They Are Clothes For Crissakes

I've noticed a few posts circulating around the blogosphere regarding the purchasing (and possible reselling) of kids clothes. It's really an interesting topic to me because well, I love clothes and I love shopping. But shopping for kids clothes? That drives me NUTS.

I had visions of my child being dressed to the nines - not necessarily in fancy expensive lacy loopy dresses and tights, but more just cool funky dresses and pants with rockin shoes and hats. Lots of hats.

But I'm cheap. Damnit. I'm so cheap.

It seems sort of odd considering I don't really need to be that cheap and I run a shopping blog. I mean, I am a WAHM, my husband works full-time, and we're fortunate to not have any debt or large expenses. Plus, the cost of living here is ridiculously low. I think I paid $22 for a full salon hair cut/blow dry/whatever you call it. I usually pay that as my tip to the hair washing person in Philly.

Still, it's SOOOO hard for me to rationalize spending $30 on a pair of jeans for my daughter. Hell, I can barely rationalize spending that much on jeans for myself anymore. Granted, I've had my fair share of ridiculously expensive jeans that are now resting quietly in their plastic tupperware coffin. *sigh*

Look, I get the "quality lasts and then you can resell it" argument. I did buy some baby gap and gymboree stuff on extra extra extra sale and am consigning them now - but that's because she wore it twice and never ate or played or did anything but lay on her back and stare at the ceiling in it while covered in 4 bibs and a blanket.

Now? She gets something on everything. And while she's no bruiser, it seems like the stuff gets stretched out and messed up really quickly.

So you say, IT'S CHEAP, that's why.

And I say, okay. But here's the thing. If I buy a $45 dress and it gets stained, I'm not going to be able to resell it. That would require me to buy those fancy whatever you call them tide wiper things that I have no idea how to use.

And if I did keep it clean, then I have to go through the trouble of reselling it. And that, in itself, can be an asspain. So, I just buy stuff at Target, our local Department store (sales) and Consignment shops, use the crap out of it, and then give it away. I suppose now that she's older and not growing as much I could consider getting nicer things, however, it still pains me.

I'll spend more money on holiday clothes and shoes (don't get me started on shoes), but I'm still trying to figure out the best store and the best way to buy. And I love to buy off season, but it's hard to predict what size she will be. Plus, if you're like me, you find 4 outfits that you love and that's all your kid wears. EVERYDAY. And it has to be something she can put on - because god forbid you help her do anything anymore.

And to complicate matters, it's nearly impossible to find girl's clothes that don't scream "I'm 14 and in search of a boyfriend." I mean really, can we just dress our kids like kids? Baby halters? Boob tubes? Boot cut ripped jeans? Please. It's maddening.

Give me your tips. Where do you shop? What do you think about the girl clothes selection out there. HELP ME!

Comments

[ktjrdn]

I hate to sound like a total cheapy here, but I get a lot of my daughter's stuff at Family Dollar. They have 2 piece summer outifts for $3-5. At that price, I don't care what she gets on them. I can let her play guilt-free. They's real cute too. The pink dress she's wearing in her latest pictures (http://ktjrdn.tripod.com/august-2006) is absolutely adorable, and I got it there for $5. They don't have as much selection for winter, but summer is great.

[Nancy]

I know I e-mailed you on this already, but I forgot to mention the places like Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Ross, and Burlington Coat Factory. Their discounted stuff can be decent quality and not too expensive.

Shopping off-season makes a big difference, too.

Send me a note with Q's current sizes -- might be able to get a few things off to you.

[Shrinkingmom]

I either shop heavily discounted department stores (think: Marshall's) or thrift/consignment stores. I only buy name-brand clothes and am kind of a snob about brands--I would never buy clothes at Target or Wal-Mart for my kids.

But I would buy them at Value Village (me: "Look, a GAP shirt! Hanna Andersson! Lands End!")

[Melissa]

SHopping for kids clothes is one of my favorite things. But I am a nerd. For cheaper things, try Childrens Place. You can do it online and they are always having sales. Plus most of their stuff is cute and simple and lasts. Old Navy is okay, but it won't last. I buy Nata bright colored clothes, one cause she looks good in it and two, because she gets crap on eveything.

[Melissa]

Try finding cute stuff for boys, it is way harder! That said my boys are very well dressed and I am a SAHM so I have learned how to do it cheap. For my Toddler's summer wardrobe I bought a huge lot of gymboree stuff off of Craig's list. I like to check out clearance at Old Navy, Gymboree and Target.

I also go to thrift stores a couple times a month. You have to be picky with Thrift store stuff but often you can find some really nice things if you look hard enough. I am also a yard sale guru. Check out the newspaper or craig's list for listing that say toddler or baby stuff. That helps cut down on wasted time. Early Saturday morning is generally the best time to go for the best selection.

If you want cute cheap stuff it takes some time but it is also fun to be a bargian huntress. I get a thrill everytime I find an awesome deal.

[Jennifer]

I get clothes at Sears too, and my mother loves to send me clothes for the girls(she always buys the nice stuff too!) but mostly I get them at the Navy Exchange since my husband is in the Military. We have a really nice one in HI. I hate spending money on clothes too but they have discounts on all the major brands and no tax.

[Missie]

No one has mentioned Sears and their fabulous KidVantage program! I have a boy and a girl, and let me tell you, I have saved so much money by shopping for his jeans at Sears. If he wears them out before he outgrows them, they replace them free. FREE. FAAAAH-REEEE. Do you have any idea how quickly a boy can blast through a pair of jeans? Usually I buy about 3-4 pairs of jeans at the beginning of school, and by December, I am exchanging them for new.

This also works for shoes. Example: When son entered 3rd grade, I bought him $35 Skechers at Sears. I exchanged them 3 times. THAAAH-REEEE TIMES! PAID FOR THEM ONCE. GOT THREE PAIRS. Not bad at all.

I am looking forward to buying the Girl's clothes there too. She is just now a toddler, so not really hard on clothes yet, but it's coming.

Also, we found a thrift store where some very rich people must be donating, cuz DANG! We have picked up Gymboree clothes for the Girlfriend at fifty cents to a dollar a piece. Chick dresses nicer than us for way less than an Old Navy tshirt for me. But I don't buy kids clothes from thrift stores normally because you can get cheap stuff at Mervyn's and Sears for only a tiny bit more than thrift stores used stuff.

Okay, closing the novel now.

[fidget]

my favorite non kid hooker place to shop is hannah andersson. The prices are crippling so i tend to purchase only 1 dress and pair of leggings per girl. They are a christmas present that they wear the hell out of all winter. I have never had a stain that would not come out and i buy them slightly big so then they often still fit the next winter. This is pretty big considering my 2 yr old's level of destruction and mayham. Her dresser is a clothing graveyard

[tracey]

The Gap, Gymboree, Lands End Catalogue are my top picks for best quality. BUT, I only buy items when they are on sale. Everything goes on sale eventually.

Target and The Children's Place for or good value with marginal quality.

Old Navy has pretty good quality too and the value is unbeatable. They have super sales a few times through out the year where I have bought totally adorable shirts for my toddler daughter from 99 cents to 3 bucks. NO KIDDING!

ANd don't forget to check online at all of these stores because many of the items go on total clearance and you can save a bundle!

For added value, shop online at many of these places via the ClubMOm site and you will get ClubPoints to boot which can translate to giftcards for many of the stores I've listed. How cool is that?

[Darlene]

I buy alot of clothes for my girls on ebay. I buy good quality for not alot of money. Plus when my kids outgrow them I relist them and sell them.

[linda]

i do a lot of shopping at carter's (outlet). my 9-month-old is still growing at a rate that requires frequent turnovers, and carter's has great deals, not to mention quality clothing. plus, i get coupons via e-mail, in the snail-mail, and on every shopping trip there. as an added bonus, their clothes don't scream "i'm 14 and in search of a boyfriend." so you might check them out. their website is: www.carters.com.

[Erin]

I also like Target for my daughter's clothes. Most of the stuff is cute and age appropriate, though my sister did send me an outfit that I could have worn to work when I was in the corporate world. For long pants, I went to our local outlet mall and hit the Vanity Fair outlet. They have all the Lee brand stuff, so I got 3 or 4 pairs of cute, non-gross jeans for (I think) $5. Or maybe it was $8. Either way, not too much money....

[Kelly]

I can't talk about girl clothes, but I'm a big fan of Old Navy because the boy? Rough.on.clothes. (yeah, big surprise) I like buying out of season too, but with a kid that seems all but impossible. I bought his winter jacket on ebay, and got it at half what it'd cost to buy directly from Lands End (who, btw, make "proper" children's clothes with no boob tubes or anything else shockingly adult in kid sizes). I'm thinking that for bigger stuff (outerwear) I'll be doing the ebay thing for a while.

[Meredith]

My favorite places to shop, by far, are thrift stores on 99 cent days! Yes, you have to dig through a lot of stained, ripped, broken zippered stuff, and yes, the other patrons may sometimes make you move to the other end of the store (creepy, dirty, smelly or all of the above), but I've found some amazing things. Pricey, name brands, occasionally new with tags still on for a steal.

Best of all, when you're done, you donate it back for a tax deduction!

[Christina]

My favorite place to shop is Gymboree, but only during big sales. It's too expensive to buy at full price. It's good quality and cute designs.

I also like Children's Place and Old Navy, but as you've seen from my blog, that can be hit or miss.

I buy some clothes from Target, too.

If you want super quality, but expensive, Hanna Andersson is awesome. I have a couple of their dresses for Cordy, and they hold up so well. I bought one used on eBay, and it still looks brand new.

[Rebecca]

I agree on the clothes that girls are wearing now are usually too old for the child.

I love target too, but I have a boy and I think it is easier with a boy. All they need are shorts/pants and a cool shirt. We don't have to worry about trends with them.