MIL has a totally opposite fashion sense to me

[AK91CH]

So the MIL keeps buying my almost 1 year old clothes and I have never liked them.l they are always the complete opposite to what I would buy and as mean as this sounds I've looked at some things and wondered if anyone would put their child in it. I often think that she must have realised by now that he doesn't wear these clothes. Is there a way I can tell her this without hurting her feelings? Bare in mind that my husband has never told her he has always disliked and not worn the clothes she has bought him 🙈 its an awkward one because I don't want her to waste her money but don't want to cause any upset. So do I just carry on saying thank you and not saying anything? Or tell her?

Say nothing. Suck it up, and think of how much love was involved when she bought them. X

Say thank you, smile politely, get rid. Easiest way. I'm usually not averse to speaking up but you really will get no positive outcome if you say anything!

Tell her you've got enough clothes. Don't tell her she's got awful taste 😁

Why don't you just let your son wear them? Clothes are clothes at the end of the day. Maybe you could use them as in-door clothes if you hate them that much

At age 1 I would put your DS in them tbh, at least on the days when you know you are going to see MIL

I doubt your DS has developed a fashion sense yet!

What kind of things is she buying ? I can't see whats so awful about baby clothes surely your baby could wear it when they go and see grannyif you really don't like them then either try and return them to the shop ,ebay them or say to Granny we prefer the clothes from this shop see if she takes the hint ,

Have an afternoon where you chuck DS in the minging outfits one by one, take photos of them all, send MIL one photo a week.

Done, MIL happy, DS doesn't have to be seen in public in them.

I'm struggling with the idea of what constitutes "fashion" for baby clothes TBH. What sort of clothes is she buying?

We had this to an extent. I have DDs and really really don't like pink, princesses, leopard print, twee girly slogans etc. I would just put the outfit on when visiting the giver, or take a picture to send them, then it'd go in the charity bag. Tbh I've softened over the years and will put some pink on them now

Just say thank you or exchange them for something you like. It's just the way with babies! No need to cause offence though.

My mil does the same. Most of the stuff she gives us I say thank you politely and give them to other people or donate to the refuge I volunteer at.

Tbf my mum would buy my Dds lots of impractical frilly nonsense I did say to her mum they are not getting wear out of faffy dresses and she did stop.

I hate words and slogans on kids clothes. And 99% of commercial stuff (at least until the child is old enough to show a preference for it). And anything highly gendered. “Daddy’s little prince” “I’m going to tell grandad” “I love getting muddy”, that sort of things.

MIL buys lots of this stuff.
It goes straight to the charity shop pile and I make as big a show as I possibly can of saying what I do like “oh aren’t those colourful dungarees gorgeous”, “I really loved those stripy t shirts you bought that time”, etc.

This can backfire too - they once bought the exact same outfit he was wearing in the same size as she wanted to buy him an outfit but wasn’t sure what..

I just used to put DS in the outfits. He didn't care and whoever had given the outfit was chuffed to bits. If any friends raised their eyebrows I just waved it off as being a gift from X.
They soon find their own voice and make their clothing preferences known! And toddlers are not renown for tact.......

I can't resist being 'that poster' for a moment because I just want to say that neither my mum nor my MIL ever bought one single item of clothing for my babies. Ever. I would have loved to have had just one really naff item from either, just once :(

The clothes DS gets from both my family and my in-laws isn't all entirely to my taste, but it's all bought with love and him in mind, and isn't offensive - so it often ends up being worn when they're visiting. Otherwise, usually lives in changing bags as spare clothes, or worn when we're going to play in mud, or whatever.

My MIL did this. She bought some truly hideous things for my DC.

Put the outfit on the child, you take a nice photo & send it to MIL. Then take it to the charity shop.

My MIL does this too. Button shirts and formal trousers for a toddler, and lots of tops saying things like “mumma’s sexy little hunny” or whatever. I charity shop the lot.

Have an afternoon where you chuck DS in the minging outfits one by one, take photos of them all, send MIL one photo a week

Done, MIL happy, DS doesn't have to be seen in public in them

This is genius !

MIL used to do this and I used to hate the fact she wasted so much money (se also bought him clothes up to age 5 when he was barely 10 months old, but that's another thread!).

As some PP said I just got rid of everything I didn't like and she soon got the message and doesn't buy him clothes now (now my house is too full of toys instead but I understand she wants to spoil him ands he enjoys them so I can live with it!). It wasn't always just a case of not liking the style either, a lot of things like those thick, chunky, lined jeans for boys for example, I think they seem very uncomfortable and restrict movement when trying to climb so always favoured leggings or jeggings for DS.

As for the OP's use of the word 'fashion' ... we've all got an idea of how we think children should be dressed, some like a preppy look with little shirts and jumpers and chinos, some like character t shirts that the children enjoy, some like very genderised clothing, some like Scandi style brights...

If you want her to stop I wouldn't put him in the clothes or send pictures as she won't get the message that way!

My DDs MIL bought her premature and still tiny baby son trainers and a tracksuit when he was 2 months old! Neither my DDs ex nor his parents had given any emotional or financial support yet kept asking for proof baby was wearing these hideous items. So DD put him in them just once and sent a photo then donated to charity. Sadly she thinks they were bought from a market or she would have got the money back and used it properly on babygrows etc

We diverted MIL into buying onesies, pyjamas and dressing up clothes, so she could indulge her liking for tacky character clothing to the hilt.

@ParadiseLaundry thanks for that. I think using the word "fashion" may have been a bad idea. I also agree with your point about not sending photos as the clothes will just continue. I don't want to hurt her feelings at all but would much prefer her to spend her money on things he will use. Its a difficult one. Thank you 😌

Why don't you say Mil baby has a tonne of clothes but baby could really do with x thing it would really help us out/baby would love it. Then you are not saying her clothes are horrible and no feelings are hurt.

Do they still have the tags on? Could you exchange them?