VP's guide to buying maternity clothes

This is an extensive and difficult topic. Everyone has different opinions. Buy lots of stuff that lasts for the first, so you can wear it during the next pregnancy. Make do with just a few items that will get worn out, to save money. Well, there are ways to make both work, and here they are.

1) Ribbed knits are the pregnant woman's best friend.

Ribbed knits stretch. If you check out styles of simple tops - turtlenecks, mock necks, and t-shirts - in a ribbed knit, one or two sizes too big (not so big that they hang of your shoulders, but big enough to be loose in the belly) they could easily last you the entire pregnancy. When you find a style you like, buy several in your favourite colours. I have ribbed-knit mock-neck sleeveless tops that I bought at the year before my last pregnancy at Pennington's, 2 for $25 on sale. I bought four - red, light blue, white, and purple. I wore them all the way through my pregnancy and will wear them again, along with tip #2. If the regular racks or your own closet don't contain suitable items, buy some basic t-necks or t-shirts at the maternity department, on sale. They need to fit through the shoulders and sleeves; everything else will change rapidly anyway.

2) Dress it up with cardigans and shrugs.

There's no reason to shop in the maternity department for these items. I found a gorgeous cardigan in turquoise at Addition-Elle which was perfect. It falls past the waist, which I like, and it has one button at the top. As I grow, it will simply fall to either side of the tummy. These items are easy to find and easy to wear after the pregnancy too. Best of all, because they're outerwear, you don't need to wash them every time you wear them. You can put different tops under them and wear the same cardigan more than once per week. Shrugs, this year's biggest fashion accessory, are tailor-made for pregnancy. They sit above the waist, tie or button either at the top or at the bottom just under the bust, and flatter the pregnant silhouette very well. I just bought one in plum for $5 at Old Navy. I have no idea what it was doing on a clearance rack, but it fit and dressed up my white turtleneck so I grabbed it.

3) Pants are always a problem.

There's really two choices for pants: low-rise, in which case a slightly larger size on the regular racks might work, or high-rise, covering the belly, which have to be bought from the maternity section.

I prefer the latter - I hate the feeling that my pants are falling down, and I tend to carry low. So I buy two pairs of semi-casual pants that I can wear with anything - black is good for most wardrobes, brown for others depending on your colour selection for tops. Cotton is best, not least because it washes well and adjusts to curves better, but one pair in a dressier fabric is a good idea. I also like to have one pair of around-the-house pants for just lounging. That's three pair for the last six or so months of pregnancy. Yes, it gets boring, and yes, they get worn out fast. That's okay. You've spent maybe a hundred bucks or so on all three pair - less if you went to a second-hand shop or got some good deals.

The other trick to pants - when you're trying to get pregnant, buy one or two pairs that are just slightly too big - they fit baggy, but they fit. They'll last till the fourth month, especially if they happen to be stretchy and elastic-waisted. If you can get these at a second-hand shop, so much the better. The other alternative is to save clothes from when you were one size larger, for wear during the next pregnancy.

4) Dressing up is the place to splurge.

Buy one great top and one great dress for mat wear. Since you'll be showing, probably, across at least two seasons, buy one for one of those seasons, and the other for the other season. For example, I have my fabulous hand-made goth-type top, with the lacy 3-quarter-length sleeves, for dressy fall/spring wear. For midwinter, I have a marvelous maroon turtleneck knit dress that I wore when expecting Elizabeth. It's dressy enough for pretty much anything, yet really comfortable. The point here is that you still need to look good and feel great even if you're feeling as big as a house. Nice items do this for you.

5) Don't overbuy.

You need enough clothes to look different every day for a week of work, if you're working - less than that if you're not. That means a total of five or six combinations of the above. Plain black pants can be worn two days in a row and no one will notice. Three shells with two cardigans, and regular laundry, is enough for a bare-bones budget wardrobe. If you wish, a few extra items - maternity tops that don't require cardigans, a really nice, stretchy sweater, etc - can flesh out the wardrob somewhat. They're not necessary, but they're great to have and if you can afford it (or are pregnant at Christmas or your birthday) then go for it.

6) Buy colours that go together - all of them.

Use colours that you like, colours that suit you, but most of all, colours that are interchangeable. A red shirt and a blue shirt and a green shirt will all go with a black cardigan, and possibly with a beige one. Sweater sets in colours that aren't interchangeable with other items in your wardrobe are a bad idea. If you lean towards cool colours (blues, greens, most pinks and some true reds) try to buy within one or two of those, and get black pants; if you prefer warm colours (orange, brown, taupe, yellow, and some greens and reds) you may decide to get brown pants instead, and should probably go for beige or black cardigans. But whatever you choose, this is not a time to mix up the colours in your wardrobe beyond a certain point. You want to be able to mix and match as much as possible.

7) Underclothes are crucial.

You'll go up one or two cup sizes in pregnancy, possibly more, and probably won't go down again soon, if ever, especially if you nurse. You may go up a chest size as well. So buy one or two bras that fit early on, and be prepared to buy more towards the end of pregnancy if your size changes again. Buy a nursing bra in the eighth month and another two months post-partum, just in case your size changes when the belly shrinks. Any bra that doesn't fit right can impede milk flow and production, especially underwires that are riding up, so make sure your nursing bra is soft-cup and that you buy it a bit on the generous side - full boobs being bigger than empty ones, you want it to be comfortable after the baby eats as well as before.

As for underwear - same as for pants, you can go either bikini or belly-covering. Cotton is best. Otherwise, go wild.

And that's it. That's how to buy maternity wear.

Oh, last thing: make friends with people your own size, having babies at slightly different times from you. Sharing mat wear is a wonderful way to get more use out of it. (sassy_fae will likely benefit extensively from this pregnancy. :)