Second hand clothes

[parentpanic]

Do you buy second hand clothes for your children and AIBU to ask why and how you feel about it?

@3mealsaday

Yes. I actually find it easier than buying new.

Whenever my DS moves up a size, I just buy a couple of ebay bundles in the size above. You get a good range of stuff and any 'duds' which I don't like (tight trousers, golf-style polo shirts etc.) just go straight in the clothes bank at our local supermarket, hopefully for someone else to use.

The duds here are saved for dog walking, horse mucking out or paint/craft wear.

@coochyboochy

Second hand shoes? 🤢🤮🤮🤢

You know often they've never actually been worn?!

I love finding good quality secondhand clothes. I have 4 kids and I have clothes I bought secondhand for the eldest that are still in excellent condition and being used for my youngest now. Obviously the line is drawn at underwear 🙃

Because I am cheap and I am less likely to worry about clothes that go to nursery. Plus who does not love a bargain!?

Yes - my DS only ever wore hand me downs from friends (we had our DC much later than friends so we were inundated with lovely second hand items) or charity shop buys. He's 20 now and buys most of his clothes from charity shops or DePop etc.

And I only buy my own clothes from charity shops ... I used to work in the 'Fashion World' ... honestly put me off clothes buying for life.

My children always had second hand clothes. One Saturday they were building a fire in the garden (supervised obv). Eldest son had a friend who came over to play.His mum dressed him in designer gear and he didn't dare join in because he knew he mustn't get dirty. He went back home.

Yes because some brands last years and it's weird to think they only go through one child's growth cycle of use. I only wish I could find someone local to re gift these clothes

Yes absolutely- I love vintage clothing and it’s my area of work too- baby boy is due in January, he has some new things like vests sieepsuits etc for the first few months but he also has a hella cool archive of vintage kids stuff- rompers, snow suits, sweatshirts, shorts for a few months down the line! He also has an epic red fleece Patagonia onesie that is the cosiest thing I’ve ever seen. I love buying & finding second hand- my colleagues at work also collect bits for me with baby in mind which is really handy & thoughtful! It’s better for the environment, better budget wise, and imo makes one cool kiddie 👶 xo

Yes.

Yes. I buy and sell on Depop, Vinted and eBay. Vinted is very easy to filter by size, product you’re looking for, brand and condition. Some amazing bargains, especially when they are so little and grow so quickly, the quality is great as not as worn out as they could be. So much life in them.

I do buy second hand for me too if I’m looking for something in particular. Only buy new if I need it for timing reasons and can’t find it second hand.

I also rent from the app By Rotation for myself - it’s great for weddings, events etc and you can rent from others locally or via post.

I do for environmental reasons first, and I also like to save money when I can (who really wants to lose money when they can get something cheaper!). As pp mentioned, some great bundle deals out there for kids/maternity wear etc too.

Yes! I buy second hand and volunteer at our local children’s clothes exchange. It’s really thriving and has hundreds of people a month use it.

People drop off clothes and then can ‘shop’ what is donated. We sort the clothes so only good quality stuff, lots of brand new things in the very little clothes sizes (majority of brands are M&S, John Lewis, Jojo, Boden etc…)

It’s great for the environment and saves money, what’s not to love!

Yes a lot of my DDs clothes are second hand - especially for nursery! She is 3 so it's pointless spending loads of money on brand new clothes which get ruined the first time they're worn! I do buy new clothes too if I see something I like but I would say about 60% of her clothes are second hand.

Posted too soon

Yes. I still get bundles from eBay for 4 and 7 year old. They have lovely second hand winter coats that are in pristine condition. The only things I buy new are shoes. And I can rely on extended (childless) family members to buy new clothes for them. I always suggest that they size up because they'll outgrow them in a year.

@elbea

Yes! I buy second hand and volunteer at our local children’s clothes exchange. It’s really thriving and has hundreds of people a month use it.

People drop off clothes and then can ‘shop’ what is donated. We sort the clothes so only good quality stuff, lots of brand new things in the very little clothes sizes (majority of brands are M&S, John Lewis, Jojo, Boden etc…)

It’s great for the environment and saves money, what’s not to love!

That sounds like a great place. Wish they had something like that near me.

All the time, love second hand clothes! I love clothes and it's better for the environment, cheaper and also quite fun looking for stuff. It also means I can get the kids nicer branded clothes because they are much cheaper.

I always buy coats second hand now for all of us, so much cheaper and you can get lovely stuff that's barely been worn. Shoes I will buy new if they are ones they are going to wear all the time eg. School shoes, trainers, boots, but if they are shoes they are going to wear rarely for special occasions then I will get second hand.

Would never go back to buying new habitually now, unless I see something I really really like (and even then I will look on Vinted, Depop, Ebay to see if anyone is selling it yet, and sometimes they are!)

I buy them for myself. My womb is barren but if I had kids then they would also wear second hand clothes, as I did in my childhood. It is all about reducing waste and not destroying the environment! You can also have fun with it, variety and vintage etc.

I have a great clothes swap for dd2 going with someone who has two same age kids as me but opposite genders!

I tried a few second hand things for DS1 but he mostly refused to wear them. He has sensory issues and possibly also 'being a spoiled brat' issues

It actually often seems cheaper to get sale stuff from old navy, by the time you have spent time finding stuff and money getting it sent.

Btw I do buy new underwear and socks but for the other things I feel a bit gross about it when I buy new things. I have this thing (influenced by my professional experience) where I can’t help but envisage the supply chain - the field growing cotton using local people’s water, picked by poor farmers, driven to a Bengali or Chinese factory, the vats of dye, the low paid people busting a gut to stitch them, the sprayed on chemicals in the container ships so the clothes don’t get mouldy in transit, the mounds of plastic wrap and hangers, the customs processing, the logistics centres, hgvs all of it. I wish I didn’t think about this stuff tbh, it’s a bit of a pain. Anyway, charity shops or people’s decluttered ebay stuff feels cleaner somehow. To me anyhow.

Yes. I've worn 90% second hand for years for environmental reasons. For my baby I get second hand too. Mostly because I like brands like Next, Gap and Boden and they are out of my price range brand new. So I get them second hand but mostly not worn. Vinted is such a great app for second hand baby stuff.

I domt really have anyone that could have handed stuff down. The odd thing I did get were usually crap. I wouldn't wear things from a charity shop, soni wouldn't expect my kids to. I know that sound snobby but it's just that wearing something a stranger has worn for god knows how long gives me the heebie jeebies.

Yes, often bought second hand over the years. Now she’s ten she likes big baggy sweatshirts and when I was in town yesterday taking a bag of stuff to the charity shop there were a couple of grown up size 6-8 sweatshirts that were perfect for her.

@Phrenologistsfinger

That is still the livelihood of those people. It's not like you improve their lives by not buying the stuff, they need the money from their horrible exploitative job to feed their families. Otherwise they wouldn't be doing it.

@Cuwins ours is in Wiltshire but I’m aware of ones in Oxfordshire, Dorset and Leeds too. Have a search on Facebook for ‘Children’s / Kids Clothes Exchange’

Yes and always have done for my son. Most get covered in mud on bike rides etc so it seems pointless buying pristine, brand new things he will most likely destroy fairly quickly and my mum always sends him bits too! I buy the same for myself too from ebay as I love a bargain.

Yes, except underwear, pjs and school shoes. The rest is a mixture of new and secondhand. It’s meant my children can wear ‘expensive’ clothes without having to worry that they’ll be scuffed etc when playing.