To ask how much you spend on your DC’s clothes.

[Del29]

I have two children - a boy and a girl so hand me downs can’t happen. They’ve grown lots in the last year. They literally need everything! T-shirts, leggings, jumpers, shorts, jeans, jumpers, hoodies.

I’ve ordered a few bits this week from different websites as stock isn’t great everywhere. A mix of H&M, Matalan, Asda and next! Totalling around £300-£350 and it’s not like I’ve got massive piles of new clothes from that amount of money 🤦🤦 they did literally need everything down to pants and socks plus some croc type shoes for garden play.

It’s not like this will see them out for the whole year. It’s mainly clothes suitable for spring and summer!

So yeah how much do you spend? How do you save money on clothes?

They are 10&6 so not like they are teenagers!

Both will need shoes before long too.

Before covid I’d just go shopping and buy them bits and bobs throughout the year and never really noticed the costs adding up.

Oh and a few bits from TU at Sainsburys too.

Hand me downs can still happen. I wore loads of my older brothers clothes when I was younger.

I always try and get them mostly from the same shop if ordering on line because if you add up the delivery fees from all of the different shops it’s crazy

We buy pants & socks at Christmas and on birthdays (not their only gifts!) as well as ‘fancier’ desired clothing they especially want, get a ton of hand-me-downs from anyone willing to pass stuff on (ask around, I bet you know someone who’s happy to offload), and buy basics like leggings and t-shirts cheaply in supermarkets mostly. Hand down outgrown stuff to DC2 if it’s suitable/their taste.

You can buy bundles of clothes on eBay quote cheaply - can be hit and miss but usually decent value even if you don’t use it all.

I spend a lot on dd's clothes because I'm lucky to be able to afford them.
When she was a baby I probably kept the local independent baby clothes shop in business.😉
She's 5 now I buy from Next, H&M, Asda, Tesco for everyday clothes. I've spent more on her winter coats and more dressy clothes from independent shops.
She has lots of trainers, shoes, boots that are also expensive.
I don't have a total amount of £££ as I buy stuff when I see it.
All her clothes get passed on to my niece's children.

I budget €10 a month per child. I added up a basic wardrobe at the prices I try to pay (up to €5 t-shirt, €10 trouser/hoodie, €15 set pjs, plus coat, shoes, underwear) and it seems to work fine. I spent more like €36 per month over the last year though because I kept spending all the budget on cute toddler clothes and then suddenly DS1 needed new everything and I spent €100 on him in one go.

I do get a lot second hand. When I buy new, I have a budget in mind per item, and I don't go over that unless it's a really special design and even then not much over. I use sales, multipacks and discounts, and I don't buy huge amounts of clothes. I buy ahead when I see things I like or at a good price and put them away to be grown into. That way I can buy off season clothes cheaper for example. I also keep things simple so my boys wear T-shirts, trousers and jumpers or hoodie . Everything can mix and match and there aren't specific outfits that have to go together. That way they can rewear anything that isn't dirty and wash the dirty pieces of clothing.

DS1 and DS2 are too far apart in age to hand down. When I have the next one I'll budget half as much for them as they'll have most of DS2's hand me downs, at least until they get to an age where they don't want hand me downs any more.

You could save tons by buying clothing bundles on FB Marketplace, Gumtree, Ebay etc

As little as possible!! DS is only 2.5, and we're lucky to get given hand me downs from his cousin, and I buy some second hand on ebay.

It leaves us free to be really selective on a few really lovley bits that I love!

Thanks all. To be fair this is the first time I’ve spent quite a bit on their clothes since they went back to school in September! Before covid I’d often go to Sainsburys and maybe buy an item each every couple weeks rather than one big spend. Some months I only spend £0 on clothes and sometimes like this week too much!

I have looked on eBay and not much suitable from what I can see. DS is autistic and only wears specific type of clothes. Dd is a girly girl! There isn’t much around locally.

We can afford it so it’s not a huge issue but it would be nice to not spend so much (I don’t begrudge buying kids clothes at all but they outgrow it so quick!).

I used to spend a lot but have really reassessed how much I spend on their clothes after lockdown realising they tend to prefer the same few tops and bottoms combo.
I have 3 children DD1- 9, DS1- 7, DS2- 4mnths.
Baby clothes 90% ebay, fb. 10% next, m&s, TU normally sale items
The older 2 I tend to buy a few quality bits that can be worn over and over again the the big sales, think fatface hoodies (which wash great) decent coats , trainers in black friday (i buy black/white trainers i can pass down to siblings, although DS is catching DD up!)
A few nice bits from the next sale.
Rest is h&m basics (lots of £2.99 items) and a few ebay buys.

I have cut down the amount they have by about 50%. Also sell all the clothes and ebay once outgrown.
All together this has saved loads.
I would say also plan ahead, if you see a bargain pair of trainers in the next size buy and put away for when you are ready.

I buy bundles off Facebook marketplace. You will get a good set of t shirts, jumpers, trousers, coats etc. SonetIme for like 30 quid. I did it for DSS (9 but in clothes for 12 yo) and now for DS(1). Then we pick up stuff like pants and socks from supermarkets

I do try and make the most of sales ie when Sainsburys have 25 percent off clothes but that’s it happened in a while from what I’ve seen!

I don’t buy any. Since they were 10 they have a monthly allowance to buy anything they need/want. Trouble is, they all have about 6 items of clothing now as they prefer to wear tatty old clothes and save their money! Make do and mend!

Hand me downs, second hand off Ebay, H&M, supermarket clothes are excellent quality
During certain points in the lockdown I have used used a local FB clothing bank as with 4 kids I tend not to bulk buy, I tend to buy here and there as each item.is needed which is handy with sales too.

Once they hit 17 they stop growing thank God. Padding out the wardrobes with second hand works well for me and I like selling outgrown on Ebay.

However saying all of that I'm going to aim for capsule type wardrobes from now on. I realised over lockdown the kids need hardly any clothes right now. No holidays, no clubs and I wash every day so in reality they need a weeks uniform, a weeks casual , school shoes, boots and summer canvas shoes and a coat.

My kids have a billion things they didnt wear this last 12 months.

I don’t really add it up, as it varies so much, but

We often buy ahead, sized up, in the sales.
During non covid times, there’s a local nearly new children’s sale. I bought an immaculate Boden coat from there a few years ago for £8 and DD had two winters out of it!
I also look out on FB Marketplace, I recently bought another lovely lightweight Boden coat for £5 that will see DD through the winter
I’ve had a few lucky finds in charity shops, including a Paul Smith wax jacket for £4, which was lovely
Leggings and other basics, I buy from H&M and supermarkets
I always check out TKMaxx, I’ve picked up some bargains from their clearance section (often sized up)
Family often buy her dressier clothes for birthdays

A full wardrobe, sort of, for two children in one go at £300 doesn't seem totally unreasonable to me. I find I tend to buy a couple of times a year and each time it's about £30-£40 per child. Also try not to overbuy - it's so tempting to get a lot and have to remind myself that they inevitably wear the same 3 t-shirts on rotation anyway!!! :) Where possible, I always buy a bit too big to extend the life of any items.

DS also has some sensory issues and I've found I therefore buy a lot of his clothes from Sainsburys and Sports Direct where I can usually get soft t-shirts/trackies/shorts etc. The odd hoodie comes from Gap/ H&M but they all last forever so I haven't minded those.

That sounds an awful lot! I've two teenage boys, and they each have two pairs of non-school trousers at a time and one pair of non-school shoes. Five to seven pairs of school & same of non-school socks (ie one pack). Older one no longer has uniform so has three pairs of trousers in total and no school socks/shoes. I've never bought everything at once - I just buy a little at a time as needed which makes it a little easier.
Like others I don't buy bits and pieces on-line from several places as £3.95 packaging adds up.
I mostly buy from H&M although use other stores with good discounts.

Also, both have sensory issues about what is acceptable. And that's different so no hand-me-downs, although nearly same size now anyway.

Oh, and yy to buying ahead of time in the sales. Not for DS, but for DD. I've picked up lovely t-shirts and dresses and shorts for example in Joules or at Boden factory sales at v reasonable prices and she usually lands up wearing them for two seasons if I've bought them a size or two up.

@ZarkingBell

Also, both have sensory issues about what is acceptable. And that's different so no hand-me-downs, although nearly same size now anyway.

Tip I give lots of people on socks specifically - we bulk buy seamless bamboo socks from the sockshop online. They almost always have a deal where if you buy more than 3 pairs it works out to £1 a pair. I usually buy 9 or 10 pairs at a time. Brilliant for sensory children although he does get through them because toe nail cutting is not as frequent as I'd like (sensory issues) and seamless bamboo socks are not that hardy!

When mine were little I used to buy bundles on eBay and scour the charity shops. Can't resist a bargain, me!

When they got to the tween/teen stage I bought new and donated to the charity shops once they outgrew so the expense was more but I was happy to do that.

Wow I really over spend 🤣
I have just done DD1 and DS spring / summer clothes and spent about 1200.

Couple hundred each season and when he needs it. He is a toddler so needs new sizes often obviously.
He has a some character clothes from Asda but like to shop at M&S, RI, H&M, Next etc.
I count his shoes in that too. I tend to buy him vans, nike trainers.

@2021notgoingtoplan

Wow I really over spend 🤣 I have just done DD1 and DS spring / summer clothes and spent about 1200.

Wow! Makes me feel a little better about that I’ve spend! It’s easily done though! I could have bought lots more if I could afford! Whereas I’m wearing the same jeans I’ve had for years 🤣

Thanks everyone. To add, my daughter has literally outgrown everything. She has grown 20cm (crazy) the last year and everything is too short on her. DS has grown rounder more than upwards and his are too tight. There wardrobes were bare after I took out everything too small. Thing is I’ve bought nothing expensive or designer at all. Most expensive item was probably £20. It’s just all added up 😭