| Marian's Corner |
| Despite the pouting I will surely face from my father and my in-laws, this is not my way of saying that a grandchild is on the way. Instead, a dear friend of mine is pregnant and was in search of some nice, yet affordable maternity clothes. Her first thought was to visit local stores and the mall. But not Marian! Oh no – we were going to find nice clothes at a great price and we were going to use the Internet to find them. My first stop online was at estyle.com. This site is for moms, babies, and children, but boy do they have a fantastic selection of stylish maternity clothes. These are clothes that look good and fit good. So you are probably saying, “How does she know?” Right. I forgot – I’m not pregnant. Cindy Crawford has been pregnant and she now has her very own section on estyle.com called, “Cindy’s Corner.” I would also like to add that Cindy always looks great, pregnant or not, so if she looked good wearing clothes from estyle.com, I would have to guess that we can all look good as well. You’ll find great day styles and eveningwear, but more importantly, great stuff on sale. At the time of this writing, they had a beautiful dress by Diane von Furstenburg called the Jungle of Love dress for $58.99 marked down from $285.00!!! Now that’s a bargain! But it doesn’t end there! Can you believe they have an outlet? In addition to clothes and accessories, they even carry great books like journals, photo albums, “The Nanny Book,” and typical what-to-expect type books. Bookmark this site and return often for steals on great items! Another great site that offers a variety of maternity options is maternitymall.com. Can I say that this site has everything you need? You bet! From clothing to due date and ovulation calendars to advice and so much more. They feature clothing from Motherhood Maternity, Maternity Store, Mimi Maternity, Motherhood Nursingwear, A Pea in the Pod, and Plus Size Motherhood Maternity. Click on each of these stores to see the multitudes of designers and styles available and I guarantee that the variety will completely astound you! The partners section offers great discounts on things you certainly will need from photo developing to baby announcements. A super feature is their Maternity Tools section. Here you will find message boards, chat rooms, a newsletter, baby names, and a variety of tools for any expecting parent. They offer new articles daily and information for pregnancy, infancy, and parenting information in general. My absolutely favorite part of the site is the ultrasound image upload tool that is a nice way to share those special images with family and friends around the globe who can’t see the pictures in person. Besides, now you have a reason to visit the site and oh, while you are there you can just buy yourself something pretty! My favorite place to shop for anything online is and will always be eBay. If you go to the clothing category and then click on women, then maternity, you will find so many choices that your jaw will hit the keyboard before you get a chance to bid. Right now as I type this, there are over 7,500 items available in the maternity category. If you can’t find something here then head on over to Wal-Mart and buy a tent in their Camping section because that is what you will be wearing for nine months. Take advantage of the lot items on eBay, as they will sell for significantly less than individual pieces. Some people have an aversion to used clothing, but if you throw it in the wash, clothes are clothes and you can save yourself a buck while vastly improving your wardrobe. Additionally, many new items are listed as well as used or gently used. Take some time to read item descriptions and the seller’s feedback, but in the end you will find yourself bidding like a crazy pregnant woman (not that you aren’t already!). If you can’t get online to shop, my last suggestion is to visit your local consignment shop. Try to find one in your town or city or in neighboring areas where “comfortable folk” live. C’mon, you know what I am talking about so don’t act like you don’t! Items in consignment shops and thrift stores in rich neighborhoods have extremely nice items at bargain prices. If you are going to buy from one of these stores, do yourself a favor and treat yourself right. You will be able to try things on first and while you are there, you can probably pick up a few items for the baby, too. As always, stay positive and spend your money wisely. The income from a resident is meager, but if you shop wisely you will receive a bounty of clothes for your pregnancy and maybe even for your next one. Shhh! Don’t tell your husband I said that! |
| Archived Articles that you shouldn't miss! |
| What Expectant Moms are Wearing by Marian Krueger 03-18-2002 |