Buying second hand clothes for DC

[KatnissMellark]

I have bought a large bundle of second hand clothes for my son at each age group to be the bulk of his wardrobe. It means he has many many everyday clothes so I don't have to stress about washing, it's also much cheaper and better for the environment (I hate the idea of something being worn for just a few months then discarded).

We don't need to do this, could afford new but choose to buy second hand due to the environmental reasons more than anything else. A couple of people (friends and family) have mentioned that they find this odd, not really provided any reason why, other than we could afford not to. I do buy him new bits and bobs if I particularly like them or he needs something for a special occasion.

I would (and occasionally do) buy second hand for myself, but tend to have more new things, but do wear them til they wear out completely, so IMO not as wasteful as buying new and discarding after a few months as you have to with a child due to growth.

When he is older and growing more slowly, so getting more use out of things, of course we'll buy more new.

I think second hand is fine for now, AIBU?

For context, he's not yet 8 months old so literally could not care less what he's dressed in, as long as it's comfy and warm!

Generally, it's a class issue. Working class are more likely to have new clothes.

Mine are 4 and 11yo, they both have a mix of second hand and new (mainly bought by family tbh).

I don't see why it's an issue, just don't tell your friends.

YANBU I do the same for my youngest because he goes through so much at 2 years old. Not my eldest as his clothes last a whole year and he has his own taste now at 7 doesn't want to wear particular cartoon characters etc. Do what you like and don't tell people

My kids all grew up in secondhand!
Lots of neices and nephews and friends that passed stuff on to us.

I have never understood the need for new, if there is nice secondhand stuff around. I am not fussy.

I found that once they hit about 7/8, they wanted to choose some stuff for themselves, and their tastes and styles started to be more specific (well less so with ds) and so I started to buy more.

No. (Apart from the fact that isn't anyone else's business!)

Clothes for young children are a terrible waste of money imo as they grow so quickly. My Aunt told me once that 'people with real money don't waste it on things like clothes.' I'm inclined to agree.

Definitely the best thing for an 8 month old

For disclosure purposes, we both work but not high earners.

We could afford to clothe them both new but I don't see the point and quite like a charity shop trawl sometimes :o

I always dressed mine in second hand when they were little, but many things looked good as new because babies grow so fast they end up barely wearing some things.

It's a patronising and snobbish myth that it's a class issue. Maybe it's a wannabe middle class issue, but they aren't a real thing.

Glad it's not just me. Seems ludicrous not to get a whole new wardrobe for him for £30. Especially with nursery looming where I suspect everything may just get trashed!

Absolutely nothing wrong with it. I bought my DDs lots of secondhand stuff, toys and books too.Friends would give bags of stuff to me if still in good condition and I did the same. I would wash or wipe everything.

I think it's a choice thing. When you genuinely have enough money to make whichever choice you prefer that's one thing. If you don't have enough money or that you have to juggle things to buy new thenyou feel you lose choice and the thing you want or can't easily have becomes that much more desirable.
So not a class thing as such more a money thing.

I don’t see the problem with it. I have kept all of dds things for when we have another and actually half her clothes prior to nursery were hand me downs from family members which have since gone back to be used for another. We can afford to buy new (and we do) but I don’t see the point. Especially when a lot of baby clothes hardly get worn or even stained to the point of no return

I always did that too - meant that when I bought something new, I only bought stuff I really liked because day to day they could just wear the joggers/babygrows/t-shirts/whatever that were in the bundle. Also meant that I never had the situation of having to buy a load of clothes after a growth spurt because there was always something in a bundle to fit him.

My sisters and I have a few carrier bags cycling around us all depending on which children are which sizes, and we all add to the pot/remove from the pot as clothes are bought/wear out.

I prefer to buy new but most of my baby clothes have lasted longer than the age stated on them. My DB and SIL however hound me for my dc clothes even when they are still in them!

I'd go for second hand. I wish it had been more a thing when DS was a baby and I wouldn't have wasted money on buggies, baby clothes etc. As long as everything's clean and smart, fine. Was much more relaxed with DC2 and 2nd hand baby shops and charity shops got much more organised.

Nice to have the odd thing that's new. But the marketing gurus will always find a way to invent something that's utterly key and a new mother absolutely NEEDS for the PFB.

My DSs hunt out clothes they like at the car boot, as do I. MIL told me ds2 would not be wearing hand me downs and would be wearing all new. DS2 wore hand me down washable nappies and clothes, just for context! I think it's very Hyacinth Bucket, very nouveau riche. The IL's earnt much more than my family but they are obsessed with what the neighbours think, the truth is the neighbours don't care. New clothes obsession is for people who care about image. It often goes with GAP jumpers and Next sales yes I am a different kind of snob

I should add DS1 was all new stuff because there was nobody to pass me, hand me downs, besides I was gifted obscene amounts . Which is abit different to refusing on principle.

Love hand me downs, love second hand for baby. Such a waste of the world’s resources to produce loads of clothes for mini humans who won’t wear them that long.
I also find that with an eBay bundle, I get things I wouldn’t have necessarily chosen which actually quite suit my little one

I do a mix of eBay and new until they get to around 6/7. I mostly buy new but that’s only because eBay seems to have overinflated prices recently and I’ve also had a couple of bad experiences where items have arrived stained or with holes in.

If I had friends/family who gave us clothes I would happily dress my kids in them and buy less new stuff. I give most of my toddlers clothes away to BIL for their slightly younger but much smaller daughter.

I think there's a real inverse snobbery in things like second-hand clothing.

I and generations of my family all went to two (split by sex) schools.

Younger siblings always had hand-me-downs.

Parents all drove old cars (expensive when new).

It definitely seems to be those with less disposable money who want their children to have new everything and spend a massive part of their disposable income on needless crap.

Christmas presents too - it's the Brantleys and Shaniaquinns who get 200 presents whereas those with very comfortably-off parents get much more sensible gifts.

Did lots of second hand clothes at that age and still some now at 21 months but I find it harder now to get good quality as toddlers actually manage to wear through clothes, stain them etc. Make the most of it :)

do what you want! why would you ask for opinions about this?

I always do second hand clothes until around six months (which is when weaning tends to get things quite grubby).

We absolutely don’t need to do this and I do buy new things too, out of all our friends we have a drastic amount of disposable income. No one has ever said anything negative about it to me but I imagine some people are surprised.