clothing. Our prices are great and the quality is so much better than anything you will buy in a chain store.
Here is just a small sample of what's on offer.
 |
| Goosebumps Olivia Feeding Top Was $59.95. Now $47.95 |
 |
| Goosebumps Celeste Feeding Top Was $59.95 Now $47.95 |
 |
| Goosebumps Rose Breastfeeding Dress Was $93.50 Now $74.95 |
 |
| Goosebumps Paige Feeding Tee Was $ 59.95 Now $47.95 |
 |
| Goosebumps Giselle Maxi Feeding Dress with built in bra. Was $94.95. Now $75.95. |
Maternity Revolution 1/124 South Pine Rd, Brendale, QLD, 4500
Ph: 07 32051818
Wednesday, 13 August 2014
DID YOU HAVE A DIFFICULT BIRTH? HERE'S SOME IDEAS THAT MIGHT HELP YOU.
If giving birth for you was a traumatic experience you may need help to move on and my friend Bree Taylor Molyneaux is an expert in such areas. She has written a beautiful and thoughtful article on what Birth Trauma is and what steps you can take to recover. Bree is a specialist in the area of hypnotherapy but there are many other useful suggestions in this article. I have taken the liberty of copying a link to her blog for you to read.
http://www.pregnantpossibilities.com/2014/birth-trauma-healing-a-difficult-birth/
Bree also has a range of hypnotherapy cd's that you might find useful and we have them for sale on our website at www.matenrityrevolution.com.au
Titles include Hypnotherapy for Fertility, Hypnotherapy for IVF, Hypnotherapy for a Caesarean Birth and Hynpnotherapy for Breastfeeding. All just $19.95.
Happy Reading.
Lisa
Wednesday, 6 August 2014
HAVE YOU CONSIDERED HYPNO BIRTHING? IF ITS GOOD ENOUGH FOR KATE MIDDLETON THEN PERHAPS YOU SHOULD!
I recently had the pleasure of meeting Bree Taylor Molyneaux from Pregnant Possibilities. She is an expert and authority in the area of hypnosis and everything birthing related from fertility and IVF to birthing and breastfeeding. We are now offering her amazing range of Hypnosis CD's on our website.
HypnoBirthing is not what many of you may think. There is not old fob watch being swung in front of your face while you are told to relax. Instead it is about teaching you to relax yourself when you need to, re-programming your ideas about pain and encouraging you to listen to your body.
I hope you enjoy reading this Blog that Bree has put together and feel free to contact her through her website Pregnant Possibilities.
http://www.pregnantpossibilities.com/2013/hypnobirthing-grows-in-australia/ (This is the link if you want to be directed to the blog page or I have copied and pasted the post for you to read below)
Enjoy!
Lisa
Maternity Revolution
Following recent news that Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton used hypnosis early in her pregnancy for morning sickness and is planning on using HypnoBirthing for her upcoming birth, a new wave of women are becoming interested in this natural approach to childbirth.
The use of hypnosis for birth has been employed prior to the 19th century, with early attempts at hypno-suggestive labour pain relief made back in the 1880s by obstetrician I. Dobrovolskaya, but its popularity didn’t begin to become more known until the 1940’s by obstetrician Dr Grantly Dick-Read.
Today in Australia HypnoBirthing® is becoming a more mainstream option, as women increasingly seek alternatives to highly medicalised births, epidurals and elective caesareans.
Naturally focused HypnoBirthing® classes provide mums and dads with a range of breathing, visualisation and self hypnosis techniques so they can relax as much as possible during labour, often reducing its duration and lessening the need for pain-relief.
The premise suggests when mum is relaxed and calm it encourages her body’s production of oxytocin, the hormone which helps drive labour, but when a pregnant woman is stressed during contractions, adrenaline inhibits oxytocin production, resulting in a slower and more painful labour.
Women around the world espouse the benefits of hypnosis for pain relief, with 75-80% [1] who use the method birthing without an epidural. Many celebrities have also used the method including Jessica Alba, Miranda Kerr, Giselle Bundschen and Pamela Anderson.
Additional benefits of HypnoBirthing® classes mean that birth partners – who can also be quite fearful about birth – learn how to get involved in the process so they aren’t left feeling helpless during the labour, while women who use the approach have higher breastfeeding success rates six months after delivery.
HypnoBirthing® courses are taught in most countries around the world by Certified Practitioners. To find your locally certified practitioner visit www.hypnobirthing.com
by Bree Taylor Molyneaux is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, Certified HypnoBirthing® Practitioner, mother and wife.
She founded Aspire Hypnotherapy & Pregnant Possibilities, teaches HypnoBirthing® classes from Embrace Life in North Lakes and has a range of hypnosis downloads for a range of issues including pre and post pregnancy.
For information on upcoming Brisbane HypnoBirthing classes visit here
 |
| HypnoBirthing for Caesarean Delivery |
 |
| Hypnosis for Breastfeeding $19.95 |
 |
| Hypnosis for Fertility $19.95 |
 |
| Hypnosis For IVF $19.95 |
HypnoBirthing is not what many of you may think. There is not old fob watch being swung in front of your face while you are told to relax. Instead it is about teaching you to relax yourself when you need to, re-programming your ideas about pain and encouraging you to listen to your body.
I hope you enjoy reading this Blog that Bree has put together and feel free to contact her through her website Pregnant Possibilities.
http://www.pregnantpossibilities.com/2013/hypnobirthing-grows-in-australia/ (This is the link if you want to be directed to the blog page or I have copied and pasted the post for you to read below)
Enjoy!
Lisa
Maternity Revolution
Following recent news that Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton used hypnosis early in her pregnancy for morning sickness and is planning on using HypnoBirthing for her upcoming birth, a new wave of women are becoming interested in this natural approach to childbirth.
The use of hypnosis for birth has been employed prior to the 19th century, with early attempts at hypno-suggestive labour pain relief made back in the 1880s by obstetrician I. Dobrovolskaya, but its popularity didn’t begin to become more known until the 1940’s by obstetrician Dr Grantly Dick-Read.
Today in Australia HypnoBirthing® is becoming a more mainstream option, as women increasingly seek alternatives to highly medicalised births, epidurals and elective caesareans.
Naturally focused HypnoBirthing® classes provide mums and dads with a range of breathing, visualisation and self hypnosis techniques so they can relax as much as possible during labour, often reducing its duration and lessening the need for pain-relief.
The premise suggests when mum is relaxed and calm it encourages her body’s production of oxytocin, the hormone which helps drive labour, but when a pregnant woman is stressed during contractions, adrenaline inhibits oxytocin production, resulting in a slower and more painful labour.
Women around the world espouse the benefits of hypnosis for pain relief, with 75-80% [1] who use the method birthing without an epidural. Many celebrities have also used the method including Jessica Alba, Miranda Kerr, Giselle Bundschen and Pamela Anderson.
Additional benefits of HypnoBirthing® classes mean that birth partners – who can also be quite fearful about birth – learn how to get involved in the process so they aren’t left feeling helpless during the labour, while women who use the approach have higher breastfeeding success rates six months after delivery.
HypnoBirthing® courses are taught in most countries around the world by Certified Practitioners. To find your locally certified practitioner visit www.hypnobirthing.com
A the author
by Bree Taylor Molyneaux is a Clinical Hypnotherapist, Certified HypnoBirthing® Practitioner, mother and wife.She founded Aspire Hypnotherapy & Pregnant Possibilities, teaches HypnoBirthing® classes from Embrace Life in North Lakes and has a range of hypnosis downloads for a range of issues including pre and post pregnancy.
For information on upcoming Brisbane HypnoBirthing classes visit here
Tuesday, 29 July 2014
Personalised Pregnancy Packs
For years now Maternity Revolution has been offering a service that it hasn't pushed publicly. We are often sending a selection of different styles and sizes of #maternity clothes to our customers for no charge (except postage of course!)
Customers can try a variety of style and sizes and then return what they don't want. They only pay for what they keep.
The reason we started this was simple. Often sizes vary between brands and in different styles. We do our best to advise the customer on the best size for them but we don't get it right all the time. Sure we can always send another size if the first one we send doesn't work and we don't even charge post on exchanges but in many cases it's quicker and easier to send the 2 sizes at the same time and have the customer return the one that doesn't fit.
Once we get the size right in one thing it's much simpler for us to help the customer with their next purchase.
We often have customers ring up for a formal outfit for a wedding and they have left it till last minute. In these cases, if we get the size wrong there is no time left to send an alternate size so again it makes sense to send 2 different sizes and maybe 2 different styles so we can be sure you have an outfit for the wedding.
If you would like to take advantage of this service, please feel free to call us on 07 3205 1818 or email us and we'll be in touch.
I know this sounds like the kind of service you only get from high end, high priced #maternity stores but that's not the case at Maternity Revolution. I'd be surprised if you found better prices than ours anywhere...and I know you won't find better service.
Lisa Hovar
Maternity Revolution
1/124 South Pine Rd, Brendale, QLD, 4500
Ph: 07 32051818
Customers can try a variety of style and sizes and then return what they don't want. They only pay for what they keep.
The reason we started this was simple. Often sizes vary between brands and in different styles. We do our best to advise the customer on the best size for them but we don't get it right all the time. Sure we can always send another size if the first one we send doesn't work and we don't even charge post on exchanges but in many cases it's quicker and easier to send the 2 sizes at the same time and have the customer return the one that doesn't fit.
Once we get the size right in one thing it's much simpler for us to help the customer with their next purchase.
We often have customers ring up for a formal outfit for a wedding and they have left it till last minute. In these cases, if we get the size wrong there is no time left to send an alternate size so again it makes sense to send 2 different sizes and maybe 2 different styles so we can be sure you have an outfit for the wedding.
If you would like to take advantage of this service, please feel free to call us on 07 3205 1818 or email us and we'll be in touch.
I know this sounds like the kind of service you only get from high end, high priced #maternity stores but that's not the case at Maternity Revolution. I'd be surprised if you found better prices than ours anywhere...and I know you won't find better service.
Lisa Hovar
Maternity Revolution
1/124 South Pine Rd, Brendale, QLD, 4500
Ph: 07 32051818
Thursday, 10 July 2014
What Maternity Clothes Do I Really Need To Buy?
I was searching the internet today for some ideas of what topic to next discuss and I see that many people are searching for answers to the question: "What Maternity Clothes do I really need to buy?"
Of course the answer is different for everyone. Ask one woman how many pairs of shoes she needs and the answer will be "one for every day of the year!" The next will tell you "3 or 4". It's the same with maternity wear.
It depends on whether or not you are working, whether you will be pregnant over one or two seasons, and of course, how much money you have.
Maternity wear has come such a long way and much of it is really fashionable, often better than what is available in normal fashion. Many items are designed for both pregnancy and breastfeeding so you get more bang for your buck. In fact, we get customers all the time that are buying maternity wear because they like it and not because they are pregnant.
So firstly, get rid of the mindset that it's only for a few months!
Presuming it's a first pregnancy, you may not need maternity clothes until you reach about the 5 month mark but that's still 4 months (one whole season). You're unlikely to magically shrink back to your original size immediately after giving birth so there's another 2 months at least and presuming you are going to breastfeed, there's another 6-12 months. If you are planning more than one child, you can multiply the above by the number of children you plan to have, in fact more because on second and third pregnancies you will pop out sooner and will be wearing your maternity wear from about 8 weeks onwards.
Now here's the thing. If you buy only 2 maternity/feeding tops for each season and you expect to wear them everyday for say 12 months then each top is getting washed and worn more than 90 times. Fisrtly, you are going to get soooo sick of those tops. Secondly, even if you have bought top quality garments, they are going to be looking tired at the end of 90 washes and that's just pregnancy number one.
So let's get down to the nitty gritty.
Maternity pants and skirts are going to be the first thing you need as it's your existing pants and skirts are going to get uncomfortable fairly quickly but your tops may still be doing OK. You will need your pants to get you from about month 4 through to about 2 months after giving birth, so about 7 months in total. Obviously, for many of you, this will mean crossing a cold and a warm season. Don't think too far ahead though. If it's Winter get long pants now and buy Summer pants when the weather warms up. Don't buy something for down the track because you may never wear it. Just buy what you need, as you need it.
Your maternity tops and dresses will get a lot more use as you can wear these post pregnancy while breastfeeding if you have chosen wisely. If you go for something short sleeved, or sleeveless, you can always wear a jacket in Winter and get double the use out of it. Besides, most pregnant women don't feel the cold. Do bear in mind what I said earlier though about wear and tear. You really can't expect a few tops to survive 18 months of non stop wash and wear. You could buy 2 tops and wear one on and one off until they start to look shabby and then buy another 2 but you'll get so sick of those 2 tops. Why not buy 8 tops and have some variety. You spend the same amount of money in the end and you don't hate what you are wearing.
Please also remember that if you insist on wearing your own clothes in the later stages of pregnancy, you are going to stretch them and they may not bounce back afterwards.
Let's deal firstly with the casual maternity wardrobe.
The minimum I would suggest is as follows:
Of course the answer is different for everyone. Ask one woman how many pairs of shoes she needs and the answer will be "one for every day of the year!" The next will tell you "3 or 4". It's the same with maternity wear.
It depends on whether or not you are working, whether you will be pregnant over one or two seasons, and of course, how much money you have.
Maternity wear has come such a long way and much of it is really fashionable, often better than what is available in normal fashion. Many items are designed for both pregnancy and breastfeeding so you get more bang for your buck. In fact, we get customers all the time that are buying maternity wear because they like it and not because they are pregnant.
So firstly, get rid of the mindset that it's only for a few months!
Presuming it's a first pregnancy, you may not need maternity clothes until you reach about the 5 month mark but that's still 4 months (one whole season). You're unlikely to magically shrink back to your original size immediately after giving birth so there's another 2 months at least and presuming you are going to breastfeed, there's another 6-12 months. If you are planning more than one child, you can multiply the above by the number of children you plan to have, in fact more because on second and third pregnancies you will pop out sooner and will be wearing your maternity wear from about 8 weeks onwards.
Now here's the thing. If you buy only 2 maternity/feeding tops for each season and you expect to wear them everyday for say 12 months then each top is getting washed and worn more than 90 times. Fisrtly, you are going to get soooo sick of those tops. Secondly, even if you have bought top quality garments, they are going to be looking tired at the end of 90 washes and that's just pregnancy number one.
So let's get down to the nitty gritty.
Maternity pants and skirts are going to be the first thing you need as it's your existing pants and skirts are going to get uncomfortable fairly quickly but your tops may still be doing OK. You will need your pants to get you from about month 4 through to about 2 months after giving birth, so about 7 months in total. Obviously, for many of you, this will mean crossing a cold and a warm season. Don't think too far ahead though. If it's Winter get long pants now and buy Summer pants when the weather warms up. Don't buy something for down the track because you may never wear it. Just buy what you need, as you need it.
Your maternity tops and dresses will get a lot more use as you can wear these post pregnancy while breastfeeding if you have chosen wisely. If you go for something short sleeved, or sleeveless, you can always wear a jacket in Winter and get double the use out of it. Besides, most pregnant women don't feel the cold. Do bear in mind what I said earlier though about wear and tear. You really can't expect a few tops to survive 18 months of non stop wash and wear. You could buy 2 tops and wear one on and one off until they start to look shabby and then buy another 2 but you'll get so sick of those 2 tops. Why not buy 8 tops and have some variety. You spend the same amount of money in the end and you don't hate what you are wearing.
Please also remember that if you insist on wearing your own clothes in the later stages of pregnancy, you are going to stretch them and they may not bounce back afterwards.
Let's deal firstly with the casual maternity wardrobe.
The minimum I would suggest is as follows:
- 2 pair of maternity pants or maternity skirts so you have one on and one off. (Average price $70 each but many specials avail from $40)
- A Tummy Band so that you have a way wearing your own pants for as long as possible and a way of extending your own t-shorts as they get a bit short. ($19.95)
- 4 maternity/breastfeeding tops. Start with 4 and see how you go. If you need more you can buy them later if money is an issue. You could even go for longer tops that can be worn either as a dress over leggings or as a top over pants. (Average price $60 each but specials often available from $30)
- If you are more of a dress person then rather than buying pant/skirts and tops, get yourself 4 dresses and skip the Tummy band. (Average price $70 each but specials available from $50)
For the working woman, in addition to the above suggestions:
- 2 pair of maternity work pants or skirts (Average price $60)
- 3 maternity work tops (Average $60)
- 2 maternity work dresses (Average $70 each)
- Maternity pantyhose or tights x 3 ($24.95 for a pack of two pantyhose. Tights are $24.95 each)
Now to extend the wardrobe, a jacket would come in handy but this doesn't need to be maternity. Most jackets can be worn open and you probably already own something that will do the trick.
Maternity Leggings come in handy and allow you to wear longer tops as dresses. They also stop your thighs from rubbing together and chaffing.
PJ's and lounge wear are other items that really don't need to be maternity, although there are some lovely maternity garments available, I'll admit they can be expensive and a pair of men's tracksuit pants with a draw string could serve the purpose.
Just remember that you get what you pay for and it is false economy to buy cheap things if they don't last the distance.
At full price, the list above will cost about $400 for the stay at home Mum and $900 for the Mum working full time. Shop the specials and you could potentially halve this.
I hope this helps you decide what to buy but feel free to call me and ask any questions.
Lisa Hovar
1/124 South Pine Road, Brendale, QLD, 4500
07 32051818
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