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?
