So, I went shopping several times for maternity clothes in the past 2 months. I dislike shopping. Most times I came home empty-handed. This is why retail is in such a crisis - there is nothing to buy from retailers in stores, and what they do carry is very expensive. Who can afford to buy something full price?

My tops still fit for the most part, so I am in the market mostly for comfortable pants. Here were my shopping experiences:

Sears

Yes, I know Sears is truly dying, so I should not expect a great selection. It's sad, because I really did love that store as a kid. They had tools, appliances, and decent clothing. I used to get most of my work outfits there. When we got to the store to look at their maternity clothes, they told us they did not carry them anymore! As I don't know my size anymore, it really is best to try things on. I ended up finding some brown slacks with an elastic waist that can squeak me through for a bit. I'm thrifty, so found these in the clearance section for under $10.

Target

I was hoping to find budget-friendly clothing. With a baby on the way, I am trying to save a bit more and put some extra back, so I don't want to spend a chunk of my modest disposable income on clothing I will wear for a few weeks/months.

Target, to it's credit, still has a maternity section. Unfortunately, it was made up of spandex and ripped jeans. I am not into the stretchy spandex styles, and I cannot wear very tight fitting clothing or ripped clothing to my office. We are a professional place of business, and business casual is about as casual as I go except for jeans on Friday.

Also, in a side note, Target's in-store CD selection is really bad. I had hoped to find a fairly popular "new" band's first CD there as a Christmas gift, but they have barely any CDs at all. Do people really do all their shopping on-line these days?

JCPenney

We don't have a store here anymore. Can't shop here if there is no store. Over the summer we went to visit friends an hour away, and I did find some nice sales. But was not in the market for maternity clothes then. I'm not driving an hour plus just to shop. Who has the time? And if you don't find anything, it's a big waste of fuel.

Kohl's

The saleswoman at Kohl's told me they did not carry maternity clothes in store anymore. She asked if I'd tried Target. She did offer the use of a kiosk near the customer service that let me look at the on-line inventory. Unfortunately, this tool did not offer information as to what the clothing was made from, or how to care for it.

My sister-in-law mailed me a pair of black dress pants she got from Kohl's when she was pregnant. They fit, so I had such high hopes. Also, my mother sent me a gift card for Kohl's, so I really had an incentive to find something.

I did end up going on-line at Kohl's site to find something suitable for work. Their pants are super expensive - between $50 - $80 it seemed. My budget is not that big. Financially, that would wipe me out pretty quickly for the month.

I did find two dresses on sale that I hope fit. If they do, I should be able to wear them to work and church. They did have an on-line discount (expiring today) for $10 off my order with a special code, and I got free shipping, so that was nice. Even with the sale and discount, they dresses still cost over $30 each. This is way more than I usually spend on a dress.

Salvation Army

This is my #1 recommendation of where to go for maternity pants. I've actually had the best luck here, and it is super budget friendly. I got 2 pairs of jeans, 1 pair black dress slacks, 1 pair tan corduroy pants, and some lighter khaki linen pants I can wear in spring/summer. These were priced between $4.99 and $6. One day I happened to come in on 49 cent white tag day, and got 2 pairs of pants for $1.

I would like thank all the ladies who donated pants and other maternity wear to Salvation Army. This has been a real help as I can't button my regular pants anymore. Thank you!