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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To want to know if you kit your kids out with a whole new 'wardrobe' each season?

136 replies

Nonalphamum · 28/08/2013 16:09

I don't, but DD's friend's mum was most surprised when I told her earlier today that I don't. She then went on to tell me that at the end of every season she totally re-stocks both her DCs wardrobes with new clothes for the coming season and gets rid of things from the previous one. She also buys them 3 or 4 pairs of shoes per season.

She was genuinely shocked when I said that I don't do this, and things get given to the charity shop/Ebayed when my kids have grown out of them and not after just 3 or 4 months' wear. She was even more shocked when I said that DD will be going back to school in September wearing - shock horror - the shoes I got her in June, as they still fit perfectly and look new.

OP posts:
AndHarry · 28/08/2013 16:12

I do but mine are little so they grow out of their clothes every 6 months/year. They each have a summer wardrobe and a winter wardrobe that has to be replaced every year. I can't imagine doing it if the clothes still fit though.

meditrina · 28/08/2013 16:12

Of course I don't. And I don't know anyone (even apparently affluent) families that do this.

The DCs get new clothes when they're outgrown or worn out, or if there is an obvious need for an item they don't already have.

hettienne · 28/08/2013 16:13

No, I just replace things/buy new things as needed.

Squitten · 28/08/2013 16:13

HAHAHA - No!

I have two boys. The new "season" in this house starts when they grow out of their old clothes and ends when they grow out of their new clothes! Long sleeves and trousers in winter, short sleeves and shorts when it's hot. They both have one pair of shoes each (plus special weather shoes, e.g. wellies)

They have clothes, who cares about the flippin' "season"?!

SkinnybitchWannabe · 28/08/2013 16:14

Yanbu. I dont cant afford buy everything in one go.
My two younger ds have clothes that are last years and still look at fit ok.
I get them bits and bobs as they need them, then every so often I bag up their old stuff and sell it.

Original poster
Nonalphamum · 28/08/2013 16:14

I think she must spend a fortune on kids clothes from what she said; she's definitely not affluent. She's a single mum with a part time job.

OP posts:
Justforlaughs · 28/08/2013 16:15

I don't - and frankly wouldn't regardless of how much money I earned. I replace when they NEED something. Shoes get worn out or grown out of, clothes tend to get grown out of and then stored for the next one! If something is broken then I replace it, if they have wantonly destroyed something - then they replace their own/ have a replacement as a present.

SugarplumKate · 28/08/2013 16:15

Definitely not!! Everything gets handed down, reused and worn till is it absolutely too small. I have just packed away DS1's senior school shirts (from adsa, which he has worn for 2 school years) for Ds2 who is 11 years younger - I must be the tighest of tightwads!!

Cloudhoney · 28/08/2013 16:15

I don't even do this for me!

PandaG · 28/08/2013 16:16

tend to do a clothes 'audit' a couple of times a year, see what still fits, what is grown out of, work out what is needed to be able ot go on holiday for a week without a washing machine and top up. Usually means new t-shirts and shorts in May, and new jumpers/trousers in October!

cerealandtoast · 28/08/2013 16:17

why would anyone do this?

I have just replaced a lot of my eldest dc's clothes, but she has grown out of her old ones.

middle child has just stopped wearing t shirts she has been in for about 4 years Grin (clearly a slow grower!). she has had new clothes over that time, but odd bits here and there, rather than complete new wardrobe.

baby is in clothes that have been worn by both older siblings and various cousins too. he is looking particularly fetching today in pink dungarees Grin. again, he has had a few bits new - things I can't resist as they are too cute, but the vast majority is hand me downs, and he will stay in them until he outgrows them.

BrokenSunglasses · 28/08/2013 16:17

I don't.

I tend to have a bit of a splurge in the summer buying shorts and summer shoes, and I stock up their pants and sock supplies in their Christmas stockings but otherwise they just get stuff as and when they need it.

Disclaimer - that's not as mean as it sounds, I made the mistake of buying ridiculously large stockings with their names on when they were little, and they need bulking out!

Meglet · 28/08/2013 16:17

I only replace what they've grown out of.

Having said that I did blitz their wardrobes the other week, DS had grown out of all his jeans and DD needed new clothes to replace the stained and shrunk stuff I've been eeking out at nursery for her last few months. Spent £60 in sainsburys to see them over the autumn / winter. But it was a one off spree.

They have max 2 pairs of out of school shoes, usually trainers + winter walking style boots or trainers + sandals for summer.

CockyFox · 28/08/2013 16:18

I buy summer clothes and winter clothes, but only because they have outgrown the things from the previous year. I am hoping that as they get older I won't have to as things will still fit.

Yonihadtoask · 28/08/2013 16:18

Hell no.

I was trying to buy DS (15) a new tshirt today, he wasn't interested.

He is on his second school blazer - the first one lasted him for the first three years of high school, this one will see him through to the end of this year which will be his last. He is still wearing gym t shirts purchased in Y7 .

She must have more money than sense - why buy new if not necessary?

pigsDOfly · 28/08/2013 16:18

Many, many years ago I had a friend whose mother used to buy her a new wardrobe every season. Even at 14 I thought this was a bit extravagant.

I never did this for my children, in fact until the clothes wore out they would remain in their wardrobes until they no longer fitted, even if they didn't wear them.

It wasn't that we couldn't afford to do it, I just cannot see the point in throwing out perfectly good clothes. I don't do it for myself, I certainly wouldn't have done it for the children.

EldritchCleavage · 28/08/2013 16:18

No, I just pull the appropriate hand-me-downs out of the loft.

Thumbwitch · 28/08/2013 16:22

No.

I tend to buy things a little larger than DS needs so he'll get a couple of season's wear out of things and then be able to hand them down to DS2 if they're still in reasonable condition.

But I take very little heed of fashion myself as well - I have clothes that I have been wearing for 20 years now (fair enough, they probably weren't exactly the height of fashion when I bought them!) - I like to get my money's worth! Grin

SweetBabyCheeses · 28/08/2013 16:22

I go through DS's clothes and see what fits when the weather changes and replace whatever is too small, I then put the out of season clothes in a vacuum bag and turf them in the top of the wardrobe for next baby.

I have to remove the summer-y stuff in Autumn or DH has DS in t-shirts and shorts. Same goes for long sleeve tops in Summer.

I think DS would prefer we could afford to eat than replenish his wardrobe every few months.

TenToWine · 28/08/2013 16:23

I guess I did when they were much younger because (for example) I knew that their 1yo summer clothes would no longer fit when they were 2. But now they are older, they wear clothes until they no longer fit them. I do though put summer clothes away at the end of each summer and put aside those which only just still fit which i know they will have outgrown by the next summer and give them to a friend with a younger DD if they are still in ok condition. Admittedly I do buy them the occasional new outfit even if they have plenty of clothes that still fit them, but certainly not whole wardrobe (and there are some items they will be very relucant to stop wearing even when they no longer fit. DC1 has a pair of shorts that she loves that she just cant imagine no longer being able to wear and gets upset at the idea! We got them in the States last summer and she says she wishes she had bought a pair in all the bigger sizes too. Admittedly they are very nice - and comfy - shorts.)

ouryve · 28/08/2013 16:24

I just replace things as they need replacing and according to the weather. Half of DS2's stuff was DS1's

TheUglyFuckling · 28/08/2013 16:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TheOnlyPink · 28/08/2013 16:29

I do tend to buy new each "season" but its purely because last years stuff doesn't fit! I'm starting to buy long sleeve tops, hoodies etc as ds1 has nothing that still fits. Ds2 gets whatever is salvageable, but there is 4 years between them and I didn't keep much from ds1 when he was a toddler.

So it does look like I am extravagant, but ds1 is in his school uniform most days so doesn't need much! Just some play clothes and one or two nice bits for the weekend in case we go somewhere! They do both get winter shoes tho, new every year.

HappyMummyOfOne · 28/08/2013 16:31

Like Panda, i do a "audit" twice a year. Anything that fits stays and rest go to bags for school. Then do a big shop in summer and winter for the bulk of items and pick up bits throughout the year.

Most only last a year though as i dont buy big as hate ill fitting clothes so trousers etc can get too small. He doesnt grow very fast though so sometimes get 18 months out of jackets and jumpers.

Shoe wise he has school shoes, wellies, beach shoes and a variety of trainers. Most children i know seem to have lots of different footwear.

teacherwith2kids · 28/08/2013 16:32

We only go shopping twice a year, but that is definitely not the same as buying everything new each season.

Twice a year I audit all clothes for the next season, and add in any hand-me-downs that are now the right size. We then make a list of anything that is critically lacking / has holes in / is indecently short- DS it is almost always jeans, DD is 10 and changing shape so again it is usually trousers / shorts - and buy items to fill those gaps. They have very few clothes - DS has 2 pairs of trousers, 2 pairs of shorts, 2 T-shirts and 2 hoodies as his entire out-of-school wardrobe for the year, and I only buy enough twice a year to return to those numbers IYSWIM

No other clothes are bought except in case of disintegration of something vital (like pants) between the two 'ritual' shops.

When they were smaller, and growing more rapidly (they are both very, very tall for their age, exceptionally so as small children), I did find that my audit of clothes would return very few wearable ones, so it was much more of a 'complete replacement'...anything hand-me-downablwent to cousins.