I loathe the idea (and reality) of shopping for maternity clothes. Between the high prices, poor quality, and short shelf-life of most items, it’s enough to make a hormonal chick crazy. When I first was pregnant with Holden, I was the lucky benefactor of a large duffel bag of maternity clothes from my pal, Whitney. This last time, the preschool mama community opened their generous arms to provide me with bags and bags of baggy attire.
So, you’d think I’d love renting maternity clothes. But I’m not so sure. The premise sounds terrific:
Fashion Forward Maternity is a platform where women can rent a variety of high-quality designer wardrobe options for every phase of pregnancy (1st trimester through nursing) without spending a fortune!
Once items are returned, all gently used clothes that can no longer be rented are donated to organizations that support women-in-need around the country, including Dress for Success and Goodwill.
In many ways, I am an ideal candidate for this… but… I think my idea of “not spending a fortune” is different from FFM’s. Fees are upwards of $125/month PLUS a per item fee (of $12+). I guess for those prices, I’d rather keep doing what I’ve been doing: a combination of begging from friends, hitting the consignment shops, keeping an open eye for Craigs List deals, and (sad but true) shopping at Target for other essentials.
What do you think, mamas? Would you love to rent your maternity wardrobe? At these prices?
When I was pregnant with my son, I was fortunate enough to have friends whose pregnant bodies were similar in size to mine and was able to borrow much of what I wore. I also hit the jackpot nearly every time I went to Goodwill. I would ‘shove’ maternity clothes rental. $125/month is ridiculous, IMO.
But you’re missing the target demographic here. It’s designer clothes, not something you buy off the rack at Target or WalMart – not a t-shirt and cheap jeans. I think this might cater more to the high-powered mama who has to still run business meetings at the office while she’s prego.
$125? You need maternity clothes for about 4 months. Even without item fees, that’s $500. For my first pregnancy, I had no friend who were pregnant, and I bought 8 pairs of pants, 4 dressier shirts, 2 skirts, and 4 T-shirts. Mostly at Target/JcPenney, none at thrift stores (I was still working full-time and hadn’t discovered thrifting). I know that each item cost less than $25, most under $15. Probable total…. $300. And I could keep every item to wear those few months after the baby is born… and I could keep the clothes for baby #2. Shove!
No way! I got through my pregnancy only spending about $125 the entire time because I shopped at goodwill and bought things I couldn’t find there on sale
I got hand me downs with the first one. Saved some for the second and what I needed I bought on sale at Old Navy, Target and the Rhea Lana Consignment sale. I may have spent $300 total for both pregnancies and all 9 months…so $125 a month sounds insane to me.
I think I bought most of my maternity clothes at target and old navy– so most of the things cost around $12 anyway, no rental
Plus, with my big belly, I was always spilling things (food) on myself– wouldn’t want to do that on a rental.
I agree with all the price estimates here. I wouldn’t use this service either. But again – it’s not Target and Old Navy style clothes. These are high-fashion designer clothes, and while we all might not want to spend that cash, there is totally a market for it. So I think the review of the site and the question being asked is missing the point.
It doesn’t appear to he cost effective. Some of the items retail at $75. The price per item is $25 a month (renting 10 items at a time). I guess if you wanted a large variety of clothes to wear, this is for you. Personally, I am too cheap to spend that kind of money on a rental.
Why the upturned nose at Target? I have no clue how much a cute outfit on someone else costs unless they go all Minnie Pearl on me and showcase the price tag…
Target rocks! Again, we commenters are NOT the demographic for the Fashion Forward site. Think Sex and the City gets prego… what would THEY want to wear. That’s where they’re TRYING to go as much as possible.
No. And not even if I was the demographic. That being said, I did look into renting a formal maternity gown at one point. The pricetag threw me off because I could afford my own if needed when compared to the price they wanted. I bought my own maternity clothes (not that I wouldn’t have loved handmedowns, just wasn’t an option) and I hope I have another summer pregnancy so I can wear those great sundresses again. If not, well, then I guess I’ll probably just buy more clothes or throw some leggings and a cardigan on top of the sundresses.
While I understand that the price seems high, it really is put into perspective when you consider the types of items you are renting and/or purchasing. I am not fond of the pants from Old Navy, Target, Motherhood, etc. I ended up with designer pants ranging from $80 – $200 per pair. Additionally items such as fancy dresses or winter coats would be great to rent if you wanted something nice but didn’t have the cash to spend.
I’d love to find the goodwill they give their leftovers to
I got most of my maternity wear from eBay… this works especially well when you find a seller with similar style and size who’s cleaning out her maternity stash because you can buy several items and save on shipping.
…I’m not sure why shopping at Target is “(sad but true)”.
If you’re not so concerned with being fashion forward, but rather aiming to be sensible and realistic then what’s wrong with buying simple rack items for a reasonable price from Target and Walmart?
Buy basic items to combine with things you already own – plain maternity t’s you can wear no matter the season you are hugely preggo, and use cardigans and scarves to dress them up.
Jeans/pants are a different story but seriously, you’ll need them for less than 6 months (unless you’re carrying multiples) so why buy designer mom jeans. Fashion Forward Maternity sounds like a waste of money.
For my first pregnancy I went on craigslist and got 2 huge boxes of maternity clohes for $50. I used what I liked and donated the rest. The second pregnancy was only 6 months after I had my son so it was more like a continuation of the first one. I was so sick of the clothes I got new ones at Gap and Target. It was worth it. I felt better in new clothes. Who knows, maybe I’ll use them again some day.
Sigh @loodytinfoil you.are.not.the.target.demographic. Some women don’t want to just wear a few plain maternity T’s and “dress them up” (ha) with cardigans. Seriously. That wardrobe would be completely UNACCEPTABLE for someone in a high level job, especially if they had to meet with clients. And as far as jeans go, if the other commenter (Jamie) wanted to be comfortable in her own skin and that’s how it worked out, then that’s fine. That’s not for you, but it’s for her. But there’s a market for this. It’s a waste of money for YOU as you stated, but not for someone else who feels differently. I can’t believe that if women are 80% of the buying power that we as a group “get” marketing so very little. I probably have to stop commenting because as a marketing professional I think my brain is ready to melt, lol.
I’m not the target demographic either. At all. I guess if I really wanted a few designer pieces and only wanted to wear them for a few months, maybe I’d use this. Individual pieces are $23.50 per month, without the $125 fee. So if I were inclined to buy something that normally cost $200 and I wanted to return it after 3 months, it would be worth it. But most of the clothes on that site seem to be more around the $75-100 price point. If I wanted a pair of $100 Japanese Weekend jeans, it would be a lot more cost-efficient to buy them retail, wear them for six months, and then sell them for $50.
These are nice, designer clothes. I agree with Anna B. that the target demographic is women who need (and want) lots of variety and quality clothes for work and are used to spending upwards of $100 for a quality top or slacks. Looking closer at the website, individual items rent for $23.50 per month — so not bad if you consider a $100 top or $200 pair of James Jeans. . .
That is a LOT of money to spend. And no hate on clothes-shopping at Target, I shop there alllll the time NOT pregnant.. they have a lot of great stuff if you know what to look for! But I’m no expert when it comes to maternity clothes…
I will say, though, that my everyday wardrobe is a combination of designer and cheaper pieces. I ONLY wear designer jeans (Citizens, Hudson, J Brand, True Religion are some of my favs)… but I sometimes find really cute blouses and tops at Target and Old Navy. I think balance is important, and it’s worth it to splurge on certain pieces. I am a teacher, though, so it’s not like I have some high-powered career to dress for!
I am 37 weeks pregnant now and have been incredibly fortunate to have a close friend 9 weeks ahead of me along this journey (she gave birth to her 1st baby 6 weeks ago). Between her handing down maternity clothes that she no longer fits in (she shopped at local thrift/consignment stores), clothing swaps thrown by other friends, and the way my bump has developed the only maternity wear I’ve had to spend money on has been a couple of belly bands and some pretty nursing bras.
I don’t see the point in spending money on clothes that will only get a few months wear at most (that said I’m not one for clothes shopping on a regular basis when I’m not pregnant either). When I deliver my baby I’m sure my friend and I will have a mini clothing swap session to see which items fit either of us.