To ask for your advice on children's clothes purchasing?

[judybloomno5]

Do you have any tips that stop you spending too much money? I'm slowing packing up DD1s 2-3 year old clothes as they've started to get a bit short in the leg as she's leggy and I've got a ridiculous amount- shameful really. Thankfully I have a DD2 who will benefit from them.

Do you have any tips? Which brands are the best at staying in one piece etc?

I buy most things from Next. Bits and pieces from Tesco / Asda but have found that by the time DS2 gets them, only things from Next still look in great condition and they aren't much more expensive than the supermarkets. I find John Lewis / M&S all look tatty and worn after DS1 is done with them.

We buy from charity shops, jumble sales and car boot sales.

It's really cheap. And we buy "in advance". Kids are in branded clothes or supermarket, must expensive item I recently paid for is a superdry jacket for a 12 y/o. Cost £3 .

I buy a new wardrobe's worth from La Redoute's sale. I buy a size too big and store until the appropriate season. If you're lucky there will be a 50% off sale price coupon at the right time too which makes it very economical.

School clothes get bought from Lidl or Aldi. Except for the coat which for the last few years has been a Regatta bought from The Range (They do a half -price promotion during the summer holidays).

Serendipitous charity shop finds make up the rest of the wardrobe.

ebay and charity shops! you get slmost new (because usually krpt for "best") high quality (read: extremely expensive new) for anout £2 per piece. Son is running around in catimini, monsoon, frugi, polarn o pyret etc for way less than i would have spent at supermarkets. and they hold up well, so worn by his little brother as well, and then resold for almost the same price :)

My sons mainly wear Zara, a bit of next H&M and Ralph Lauren, I'd say they have 15 pairs of jeans/joggers/leggings each and about 20 tees/polos/hoodies but I will sell on after they have worn and make a decent chunk back on the Zara & Ralph Lauren

DS who is 2 mostly has clothes from jojo maman bebe, but only from the 50% off sales. The stuff lasts forever including cpnstant washong and drying, and they are very good about exchanging anything faulty. He's very tall but is still wearing a few 12 - 18 month bits from there.

my DD would never get away with 6 outfits per age esp before she started school - they get filthy at nursery and even at home she cant usually wear a top more than once as it gets grubby during day. most of her clothes are hand me down from my DSis so I don't have the dilemma of having spent £££ on clothes she only wears for a year but I do still buy her stuff. would say they prob need less stuff as they get older and start school but we both work ft and only really get washing done at weekends maybe one wash during week so if we only had 6 outfits we would easily run out plus you need clothes for different seasons/occasions.

she is 4 now and at primary school and wears uniform during week. for home she prob has

3 x leggings
1 x jeggings
3 x jeans/trousers

loads of t shirts (most hand me downs - prob around 15)
prob about 10-12 dresses - again most hand me downs. a couple she would only wear to parties. most are summer dresses but she likes wearing them at mo so obv layer up.
3 x hoodies

4 x cardigans
prob about 10-12 pairs of tights
10 long sleeved tops
around 20 pairs pants and socks ( mainly this many as have bought new ones that are bigger but she is still wearing smaller ones too)
too many pj's - around 20 mix of summer/winter (again mostly hand me downs but I think these are necessary when in nappies and when potty training due to accidents). if I'd had to buy them all would prob only have maybe 4 pairs of long sleeves and 3 short sleeves I reckon
3 x winter jumpers
6 x shorts for summer

if I buy her new clothes I tend to go for sainsburys or hm as hate paying loads for kids clothes and they are good quality although would say I think hm stuff does seem to skink a lot - having lots of hand me downs this is defo case as she will get 2nd hand clothes that are supposed to be for next age up that only just fit her and she isn't big for her age. next always used to be better quality and definitely seem to last better between children but would only really buy from there in sale same with Debenhams and m&s

Zara and H&M are the best for kids clothes I think. They're a bit different and not bad prices either. Zara have good sales too.

The DC have coats from JoJo maman and they've lasted really well. I've passed them on to my youngest and they don't look worn at all. Well worth the money.

NCT sales. Everything is mega cheap and ethically it's much better to reuse clothes than everyone buying new. I aim to buy no more than one thing or outfit new in each size for my DC.

I'd never manage with 4 outfits! Do you tumble dry everything? I'm always running out of trousers, 2yo probably has 10 pairs? He had loads of teeshirts too. I try to buy bits in the sales in larger sizes as I see them. I do like choosing clothes though, I have to stop myself buying! Each child could easily have twice as much stuff if I had free rein!

I always shop in the sales and think ahead, and am often guilty of returning gifted clothes, sometimes just changing for a different size, so that we don't have too many stuff in a particular size.
Two sons so ds2 mostly wears ds1s hand me downs. However ds1 had so much that much in good condition and rarely worn that ds2 doesn't look like a scruff.

Have been really impressed with pumpkin patch sales. Have ordered a big job lot twice a year in the sale when they are 50% off.
They are in new zealand so the end of their season is the beginning of ours!

Also yes to Sainsbury's and Morrisons though not so good for boys imo. However supermarkets are the only places I would buy full price.
Gap outlet/sale.
I also buy branded stuff second hand on ebay.

If i could indulge in a moment of immodesty - I have always had beautifully dressed children thanks almost exclusively to Ebay.

I buy mostly second-hand clothes, primarily J.Crew, Ralph Lauren and Brooks Brothers, at a teeny fraction of the cost.

Ebay clothes bundles are excellent value - much better than buying individual items because you're only paying one set of postage.

We buy winter jackets from Jojo - they come up quite big so our kids are nearly 5 and they're wearing their 3-4 size jackets from last year.

This year and last year I've been caught out a bit by the fact that my kids suddenly went off leggings this winter after living in them since they were about a year old. One went for tights, the other trousers, and I'm left with about 15 pairs of brand new leggings that I stockpiled from George when we were back in the UK on holiday. I suppose the lesson I'm learning from that is to just buy a few bits at the start of the season and then see how it pans out - although you then run the risk of walking into the shops and they're already onto the next season!

H&M, Zara, Uniqlo and John Lewis plus the odd supermarket bit, but we buy very little tbh as get loads of hand me downs from relatives and friends. The second hand stuff we've been given from Gap, H&M and Next has lasted really really well.

Oh and local Facebook selling groups are a great place to pick up bargains.

can I ask a genuine question to those that buy second had clothes for kids that are a bit older... Do the look very worn? My kids wreak everything and whilst I pass some stuff on I could legitimately offer it up for sale? I'm wondering if my kids are extra boisterous.

We love H&M in this house. Washes super well and is usually a funky pattern

Oh we mainly buy from small independent stores, organic or as natural as possible. Two boys. Second wears all of eldests once outgrown. Between them we usually get around 2-3 years wear per item. Almost everything is in good condition after and we pass on. They are outside a lot but only wear to clothes is mud which washes off fine.

I used old/paint stained t shirts and too short leggings/joggers as pyjamas.

I find H&M sizing a bit odd. I have bought leggings for DD before that have been very long but very narrow. I looked at hoodies in there last week and the age groups were for 2 years. 2-4 looked quite small like it wouldn't last her very long but 4-6 was massive. She is almost 3.
Next sizes come up quite big but that means she normally gets a lot more wear out of them.
I've found Boden, Joules etc in charity shops.

I try to buy things in sales for the next size up as and when I see them. That way I don't have a sudden huge cost when he grows out of clothes. I also buy things from H&M, Zara and Sainsburys as they are reasonably priced. H&M are a little odd in sizing but they last ages! I have some clothes for DS that he's been in for over a year now. They were a little big to begin with but not huge.

Also find h+m sizing strange.

My DD is very slight so it's very hard to get clothes to fit her- under 9th centile for weight and just over 25th for length so generally everything is huge around her waist. I get mostly leggings/tops in primark for nursery and just stitch in the waists. Art did your kids not get covered in paint etc at nursery?!

For the weekends I prefer nicer things but it's difficult to find them to fit her.

I've got 2 girls and they have so many clothes it's shameful, had a big clear out and decided this year I'm curbing my spending on their clothes.
I realised I was buying things that looked nice rather than what they actually need, also I had a lot of things that can't be mixed and matched so would end up buying something else to go with that top / skirt.
Agree with the poster who said next wears the best, they do mix & match outfits too.
5-6 everyday outfits jeggins / top or dress type things
2-3 party / special occasion outfits
2 jumpers
2 cardigans
Trainers
Wellies
School shoes
Party shoes
Boots for winter / sandles for summer
As I was sorting out their clothes I realised my16 month old really didn't need 3 sets of Christmas outfits
Harder to control spending with girls clothes I think

DS has a shameful amount of clothes, far more than most people on here are saying, he has 2 pairs of leggings, 2 skinny jeans, 4 pairs of joggers, 4 normal jeans and 4 pairs of cords or chinos. He also has about 30 tops
He does wear them all though especially as we are currently without a tumble drier and everything's seems to take forever to dry. I really like sainsburys and next for decent quality that washes well.

The secret if buying second hand clothes is eitger buy where you can see them (nct, charity shop), or originally really expensive brands, as they tend to be kept for best, i.e. were worn once or twice by previous owners, or vome from fashion mums who buy waaaay to much.
expat families are also good as they tend get rid of everything before moving abroad.