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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To spend £600 every time my daughter goes up a clothes size?

668 replies

ivebeentotheyear3000 · 05/02/2022 05:34

Every time my daughter goes up a clothes size I end up spending about £600. DH thinks this is a ridiculous amount to spend but I don't really see how I could do it for much cheaper!? I buy from a variety of places but generally Asda, H&M, Tu, Matslan - nowhere really expensive.

Vests £10
Knickers £10
Socks £10
Tights £20
Jeans £30
Leggings £20
Shorts £20
Short sleeved tops £25
Long sleeved tops £25
Dresses £50
Fleece £15
Hoodie £15
Tracksuit £20
Winter coat £25
Summer waterproof £15
Pyjamas £40
Ballet uniform £75
School uniform £75
Trainers, shoes, wellies, sandals, slippers £100
Swimsuit £10

AIBU? How much do others spend and if less, how do you save money?

OP posts:
christinarossetti19 · 05/02/2022 10:10

How old is your dd?

I only started spending money on my children's clothes when they began to develop particular tastes , so hand me downs or whatever I could find on ebay no longer hit the mark.

It looks like a lot of clothes, especially to be buying all at once, especially if she wears a school uniform 5 days a week.

Do you want to save money, it would it would be easy enough to do by buying second-hand, or is it that you would prefer to continue buying new and you can afford that and you dh thinks it's too much?

ShallWeTalkAboutBruno · 05/02/2022 10:11

Also, im not sure how old your child is but doesn’t she have favourite clothes? My 6 year old for example has a dress that she was bought when she was 4 that she absolutely loves and won’t let me get rid of. It’s too small so she wears it with leggings. I think my girls would be gutted if I got rid of every single thing at the end of a season!

WhiteJellycat · 05/02/2022 10:13

Buy sporadically as needed here too and some second hand which is easy when its sporadic items. Some items last a few years like uniform. I make uniform bits last at two years. Shoes unless complaints get measured in major holidays ( Christmas Easter summer ).

My kids have more stuff. But I'm never spending more than £20 a month unless the school uniform needs replacing. I bought the boys 4 pairs of tracks in the sale in primark for £4 each this week. You need to be clued up on what they actually need but I'm sure this way is cheaper plus no big lay outs.

liveforsummer · 05/02/2022 10:15

@notagainnotagain

Be honest- you like shopping.

There is no reason to replace an item until it doesn't fit. Spending £600 in one go is ridiculous unless you have an extremely high disposable income.

I love shopping, it sounds be much idea of shopping hell to be stuck with buying only the items available on one day of the year, and even more than shopping I love finding a bargain which is our if you do that too
jytdtysrht · 05/02/2022 10:16

Things like hoodies and coats can be bought very big. That way you don’t need to replace them for years. My dd is almost 14 and I bought her a couple of massive hoodies when she was 9 that she still wears.

You don’t need to go up every clothes size. Skip some.

KeepYaHeadUp · 05/02/2022 10:16

I reckon I spend about £200-300 a year clothing my two sons. Might spend more if I want to but this I tend to spend the bare minimum.

Because I buy from a range of places the fit is different in each one. I always buy with plenty of room to grow so he spends at least 2 Summers in summer clothes/2 winters in winter stuff, maybe three if we're lucky. £600 each time is crazy

LadyCleathStuart · 05/02/2022 10:18

@Howshouldibehave

Kids clothes are so expensive so I don't see the amount as an issue

Lots of people do see the expense as an issue.

Not talking for lots of people though am I? Just myself.
apprenticewage · 05/02/2022 10:19

@liveforsummer yeah I would...for an 11year old. My dc are 6 and 9 and I've spent similar on sports brand hoodies/jumpers on my 9 yr old.

RussianSpy101 · 05/02/2022 10:19

@pollymere they obviously don’t have 1 coat.
School / nursery coat
Coat for best
Winter coat
Lightweight waterproof coat
Jacket / gilet

Barrawarra · 05/02/2022 10:20

I’d be interested in what I spend but have no idea as buy in dribs and drabs like others. Definitely save money by buying some things too big and skipping out a size change. With my first I got a lot of hand me downs from other people that I kept til the right times, and now my second obviously needs very little bought as she wears her sisters hand me downs. I buy a mix of new and second hand. I like brands like Frugi but only buy in sales and they last well.

HoneyFlowers · 05/02/2022 10:20

I tend to buy a few good quality clothes rather than lots of items. It would be interesting to work this out. With some items I tend to go up two sizes at a time, e.g. coat.

hivemindneeded · 05/02/2022 10:22

You're asking if £600 on clothes for a child for a year is too much? It isn't. You are doing incredibly well. Tell your husband to look online for all the things she needs and send you links to good quality clothes that will last all year which are cheaper, and ask him to cost the entire year's clothing for less. He either won't be bothered or will realise you're right or will discover unknown sources of brilliant cheap clothes. Can't lose.

SamMil · 05/02/2022 10:23

This is crazy. I just replace things as they are outgrown. I tend to buy a size or 2 up so that she grows into them and they last longer.

I'm not sure I have spent £600 on clothes since my child was born and she is 4...

taxi4ballet · 05/02/2022 10:23

You can save money on the ballet uniform if you ask around at the dance school. There's always second-hand barely-worn leotards etc that other kids have grown out of, or gone up a grade into a different style or colour.

Mothermorph · 05/02/2022 10:24

I've never spent £38 on a jumper for anyone in the house but I guess it depends on personal budget and preference, it seems expensive for a child's jumper anyway.

DaffodilDandilion · 05/02/2022 10:25

It sounded extortionate but when you broke it down, yep I guess it’s about right.

Whinge · 05/02/2022 10:28

@hivemindneeded

You're asking if £600 on clothes for a child for a year is too much? It isn't. You are doing incredibly well. Tell your husband to look online for all the things she needs and send you links to good quality clothes that will last all year which are cheaper, and ask him to cost the entire year's clothing for less. He either won't be bothered or will realise you're right or will discover unknown sources of brilliant cheap clothes. Can't lose.
But it is a lot to spend if you don't actually need to replace many of the items you already have.

There's just no way a child has grown out of every item they own at the same time. If OP ges by fit, rather than buying new items because of her child's age then she would realise what a huge waste it is to be buying new socks, pants, shoes, coats etc when the ones they already own are still perfectly usable.

WhatWouldTheDoctorDo · 05/02/2022 10:28

It sounds a lot, but broken down it all seems a fairly reasonable amount. The expense is buying a full set of everything every year. Here things like coats start a little to big and get worn till a bit older. Jump sizes in things like vests. T-shirts can last 18 months or more before they are grown out of. Shoes I would only replace for current season once they are grown out of so I can make sure they are a good fit. Feet don't always grow at an even steady rate. And as they get older they get their own tastes and opinions and get growth spurts at inconvenient times usually two weeks after the start of the school year

liveforsummer · 05/02/2022 10:28

[quote apprenticewage]@liveforsummer yeah I would...for an 11year old. My dc are 6 and 9 and I've spent similar on sports brand hoodies/jumpers on my 9 yr old. [/quote]
Mine are 8 and 12, they are quite into brands but I get them from outlets or from eBay. Recently I got a whole bundle of branded jumpers, 2 t shirts and a lot of leggings for £15 and a brand new with tags hype hoodie for £11 from their outlet. I couldn't bring myself (or afford) to spend £38 on one jumper.

Copasetic · 05/02/2022 10:29

My kids have always had a variety of sizes on the go at the same time and we only take things out their cupboard/wardrobe when they no longer fit. I’m sure I do spent £600 in total a year on each child’s clothes at least but like others, not in one go. My 19 year old finally gabe to charity some age 14 clothes she had worn until recently. My 11 year old some still has some 7-8s. I couldn’t imagine going out and buying a whole replacement wardrobe just because he needs some tracksuit bottoms for example.

Anoisagusaris · 05/02/2022 10:30

That’s very strange and wasteful. Lots of clothes last between 2 age ranges.

Copasetic · 05/02/2022 10:30

My 11 year old son is also a little into brands. I buy at outlets mostly but recently bought some clothes online in the Next sale as they sell brands now.

GertrudePerkinsPaperyThing · 05/02/2022 10:31

I do think it’s quite an inefficient way of doing things. I wouldn’t buy everything all at once as some stuff will still fit. I also try to size up a bit so it lasts - not so they’re going about in great flapping but enough that it lasts more than a year.

VelvetChairGirl · 05/02/2022 10:32

how odd, I hardly ever buy things for my son he don't care.

the only trousers he has are school trousers (3 pairs from m&s and 1 pair of tracksuit ones from decathlon).

he has 6 shirts, 3 short sleeve and 3 long from m&s.

vests from TU which get changed when he grows out of them, however many are in 1 pack I think its 3, the same applies to pants I tend to buy them in Sainsbury he has about 10.

he has a few random tshirts from primark with cars on them because he likes cars, again I think its about 3 (2 VWs and a Toyota)

he has 5 or 6 pairs of black long school socks from M&S.

he has a ski jacket from decathlon.

no hoodies or anything at the moment not since he started secondary he wears his blazer he likes it because of all the pockets.

2 pairs of shoes 1 black leather school shoes from M&S he wears 90% of the time and a pair of trainers from decathlon for P.E which he only wears for P.E, he doesnt like trainers.

I think he is going to grow up a shirt and tie man.

I dont understand how you can spend £600 every time they grow up a bit or even how you know you spend that much, I try to always buy things too big so they grow into it, he's had his coat 2 years and its still fits.

apprenticewage · 05/02/2022 10:35

@liveforsummer I cannot shop online, I like to see items, feel them, know if they fit. I despise having to pay for items if I need to return them too.
I work and study full time, I don't have time or want to spend my time trawling eBay. It's all personal preference I suppose. But yes I can afford it. We have no debts whatsoever and I don't use credit cards. I don't buy that much in terms of clothing...but what I do buy is worn a lot and we get our monies worth out of them. I'm not saying all of my dd's jumpers are worth 38, most are 10-15 quid but what I'm saying is I would and have spent that much.