To Think Designer/Branded Clothes For DC Are Treats and Not Everyday Things?

[midori1999]

DH and I rarely wear branded or designer clothes, so I feel the same should apply to the DC. My oldest is almost 15, so has his own sense of style now and likes certain things, which include Top Man jeans (very skinny, sprayed on looking ones!) and converse trainers. These things cost more than what I would usually buy, so he is aware the numbr of pairs he can have is llimited or should be bought with his own money or as Birthday/Christmas presents. DS is fine with this.

However, my friend recently commented that her DD has 7 pairs of Converse and they usually buy her branded clothes as her normal clothing, things like a North Face gilet which cost around £90, for example. This friend wears a lot of branded and designer clothes herself, as does her DH, which is fine for them and their decision. However, she made a point of implying that I was being unfair to my DS by not supplying him with oodles of branded clothing.

Am I odd? We had similar when I was growing up, although that was due to finances, our decisions are not. She did make me feel a bit mean, but I offered to treat DS to a new pair of converse as he had been extra helpful around the house recently and he said he didn't need any, he liked the ones he had!

I wouldn't buy clothes judt for the sake of a trndy name. But I have paid a lot of money for a good bit of my children's clothes. But that is purely because they last better. I have four boys with 2 years between each. youngest ds is 2 and daily wears outfits such as miniman, marese or pampolina that cost maybe £70 to start. but i havn't had to buy him any clothes at all. these clothes are 6 years old and have been worn by 3 other boys. not only that but I have now passed stuff onto my friend's little boy so thy are now getting their 5th wear. They dont look old or washed out if i'd bought cheap stuff I would be rplacing it all the time
so maybe a wee bit uabu

My 2 boys are only 5yrs and 8yrs and it's great they don't have a clue about the 'right' clothes yet or bother, enjoying it while it lasts. Strangely, I grew up in a poorer area and the ones that cared more about their young kids in designer/branded clothing tended to be the ones with less money to spend.

Regarding the sneering, bullying etc - is this more common with girls than boys or are both sexes as bad as each other. I would have thought boys wouldn't really care as much.

Totally agree with nufsed. I hope I can raise my boy the same.

My girls now get an allowance and it is their choice how they spend it.
We tend to shop at outlet places and overseas where we get value for money.
Personally I don't like cheap clothes and would rather spend a little more of signature pieces than have lots of cheap pieces. However these are mid range clothes think John Lewis not D&G and Versace
Having said that when they were growing we tended to shop in M&S and Next.

We were in H and M yesterday and bought ds 14 a coat, jacket, 2 pairs of cropped joggers for Pe and a pair of cheap weekend ballet pumps for less than £90. oh and a cardigan.
She got a Jack WIlls hoody as her Xmas present which does wash well, but was £60.
She has few clothes, but wears them a lot- as she's still growing at 5 feet 9inches, it would be silly for her to have an expensive casual wardrobe.
Last year she got 3 Hollister tshirts which she wears constantly.

My dd has a superdry coat that will get passed on to ds and a couple of their hoodies.

She also favours Hollister and does wear what she has from there constantly. But most of it was from their sale. She got a cardigan & t-shirt for £11.90 each on Saturday.

Like Deaddei she only has a few items of clothing.

In our house we used to have to pay the difference if we wanted designer clothes when we we younger. When we were 15/16 parents worked out how much they spent on clothes for us over a year, split it in 12 and we got a clothes allowance each month. If we spent it all on one top that was our own problem, and they wouldn't bail us out if we then didn't have the money to buy some vey much needed socks - we just had to wait for the next month's money! Within a few months my sister had 2 expensive tshirts and I had replaced my entire wardrobe :)

If you wear a lot of branded clothes, it would seem a bit mean to say that your children were only allowed cheap clothes (unless they are small and liable to go through the knees of trousers within a week).

If you wear mostly cheap clothes, then it makes sense that your chlidren get clothes of the same quality.

You wouldn't have chocolate hobnobs yourself and feed your children only value rich teas. Nor would you have cheapo biscuits yourself and give your children viscounts.

I think as with most things there has to be balance.

Good quality clothes last and look 'finished'

My kids have different styles from each other. DS1 like Nike 6.0's, Duck and cover, D C and so on.
DS2 likes Quiksilver, TNF, Animal etc.

I find that these clothes wash really well and last for ages. I shop around. DS found a shop in Scotland that sells next seasons samples of Duck and Cover cheap so he gets that from there.

You can buy a lot in TKmax. One thing that I used to do when I was skint was wait until the end of the season and buy the heavily discounted clothes there in a big size for next year. I have had Animal t shirts for £2.00 that thhey hav worn all the following summer. Same with ski wear and winter clothes. You could also sell it on if it is a branded make if you wanted.

Now that DS1 who is 14 is working he pays towards extras although we are encouraging him to put all his earnings in the bank and we will continue to give him pocket money.

I wouldn't class converse as 'designer' so to speak. The price is pretty much on parr with with other trainers.

I forgot!! 7 pairs of converse!!!!

I only have 3 and DS only has 1.
I have a TNF Gillet and it is great- I only tend to wear mine to work or when I'm actually on mountains though!

I buy my DD designer clothes but rarely the logo blazoned stuff which is often sheep like in it's marketing. The uniform 'in crowd' stuff makes me . you see people queuing at the holster shop or 15 teenagers and they are all wearing super dry.
I 'ove clothes, love fashion but not interested in stuff that is like membership of a certain club.

My ds buys a range of high street clothes. He likes clothes and will but things from holster or all saints but likes clothes that, if you look at him you have no idea where they come from.

I buy dd loads of clothes and she is the same. I buy her a huge mix which she wears everyday like nolita, miss sixty, escada, Chloe,Marc Jacobs, ilovegorgeous etc.

It would strike me as odd to go to the shops and spend £800 on a coat for me and then march her to next on principal.
She isn't spoilt. She is fucking lucky but she knows that and, if I say do you want to go shopping or to the park she will always chose the park.
And she, like her brother , thinks that anyone who would laugh at someone or be mean to someone because of what clothes they wear or what house they live in or what car they drive, is a monstrous twat.

Ah. Trillian made the point I was labouring over with a neat hob nob analogy.

:o