As most of you know, I am currently expecting my second little one and yes, this will be the last. When I was pregnant with Jack, I was working from home and living in a lot of stretchy pants and oversized sweaters in the -30 weather. But with this pregnancy, it’s a different story. I am crazy busy, meeting clients, working long hours and trying to get through what will surely be a hot summer. So, slightly different pregnancies and life circumstances, you could say!
I truthfully gave away a lot of my maternity wear since a lot of it wasn’t appropriate for the different season anyway. And some pieces I quite honestly hated – they were online purchases that I just made work for the time being. So this go around I wanted to try something new so I googled Canadian maternity wear. A company called The Sprout Collection popped up and I was very intrigued!
The concept behind The Sprout Collection is to rent your maternity wardrobe, instead of having to invest in buying and keeping pieces you are only going to wear for a short amount of time. You commit to either a one month option or an ongoing, monthly subscription. Each month, you choose 4 new pieces, from dresses to pants to workwear…anything really…and they deliver them right to your door. After the month, you send them back with their prepaid label, dirty because they dry clean everything, and then get your new box of beautiful wardrobe pieces immediately.
I had to try them out for one month because the concept was just so great to me. And here is my honest review of the business and brand…First, the positives…
What I Loved About Sprout Collection
- CANADIAN!
- I got really excited about the various brands they offered. I had always wanted to order from Legoe Heritage or Hatch but their prices were steep and shipping/duties always deterred me. Having companies like this available made it so appealing to me. Current labels get a big checkmark from me! And if I absolutely loved something, then it was like I got to try it for a month and see if the piece was actually worth the long term investment of buying it.
Wearing the Legoe Heritage Yarra Dress - To piggy back on that, they have a really great selection…in fact, it was hard to narrow down to just 4 items. I thought they had such a good selection and wide range of styles…perfect for a lot of different women’s tastes
- The convenience was fantastic. I unpacked my box (very excitedly I might add) and got to wearing everything right away. Then sending it back was easy peezy! Never had to wash a thing!
- I love that this rental system keeps me from purchasing more items that will ultimately end up sitting in my closet after baby is born and collecting dust. If you think about it, with the clothing industry being such a big part of our environmental issues, it was nice to think of less purchasing and more reusing.
- I thought this particular system was especially good for summer months when you have events like weddings to attend or work functions…you can get some really beautiful dresses without having to buy a bunch of new stuff
Wearing the Legoe Heritage Nadia Dress - Getting a monthly subscription and new items each month is really exciting and fun! Not to mention your body is constantly changing so you can order pieces in the sizing you need for the stage you’re at.
- They have nursing options and postpartum pieces for after baby. Useful for when you still have time after baby comes.
What I Found To Be (Somewhat) Negatives About The Sprout Collection:
- Shipping was a bit of a bummer because they (understandably) need to calculate your month based off your order date and not by the day it shows up. Because I’m in Edmonton, the shipping ate up a few extra days and it felt like that month whizzed by…because technically it was more like 3 weeks. BUT, they were so accommodating to me. When I chatted with them about that, they totally understood – offering to allow me to keep the pieces longer and also explaining that when you opt for more than one single month, they time the next delivery to arrive as you are sending the other one back. So there’s no lapse in having items. So shipping can be a downside but I think the company is really great at handling those issues
Wearing the Rachel Pally Lanna Dress - Sizing can be somewhat of an issue. I had my top 8-10 outfits and only about half had my size available. So it’s a good thing they have a fair amount of selection because they obviously only have a certain amount of each size that can be rented out at one time. If you’re a “common” size that could end up being an issue.
- I also can see how the cost of this is out of reach for a lot of people. They base their pricing on how long of a commitment you are making and do take care of everything. So from a business perspective it seems totally fair for what you are getting. But overall expense seemed to be a negative for some people when I posted my unboxing experience on IG. I tried to keep in mind that the items I was receiving were worth A LOT more than that monthly fee and again, that made sense. I could never dream of buying a $400 Rachel Pally dress, so there ya go!
Wearing the Rachel Pally Tallulah dress - Remember that this rental system is meant more so for pieces that you don’t need continually throughout your pregnancy and postpartum. I still think it’s worth buying a really good tank top, basic shirts and a banging pair of pants that will carry you through the whole experience. Rent the fun dresses and work attire and buy the staples.
- If you fall in love with something too bad lol – you HAVE to give it back!
All in all, I had an incredible experience with The Sprout Collection. They are a fabulous team of amazing women and I fully support this venture. I loved each piece that I got to try and I would happily do it again. The dresses I selected made me feel beautiful, elevated and put together…something that you definitely need when your body is changing so much.
What do you think?! Would you try a rental wardrobe for your pregnancy? Have you tried The Sprout Collection? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!