Budgeting for Your Maternity Wardrobe

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professional pregnant woman with hands on belly, wearing a red dress

Ladies, let’s discuss budgeting for your maternity wardrobe — what are your best tips? Where did you splurge — and where did you save — in your maternity wardrobe?

Behold: a chart of what I spent on my maternity wardrobe during my first pregnancy.

I share my maternity wardrobe budget not because this is the definitive list for maternity clothes (trust me, it’s not), but simply for shock and awe value, at least for newly pregnant moms.

You’re going to be amazed at a few things here: a) how cheap everything was — nothing designer, nothing fancy, all bought on sale, b) how many pieces were gifted (usually by my mother sending me something in the mail), and c) how small my collection of maternity clothes was, and d) how I still managed to spend almost $900 on maternity clothes that were only worn for about four months. For most moms-to-be that is not an insignificant amount of money, so budgeting of any kind can be very helpful.

{related: the maternity work wardrobe checklist}

I recorded my thoughts in 2011, during my first pregnancy, as well as during my second pregnancy, in 2014 — note that I was still working as a lawyer during much of my first pregnancy (my final day was in May and my son was born in August), and that for my second pregnancy I barely gained any weight at all. (I did buy a few more tops and warmer bottoms for my second pregnancy — those totaled $138 — but by and large I wore my maternity clothes from my first pregnancy.)

{related: where to rent maternity workwear}

Kat’s Maternity Wardrobe Budget and Thoughts on Usefulness of Each Item

A excel file  with the list of maternity wardrobe budget.

Keep in mind, of course, that if you plan to birth five kids — and have no intentions of changing your wardrobe style — then you may want to buy better pieces and avoid budget lines entirely in the hopes that they’ll wear better.

(I’ve heard the same for baby clothes — although I will say that my second son wears a ton of Carter’s and Old Navy pants that my first son also wore, and they’re fine, if a bit schlubby.)

That said, life has a way of throwing you for a loop, particularly where parenting plans are concerned, so even if you do end up having those five kids, it’s always possible that your wardrobe will need to change because you gain or lose weight, stop working, start working from home, or shift to a more casual job.

It’s also possible that the seasons won’t work out, or styles will change entirely (from, say, skinny pants to flared pants) over your kids’ birth years. (My first son was born in late August; my second son was born in late May, so I barely got to wear any of my summer maternity clothes.) Fashion math is even harder to figure out when you don’t know all the factors!

How much did you spend on your maternity wardrobe? (And how long into your pregnancy were you able to wear regular clothes?) Did you have a budget for maternity clothes, or did you just play it by ear as your pregnancy progressed? If you had/have a budget, what was/is it? Was/is it easy to stick to? 

Some of the best maternity pants for the office in 2025 include Seraphine, Angel Maternity, Quince, Old Navy, and sometimes Target. Nordstrom has a great selection in general!

All images via Stencil.

Further Reading:tips for budgeting for your maternity wardrobe - personal finance advice for working moms - image of a stylish pregnant professional woman

  • Your Maternity Wardrobe Checklist (On a Budget!) [New Parent]
  • How to Build a Basic Maternity Wardrobe on a Budget [Bustle]
  • Creating The Perfect Maternity Wardrobe (On A Budget) [Momtastic]
  • How One Mom Put Together a Chic, Professional Maternity Wardrobe for $200 [The Penny Hoarder]
A woman wearing a red maternity dress
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Nearing the end of my pregnancy as a senior associate in BigLaw, and I’ve spent about $600 on eight dresses (mostly navy, black, and grey) that I can wear for work, client meetings, weekends, weddings, etc. About half were full-price at Nordstrom and Seraphine, the rest were from a local consignment shop. So far, so good – with cardigans, blazers, my Commando thigh-highs, and my wrap coats, which still fit for now . . .

I’m really glad you posted this! Thinking of getting pregnant with #2 and have been trying to explain to my husband that maternity clothes are something you have to build into the budget, especially if you need to look professional for work. It’s been almost 7 years since the last one, so unfortunately I only kept my favorite top and gave away everything else!

I had to start wearing maternity jeans around 11 weeks due to bloat…I’m at 5 months now and I’m kind of shocked at the amount of clothes listed there. There are 9 dresses alone up there!. I basically have 7 outfits on repeat with some variations due to cardigans. I’ll buy a few more things but I think some of this could’ve been cut down with smarter shopping. I cycle through two pairs of jeans and two pairs of work pants with 1 maternity dress right now. Keep in mind that I can wear jeans to work though. I’m not going to apologize for my short-term wardrobe repetition.

I was able to get by for a long time, but then I didn’t have anything that fit because most plus size maternity clothes are garbage. I will put in a plug for BumpStart tanks and tees from Macy’s – they are affordable and wear really well. I’m still wearing them now for nursing since they are stretchy and machine washable and they’ve held up great.

I probably spent around $3K. Totally worth it. I loved loved loved my maternity clothes, felt beautiful, and wore them the second time around with kid #2. I worked in BigLaw at the time and it would not have cut it to have worn cheaper stuff.

I wore my maternity clothes a lot longer than four months. I was in maternity pants before the end of the first trimester, and by week 16 or so I looked like I’d swallowed a basketball and needed maternity everything.

I think I spent around $300 total. I borrowed the majority of my clothes from friends, and purchased other pieces from a maternity thrift store. When my pooch is completely gone, I’ll sell those pieces back to recoup some of the cost.

I bought almost no new work clothes for my pregnancy. I got two bella bands – one in black and one in grey, so I could expand my pants for the first 5 months. Otherwise I wore jersey dresses that I already had, and which had sufficient stretch to accommodate a growing belly. I had a few Lands End a-line dresses that were a bit too big, and they easily did the trick in the final trimester. Finally, I think I purchased one pair of black maternity pants for work. Ultimately, I just wore the same stuff ALL THE TIME. No one cared.

I focused most of my spending on lounge clothes and bras. Yoga pants, stretchy tshirts and camis, maxi skirts, and soft sports bras to wear to bed.