Rave for Thyme Maternity

[psophia17]

I have one in walking distance of MIL's house, and I headed over there this morning, because over the weekend I discovered wearing my ON pants from when I was pg with DS caused me to be winded every time I sat down.

The manager was just so awesome and helpful, and the clothes in the store are a ton better than what's online. Plus there's a 20% off coupon in the BRU "especially for baby" catalog, that helped me to save $14 on some tops and a pair of shorts that I can wear while I sit...woo hoo!

[NewfieNat]

Wow I'm surprised to hear this. I HATE Thyme, though I still shop there due to lack of options. Lots of reasons...

-Everytime I go I get pressured into buying everything in the store. I don't give in, lol. For instance, last week the lady was trying to sell me a swimsuit. In response I told her sorry, I just bought a maternity swimsuit in the US for $10, and it's Liz Lange.

-I don't like many of the styles. All their pants fall off me, and I've tried all the different styles except the full panel, which I can't because I'm not that big yet. Just yesterday I went there looking for a white blouse for work. The two I tried on (the only ones they had with sleeves - I can't wear sleeveless to work!) were totally see-through. When I told the saleslady this she tried to sell me a white tank to go underneath. Ummm...no! That would cost a fortune.

-That STUPID contest entry. I DON'T want to win Ivory Snow for year but they make me fill out that form anyway. And although I check I do not want to be contacted further, I know I will be.

-The sizing is horrid. Did you know that XS=size 1-3? UNREAL! I am quite average and I do not want to think I'll soon need an XL!

I better stop or I'll be here all night. Yes, I have used that 20% coupon, but the store I was in had all the coupons neatly cut out of the stack of BRU magazines. I thought that was a bit suspicious...

Sorry for the rant, I'm glad you found clothes you like there! Maybe I will too, someday...

Natalie

[EllasMum]

Natalie - just FYI, there is a Thyme outlet store in Signal Hill. It has a TON of stuff and alot of it is clearance priced. I bought a couple of tops, a pair of pants, and a bra there and it cost under $100. Plus there is a HUGE selection.

[Laundraholic]

>
>-The sizing is horrid. Did you know that XS=size 1-3? UNREAL!
>I am quite average and I do not want to think I'll soon need
>an XL!


While I agree with the fact that Thyme doesn't really carry my "style", I'm just confused about this portion of the rant regarding sizing. Isn't that what XS is supposed to be? XS is usually sizes 0 to 2, S would be sizes 4 to 6, medium 8 to 10, L 12 to 14 and so forth.


Petite women get pregnant too =)

[Piglet]

I used to consider Thyme a necessary evil. I HATED them when I was pregnant with DS1 because there was not other store that I could shop at and their quality was horrid. By the time I was pregnant with DS2, we had Old Navy and I got lots of hand-me-downs so I never shopped at Thyme that whole pergnancy! The one thing I bought was a nursing bra and it started falling apart, which was just confirming why I hated Thyme... and then things changed! For starters, I was able to exchange the broken bra no questions asked for a brand new one in a different style and it became my favourite nursing bra. Secondly, I read that they were bought out by the Reitmans Group, so their clothing is now more Smart Set/Reitmans/RW&Co quality and style, which isn't bad. I still hate their sales tactics and I do find them to be overpriced for what they sell, but at least they now carry nicer styles, more selection and better quality than in the past. Kudos to them for at least trying to improve their image. Next time I will shop there, I am quite positive. I am glad you ghad a positive experience. Please let us know how those pants fare in the long run.

[tg_canada]

I find them VERY helpful when I go in, always willing to bring me everything need....and more...which is what I don't like as sometimes I don't have time to try on everything under the sun but they keep bringing me stuff! and they always try to sell me bras, panties and creams/lotions when I am at the till.

Also, I am NOT impressed with the clothing quality. Every item I own says "hang/flat dry". EVEN THE JEANS! We don't have Old Navy or GAP where I live (unless I do mail order) and Motherhood clothes are too large for me, so I am stuck with Thyme. I wash everything in a front loader washer on cold/gentle and hang/flat dry and I have still had 2 shirts shrink terribly. There was no problem returning them, they were happy to either refund me or let me exchange, but it's a pain in the butt. I'd love to be able to put my pants/jeans/jean skirts in the dryer but I am scared they will shrink so I end up having them take days to dry in our basement and then them being crunchy when I put them on. :(

I am not sure about the XS comment someone made? Most of the XS tops there are too big for me, but I can find some that fit. The XS pants fit me fine (wearing the "before and after" at 7 months pregnant). You don't have to keep buying bigger sizes the more pregnant you get. The XS is designed to fit an XS sized woman throughout pregnancy. Some of the clothing styles fit better in early pregnancy and others for later pregnancy, but you buy the same size throughout.

[psophia17]

They definitely tried to sell me more than I was looking for, but I've never been to a store that didn't try and do that, so I wasn't taken aback by it at all - it didn't even register.

I was super-impressed with the service, though. No pg woman in the world wants to go rummaging through racks of clothes trying to find things. I walked in, the woman greeted me and asked what I was looking for, and then filled a fitting room with tops and bottoms that fit the bill.

I avoid the whole creams and skin care schpiel by being allergic to almost all scented creams - the word "rash" stops a sales pitch pretty fast, IME ;)

[Piglet]

Okay, now that would drive me nuts - they expect a pregnant woman who has only a fraction of her wardrobe at her disposal to stand around waiting to hang dry items?? That would annoy the heck out of me too. I hadn't thought of that because all they used to carry was polyester and it is hard to shrink plastic, LOL!

[EllasMum]

I LOVE their bath/shower gel - it has a great citrusy scent that is not too strong, and it lathers up nicely. Plus it is relatively cheap - I think I paid $6 for a big container of it. I got a free full-sized sample of it when I bought a bunch of stuff when I was pregnant with DD and have not used anything else since. I still use it to this day! I also tried their 'soothing legs gel' (or something like that) and found it WAY too strongly scented - but the shower/bath gel is just right.

[tg_canada]

>Okay, now that would drive me nuts - they expect a pregnant
>woman who has only a fraction of her wardrobe at her disposal
>to stand around waiting to hang dry items?? That would annoy
>the heck out of me too. I hadn't thought of that because all
>they used to carry was polyester and it is hard to shrink
>plastic, LOL!

Yup, drives me nuts. I have 1 pair of jeans, 2 jean skirts, 2 pairs cotton pants, 4 shirts and a 2 cotton sweaters. EVERY item says to either hang or lay flat to dry. Right now the shirt I am wearing is 92% polyester and 8% spandex, and even with all that poly it still says "hang dry". What's even more annoying is my cotton/spandex shirt which has always been hung is getting pills on it even though I wash it inside out, gentle, cold water.

I say, it's lucky they only make maternity wear as their clothing likely wouldn't last longer than a pregnancy.