I've had some questions lately about where to find reasonably priced vintage maternity clothes. When I was pregnant with Rhys, I wasn't sure how I'd wear vintage with a growing belly but it worked out surprisingly well. The key to saving was, I didn't have to buy a lot of things that I wouldn't wear again once the baby was born. I built my regular vintage wardrobe instead of stocking up on specialty maternity clothes. Shop at thrift stores for things you won't wear much after the baby comes like maternity pants and save your money for things you'll wear all the time (or for the new baby)!  Here's some thrifty tips and ideas of what to buy for your bump that you can wear long after baby comes.

Vintage maternity clothing is cute in theory but vintage skirts and pants often entailed a big hole that the belly stuck through with an unflattering tent-like top to hide the belly and the rest of the expectant mother's body. When I was pregnant with my two, I was thankful that today's maternity clothes are as comfortable and flattering as they are! If you want to try a 1950s style maternity top, you can sew your own pleated tunic from a men's top or over sized ladies top. Button it up all the way, add a peter pan collar and pair it with a stretchy pencil skirt. Get my tutorial for a super fast stretch maternity pencil skirt.

Cardigans
You can't have too many cardigans when you're a mother-to-be. The stretch accommodates a growing belly and chest and anything that buttons up the front is good if you plan on nursing. Let's also face the fact that babies spit up, spill things and drool at the most inconvenient times so if you have a cardigan handy, you can cover it up until you can get a change of clothes. I always kept a cardigan handy towards the end of the pregnancy too, in case of leaky milk problems. Cardigans and jackets are something I wear all the time. They're cute with a little pin up dress or capri pants and they pull an outfit together for work or school.

a simple dress with an elastic waist band and a red cardigan

1. Starburst cropped cardigan

2.  Dream of the crop cardigan (comes in 6 colors)

3. floral keyhole cardigan



 Full Skirts
 I wore loads of pleated or full skirts when I was pregnant with my little ones. Just pull the waist band up over your belly and the fullness of the fabric leaves plenty of room for your bump. Order a size up and you could move the button as your belly grows for a more adjustable waist band.  I never wore maternity blouses. Instead, I paired my skirts with my usual vintage tops, as long as they made room for my chest. Knit tops are a good way to go also.  If you sew, you can whip up a quick pleated skirt in an afternoon with a few yards of fabric and basic sewing skills. Check out this tutorial from Flashback Summer.



1.Hell Bunny green skirt

2. Navy high waist swing skirt

3.Pin Up Girl Clothing Jenny Skirts


Look for dresses with an elastic waist band, pleated skirt, flowing fabric with a little stretch, zip, wrap or button front. These are some of my dresses that I wore when I was pregnant. The top left was sewn using a 1940s robe pattern, I just shortened it and wore it as a wrap dress. The only actual vintage maternity dress is on the bottom right, a gift from my best friend.  Check thrift stores, ebay and etsy for vintage dresses. For larger sizes and fabrics with a little give, look at early-mid 60s styles with a full skirt. I love nylon 60s dresses, especially the Shelton Stroller label, which often zips up the front. For a great selection of swing dresses and fit and flare dresses, check out Unique Vintage. They always have sales too so make sure to sign up for the email newsletter. When you're looking for a dress to hike up over your belly, make sure it's long enough to your liking or if it's a little short for your comfort, try some capri-length maternity leggings in cute colors.



1. Peach High Society swing dress

2. 1940s grey plaid swing dress

3. Hell Bunny burgundy crepe 1950s dress



 Pair stretch capri pants with a cardigan, tee or tunic with cute little flats and a hair scarf for an adorable modern pin up look. If you're in a larger size now than you usually are, don't buy new pants, check out the thrift stores. Some of my favorite capris are cheap ones from Dollar General or Walmart or $10 or less per pair. I like them so much, I buy a few new pairs every 6 months or so.Since you can find simple stretch pants everywhere, I thought I'd share some shops that sell adorable retro tee shirts.

Favorite Pants and Tees



1. Atomic Swag

2. Clumsy Kate

3. Mischief Made


See more of my vintage maternity outfits here and if you'll be nursing, check out "Vintage Style for Nursing Mamas"  This post contains links to my affiliates. Thank you for supporting them and Va-Voom Vintage! 

I didn't have many pics for my last post so here are some of my favorite pics from the past few days....

Me with my Rhys-ter egg on Wednesday morning. This beautiful vintage bed jacket was a gift from Emily of Livin' Vintage

On Tuesday, Missouri was hit by severe storms but after the hail and rain had subsided, we had a beautiful view of historic St. Charles and a rainbow from our hospital room.

My tiny little guy- just 6 pounds! (and thank you to my sister in law for the much-needed donuts in the background!)

Rhys in his car seat on the ride home. That pacifier really shows how small he is. He really loves a pacifier but the hospital soothie is just way too big for his little mouth.

When you have a big sister, you're bound to have some pink, girlie blankets in your life, right? This pile of toys was an offering from Olivia this morning. She tried to share her cup of orange juice but he wasn't really interested.

Look at those huge hands! Just like his daddy!!

Again, just like his daddy- always making silly faces. I've seen Pj make this same face on many occasions

Thank you again to all of you sweeties for your congratulations and well-wishes! My little family is home now and we're all enjoying getting to know our new arrival. Olivia is very excited and happy about having her very own baby in the house. She helps rub lotion on his dry little feet and tries to share her toys with him.

Rhys is doing very well. He's eating non-stop, napping the days away and getting lots of wet kisses from his big sister. We call him our little "onion" because it sounds like he cries "un-yun!" when he's hungry.

I am quickly recovering from delivery and am SO happy to be able to see my feet again!! I'm walking (not waddling), bending over to pick things up and before you know it, I'll be back in pants with buttons *yay*!! I foolishly ignored advice to do post-partum exercises and wear a belly band last time but now that I have a nice, big mommy pooch, I'm following instructions to get back to pre-pregnancy size.

I think I'm going to try to venture out into the world to buy some supplies to whip up a pretty nursing cover tomorrow. I spotted some feed sacks at an antique mall a few weeks ago and if they're still there, I may use it for my cover.

 

I'm 37 weeks pregnant now and today's outfit is one of the last of my dresses that still fits and is comfy to wear. It's a vintage striped sun dress with little clear buttons on the straps. I picked it up at an estate sale last summer and I really love it, especially during St. Louis' 100 degree summer days. I think I may replace the clear buttons with red or blue ones and add some fun rick-rack or other trim to it at a later date.






My little lobster pin is one of my favorite, new silly accessories. I found him at an antique mall for $1. The dish that he was sitting in had a matching lobster pin in it so I bought them both. My little "love lobsters" are named Sally and Pete.


Baby Update: yesterday afternoon, I went to the hospital with contractions. They were regular and going pretty good for about 2 hours when they suddenly stopped! After an exam and being hooked up to the monitors for a few hours, they sent me home. Aww, bummer! Oh, well- it just means that my little bun gets to bake a bit longer! :)





Outfit Details
vintage sun dress- estate sale
red cardigan- thrifted, Value Village
red vintage belt- The Vintage Haberdashery
Vintage espadrilles- Retro 101
thermoset red leaf clip on earrings-bought from Temperamental Broad
anchor pendant necklace- craft store
blue snood

Saturday was my best friend, Amanda's birthday as well as the celebration for my niece's 3rd birthday so I got to get out of the house and party all day long!


 The day started with a short trip to the antique mall with Amanda.  I bought this beautiful pair of deadstock pink gloves and Pj bought this vintage "Mother" necklace for me.
 

 My niece's birthday party was in the afternoon. She's 3 and loves things with wheels so we bought her a little pink shopping cart full of play food so she can shop to her heart's content! On the way to the birthday party, I started having my first contractions. *YIKES* Once we arrived at the party, I sat down and stayed put most of the time and baby Rhys stayed put as well! :)




After the little one's party, we picked up the other birthday girl and headed out to a fun, kitschy BBQ restaurant called Ethyl's in O'Fallon, MO. We were met by a bunch of her friends and family to celebrate. The food was delicious and the company was very entertaining.

 After dinner, we went to the bookstore and took Amanda out for some birthday ice cream. We bought a book for Olivia about being a big sister and had fun reading some of the other "growing up" books in the children's section...


 baby update: Oh, another baby update! I had to run to the doc on Friday. I was feeling a really intense low pressure like this kid is going to fall right out! The doc said I'm 2cm dilated and 70% effaced! He told me to try to get through the weekend to next week so little Rhys's lungs can develop a bit more. They expect me to go at any time now. I can't wait to meet him!!

Outfit Details
vintage barkcloth skirt- handmade by me
pink knit blouse- thrifted
black maryjanes- thrifted
50's deadstock pink gloves- St Charles antiques
vintage "Mother" necklace- gift from Pj
vintage lucite and wicker purse- Creve Coeur antiques

This spring, we're planting a garden at my sister in law, Nellie's house. She has a great big yard with lots of room for veggies, herbs and flowers. She invited us over for amazing chili, brownies and seed-starting. The kids all loved sticking their fingers down into the dirt-filled dixie cups. While cropping my pics, I noticed that they had a method to the planting: stick out your tongue, poke a hole and plant the seed...look at those little tongues!


 With the help of the girls, we planted snapdragons, marigolds, tomatoes, cilantro, peppers and more. We'll be building raised garden beds and putting the little seedlings in the ground in May. I can't wait to watch the little girls dig in the dirt! These cuties are my nieces, "Booger" and "Stinker"


 
Lulu did a great job planting the cilantro until the end, when she starting eating the seeds. YUM! I got to plant the snapdragons, my favorite!

 
Today, was one of those "I don't want to get dressed" days so I wore my most comfortable, stretchy skirt and a snuggly aqua cardigan.


Check out my awesome new brooch! It's a vintage lucite "B"
which I found on ebay for a song. Amanda has an "A" just like it and I loved hers so much that I had to be a copycat and find one of my own. We like to look like total matchy-matchy dorks and wear them together when we go out. hehe!

 Outfit Details
atomic print top- thrifted, goodwill
aqua cardigan- thrifted, Salvation Army
black stretchy skirt- New York and Company
black maryjane wedges- thrifted
bakelite necklace- antique mall
lucite B monogram brooch- ebay

On the 20th, my family hosted a baby shower for me. Having babies so close together, we already have most of the big baby items that we needed but since there aren't many boys in the family for hand-me-downs, we were happy to receive many gifts of clothes and blankets that weren't pink. I had so much fun opening packages of teeny tiny socks and hilarious hooded towels. The funniest little outfit was the Star Wars onesie from my brother and Yoda hat from my sister. I can't wait to get a pic of Rhys decked out in his sci-fi geek finery. Oh, that's my sister, Chelsea in the pics with me!
 
The shower was a nautical theme. My mom made beautiful invitations with this vintage picture "Wynken Blynken and Nod"

My sister in law, Nellie opened her house to us after a last minute catastrophe at a neighborhood clubhouse that they had booked for the party. The house was decorated in red and blue streamers and little fish.

Chelsea made these netted bags full of Swedish Fish and star-shaped candies, tied with jute twine.


I wore my favorite dress to the shower. It's a handmade vintage maternity dress (a Christmas gift from Amanda) with little babies in strollers all over it. I adore the print and colors.



 The dress has pleats at the sides of the belly to allow plenty of growing room for the baby bump. I love the collar and bust detail. Whoever made this dress ages ago did a beautiful job. I love it so much, I will wear it long after the baby is born.

Lulu wore her yellow sun dress, which I picked up at a festival for her the summer I was pregnant with her. The fabric is gauzy and light with hand embroidered flowers along the crocheted yoke. It was handmade in South America. I loved it so much, I bought one in white also. She also wore her blue bolero and white maryjanes. The only thing cuter than a bolero is a miniature version! She soon ditched the shoes and opted for the butterfly wing headband. I love how serious she looks sometimes! 


 Nellie makes the worlds most beautiful (and delicious) cakes. They're always the centerpiece of the party.



See what I mean? Uh-mazing!! Is that home made icing? You betcha!

Just a few days before my shower, I received a beautiful vintage gift from Emily of Livin' Vintage, who visited St Louis last summer. She sent a gorgeous vintage bed jacket for me, which will be -perfect- to wear while nursing and for the baby, she sent an adorable receiving blanket, which is very soft and the perfect size for swaddling. Both have been packed away in my hospital bag to use right after he's born. Thank you, Emily!!