Maternity Wear
Buy and sell maternity clothes in Panama.
Maternity clothes see a few months of hard wear and then go into a drawer, which is why so many come out again barely used: jeans and leggings with a stretch belly panel, wrap and maxi dresses with room for the bump, and nursing tops that open discreetly for feeding. The hospital-bag list one Panama City clinic publishes asks for front-opening gowns and nursing bras, and those have a place here as well, the bras best taken unworn with tags. Clothes come new or pre-owned, often as a bundle in one size, so a whole pregnancy can be dressed in a single trip.
The belly panel on maternity jeans and trousers:
it goes over the bump, under it or at the sides, and each suits a different stage. An over-bump panel is a tall band of soft jersey that covers the whole belly and keeps working into the third trimester. An under-bump panel sits low, like an ordinary waistband with gentler elastic: cooler and less fussy early on, but once the belly grows over it, it digs in every time you sit. Side panels are elastic inserts at the hips, the closest thing to the jeans you wore before and the first to run out of room. Whatever the panel, buy the size you wore before the pregnancy, because the extra room is built into the cut, not the size number. Ordinary denim for after the birth sits under women’s jeans.
Wrap dresses and nursing tops that outlast the bump:
a dress carries a pregnancy more easily than separates, since nothing has to close at the waist. Wrap dresses, ruched jersey and empire-line maxis grow with the bump, and a wrap or zip front keeps working once you are feeding. Nursing tops hide the opening in one of three ways: a double layer that lifts up, a crossover neckline, or zips concealed under the bust. Dresses with no room for a bump belong under dresses, and loose blouses that happen to fit over one under tops.
Jersey and linen for a pregnancy in the heat:
a pregnant body runs warm, and the fabric decides whether a piece gets worn or stays folded. Cotton or viscose jersey and linen breathe; full-panel denim and polyester leggings are the hottest things to wear, and an over-bump panel is one more layer across the belly. On an afternoon in Penonomé, a wide-leg linen-blend trouser with a low band or a sleeveless jersey dress gets far more wear than maternity jeans, so read the composition label before paying for a pair that will mostly sit in a drawer.
Boutique prices against a panel that has gone slack:
a specialist maternity boutique in Panama prices a dress at roughly $65 to $150 and maternity jeans at around $125, which is a lot for clothes needed for a few months. The cloth rarely wears out in one pregnancy, so the used price follows the elastic: jeans whose panel still springs back flat keep a good part of what they cost, while a slack, rippled panel takes them down to the price of plain leggings.
What months of stretching do to maternity jersey:
pull the panel between both hands and let go. It should snap back flat, with no ripple along the edge. Hold leggings and jersey dresses up to daylight at full stretch, because thin jersey turns see-through exactly where the bump pushes, and look at the inner thighs for pilling. Open and close every zip and layer on a nursing top. Milk leaves marks on the chest that yellow in storage and rarely wash out. Nursing bras, belly bands and postpartum girdles sit against the skin and are only worth taking unworn with tags or sealed in their packaging.
A bag of maternity clothes once the baby is home:
start with the size on the label, then the panel type of each pair of trousers and the months you wore them. Photograph the panel relaxed and stretched, the nursing openings and the composition label, and say whether anything went through the tumble dryer, which tires elastic faster than wear does. A buyer in her eighth month rarely wants to try jeans on in a stranger’s hallway, and it is often her partner who comes by to collect, so put the waist across the panel, the hip and the inside leg in the listing and let the bag change hands without a fitting.