Thursday, January 27, 2011

Good finds at the Goodwill...

Now that my bump is growing steadily, I've transitioned to some maternity clothes mixed in with regular clothes that still fit me. And as every pregnant woman has experienced, my maternity wardrobe is considerably smaller than my regular winter fare. I have some things from when I was pregnant with Hank, although much of that is summer clothes that aren't practical right now. I have some loaners, but many of them don't fit. Maternity clothes are tough to gauge and fit. Just because all women get bigger bellies during pregnancy does not mean that any maternity item will fit every one of them. And everyone has different comfort zones with how they want to display their body when pregnant. I know that many women prefer to shroud their bellies more than I do. Me, I love my belly. :) Maybe it's the belly dancing, but I find pregnant bellies truly beautiful. I want to show it off, so I prefer bump highlighting clothing. Long, fitted sweaters and blouses are my favorites, with simple classic pants or long skirts. My current closet selection is limited, and the problem is I don't want to spend a lot of money of clothes that I'm only going to wear for 4 more months.

So, I've been scrounging for bargains to enhance my maternity wardrobe a bit. I hit the jackpot at a Target clearance sale 2 weeks ago. I scored 2 sweaters and 2 dresses for about $24. Well, yesterday I had an idea that worked out even better.

Thrift store, baby! On my way home from work, I stopped off at one of our local Goodwill's. What a gem! I couldn't find the maternity clothes at first, so I shopped the skirt section. Now *this* was a refreshing change from my fruitless search for longer skirts in regular stores. :) Long skirts prevailed over their mini sisters by a total of at least 2 to 1. I didn't pause too long over anything that had a fitted waistline or zipper for obvious reasons (or anything dated and frumpy; these abound at thrift stores). I browsed quickly just for stretchy waists, and found 2 items in my size: a t-length black skirt, and an ankle length brown wool. I was absolutely thrilled.

I scoured my way through the whole store without spotting a maternity sign or anything resembling a pregnant woman with swollen ankles as an icon. So, I stopped a high school kid with a Goodwill vest on to ask his assistance. He directed me "over by the evening wear." OOkkk. The evening wear revealed...evening wear, so I was stymied for a minute or so. Finally, I spotted a maternity tag, although the section wasn't labeled.

I suppose that's because it was so tiny. But hey, I'm not fussy. Unfortunately, the section was not all maternity, mixed in with some other odd choices. But I looked through every item carefully, and picked out a pair of jeans and a pair of pin-striped khaki pants that I can wear to work. I'm betting there are many other maternity clothes in their collection, just unwittingly interspersed amongst the regular clothes. Alas, I didn't have time for such a treasure hunt.

The total for the 2 stretchy skirts and 2 pants? $9! Loving it! I'm going to stop off at Goodwill #2 on my way tonight. Super excited. :)

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