Dear All Australian Fashion and Retail Companies,
Why oh why, have none of you created a fashionable yet affordable maternity wear range?
I remember being pregnant with my first child and struggling to find appropriate and comfortable maternity wear on the racks of any Australian stores. I ended up religiously searching online for the right clothes and resorting to ASOS and Topshop. Although this was great, I was taking a big gamble since who knows what is and isn’t going to squeeze over your bump.
I searched the racks of Target, Big W, David Jones, Myer and even Kmart. At the end of the day I was lucky enough to find a very helpful sales assistant in Cotton On who helped me find enough styles in store to get me through a very hot and uncomfortable start to the QLD Summer. Oh, and thank goodness for Country Road and their denim jeggings.
The problem is cost. There are a few really great online maternity boutiques which are based in Australia. I just found I couldn’t justify spending the kind of money they were asking on one nice maxi, pair of pants or top. I wanted to be able to buy enough maternity clothes so I didn’t feel like I was sacrificing too much of my style and comfort without breaking my bank account.
Now that I am pregnant again, I know I will face the same dilemma. This time around I will be at my biggest during the winter months which means I will need to smarten up and buy a pair of maternity jeans and a couple of tops. I know jumpers aren’t too much of an issue as last time I got away with just going up a size but this time I could be HUGE and need a specific maternity style. I just need a store I can go to where I will be able to find what I need.
Although I am disappointed with maternity wear in Australia generally, my biggest issue is with t-shirts.
CAN SOMEONE JUST MAKE THE PERFECT MATERNITY TSHIRT ALREADY!!!??? I would be happy to get around in ill-fitting jeans and daggy tracksuit pants as long as I am wearing the perfect tshirt (and the perfect pair of sneakers – because #swollenfeet). I am a tall girl and I want that t-shirt to actually cover my bump. I remember two different occasions when I was pregnant where my hand went to touch my bump only to realise the bottom of my stomach had been exposed to the public for the last couple of hours as I walked around oblivious to the fact. Just make sure you make that t-shirt in a variety of in-season colours and possibly a few printed versions ( I am thinking sport-luxe).
I want to buy maternity clothes. I want to buy Australian. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to do that.
If I won the lotto, I would start my own brand. But alas, it hasn’t happened yet so I need all the current Australian retail chains and stores to step up and kind of do their job – which is to provide clothing to Australian’s of all shapes and sizes.
Kind Regards,
Tara Clarke
