When I was pregnant the first time, I couldn't wait to go check out maternity clothing at Motherhood. I thought it was "the" place for maternity clothing. I bought a few things early in my pregnancy, but as I began looking other places, I quickly concluded that Motherhood was overpriced and that the quality of their clothing isn't very good - it doesn't hold up well (snags/tears/stains easily).
For some reason, over the past three years, in the same way that you forget about all of the "tough" parts of pregnancy and childbirth, I forgot about my experiences at Motherhood and again rushed out to buy some new clothing because none of the things I had from my first pregnancy will be in season this time. I had never been to this location. Although it is located in an outlet mall, they didn't really appear to have "outlet" prices. It didn't seem any different than any other Motherhood locations that I had been in.
This location does have a large selection, but I was disappointed to find that most of their clothing was size XS or S. I wish I could fit into those sizes, but it just doesn't work for me! I also remembered from my previous pregnancy that their clothing tends to run small and shrinks easily. The store has quite a few racks, which makes the walkways very small and difficult to navigate (particularly if you have a large pregnant belly or a stroller). They had an "as is" clearance rack and I picked up one shirt to look at it. It was marked "irregular" and the "asking" price was $27. I had seen the same shirt, brand new (and without the "irregular" branding) for half the price at Kohl's earlier in the week (Motherhood makes the line of maternity clothing that Kohl's carries). I checked with them to be sure that their asking price was correct and found out that it was.
Another thing that I forgot about was their return policy which is basically nonexistent. You cannot return any sale/clearance items (and almost everything in the store is marked as being "on sale"). "Regularly priced" items can be returned, with the tags still attached, within ten days for a merchandise credit. What a hassle! They only have two fitting rooms and the store generates a lot of traffic. I didn't want to wait (with my active toddler in tow) for a room and the sales associate who helped me when I was checking out was too busy talking to her co-worker and neglected to inform me of the return policy or I would have made the time to try the outfit I bought on before I purchased it. Now I'm stuck trying to sell it on E-bay.
Although Motherhood has a large selection, it is just too much of a hassle for me and I haven't been happy with the clothing I have purchased from there in the past. I have had the best luck with maternity clothing at Old Navy. The prices are reasonable, the clothing holds up well, and they also have a reasonable return policy!
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