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

[ivebeentotheyear3000]

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?

[quote RussianSpy101]@apprenticewage I was following til you said you hand down underwear.[/quote]
Loads and loads of people do this especially families with close in age cousins or siblings or to friends who are potty training.

Why is it weird to pass on underwear but not a tshirt when both have been worn and washed?

@liveforsummer

I get these, lovely soft cotton lasted years in fact have not had to replace either DC's yet couldn't actually tell you when I bought them long before covid

They're LOVELY! I've never seen those on the website before (I don't think I've checked HM for underwear.)

DD loves boxers too she has some from next. I'll try them out. Thank you so much for taking the time to link.

John Lewis pJs are indestructible. But they aren't cheap to begin with.

@RussianSpy101 I wouldn't normally but said cousins child was obsessed with my DD's bunny underwear and when I couldn't get her a new pack I said it to her mum and she said she would have them handed down at this rate to keep her quiet! Hence the sterilisation 🤣🤣

@endlesssighing they are thicker on the seams but my dd likes that. They aren't mega stretchy but stretch enough

I took a load of my DCs (washed of course) pants to nursery/preschool to have as spares when kids have accidents. When they are potty training you seem to need about a hundred pairs anyway!

@endlesssighing i had to type girls underwear to the search bar because there didn't appear to be a section for it in the menu on the app

Surely you just buy bits as needed?

And some things get grown out of before others.

It's really weird to me the thought of just replacing the whole wardrobe?!

If I notice a DC needs something new then I get it. I don't do a whole shop.

Today I know DD1 needs some new tights. Last week DD2 got some new vests and knickers.

Just grab bits as we need them. Same goes for coats, shoes etc etc.

Ballet and school uniform /definitely/ not needed in every size.
DD did 3 years of ballet from 3-6, and they grow a lot at that age, and had only just gone into second leotard/shoes. The ballet school wouldn't sell us a new cardi as they said fit was still okay. Gymnastics been doing from 4-10 and currently on third leotard, they're very stretchy.
Coats always lasted at least 2 years.
School uniform our school supplier only does 5-6, 7-8 etc so we couldn't up size every year if we wanted to and it would be completely unnecessary. We get M&S trousers with extra hem allowance you can turn down. As others have said, kids don't get much wider, we have not long removed age 8 shorts from 12 yo average sized but slim DS.

I don’t think it’s weird to pass on secondhand childrens underwear, if they are clean.
We use washable nappies. They are designed to be pooped in daily. Ds’s are all clean and white still once washed. We will reuse if have another or pass on. There’s a huge secondhand trade in washable nappies. None look ‘dirty’

@Aroundtheworldin80moves
not the JL pjs I've bought the last couple of years. Go bobbly really quickly, saggy knees and tops are an odd shape - too wide and not long enough. Really disappointed as they weren't cheap. H&M are better IMO

Agree that JL Pyjamas have definitely gone downhill in quality!

Buying a whole new wardrobe is bizarre and something I’d never even thought of.

Personally I think George is the best for price vs quality. £4 pjs etc, £1.50 t shirts, multipacks of pants (my kids like ones with characters on) etc.

I buy everything new but pass on where I can. EBay I find too expensive once the postage is added on and our charity shops are too much effort with the real dregs and selling scabby tops the same price as new.

Mine get about £40 each spent on them at the change of season (October and March). They didn't actually need that much as they are in school uniform all week. Ballet uniform is stretchy, the last one lasted my dd 3 years! They usually only need new underwear once a year. Most things purchased from Asda George or Primark. I don't think I spend £600 on both over the year.

I think a lot of people are in denial about how much they actually spend. I don't think many people spend £600, but those who are convinced they only spend £50 a year on their kids clothes I think just aren't adding it up. If you buy it in bits and pieces it will seem like £10 here, £5 there but it adds up faster than you think. Especially when you include shoes and/or school uniform.

@DockOTheBay

I think a lot of people are in denial about how much they actually spend. I don't think many people spend £600, but those who are convinced they only spend £50 a year on their kids clothes I think just aren't adding it up. If you buy it in bits and pieces it will seem like £10 here, £5 there but it adds up faster than you think. Especially when you include shoes and/or school uniform.

I agree there is no way to spend £50 a year on a ch ilds clothes especially including school uniform

@endlesssighing I don’t find this with pyjamas at all, nothing has ever shrank.. although I probably wash every 2-3 wears (unless actually dirty) at 30oC so I’d be surprised if anything could shrink.
We often get gifted pyjamas for Christmas and they’ll generally get a few years wear. My daughter is on her second year of pyjamas that her older brother wore for 2+ years and they are perfectly fine. No they’re not pristine - not good enough to sell second hand/ nearly new- but certainly not anything I’d be embarrassed for her to be seen in (ie the few old, fainted felt tip pen marks etc).
We get gifted usually about 2 pairs per child per year and given they last so many years each and get passed down we honestly have too many pairs.

@endlesssighing

Where is everyone buying underwear, socks and pyjamas that last for YEARS?!

Ours discolour/shrink in the wash/stain/get holes in/get lost etc.

I feel like I'm living in the twilight zone. WHERE DO YOU ALL SHOP?!

Primark!

Ds gets underwear and pjs from next and all last until they are well outgrown (and he was in the same size underpants for years!)

I honestly don’t see that the totals you’ve given are excessive. I think most posters don’t see the total cost because they are spending it throughout the year.

I shop in sales, Facebook groups and eBay for my DD, and only really buy school shoes full price. But I probably spend that much or less, and I probably could spend a bit less.

HOWEVER - the difference is that it costs a lot of time to do the scouting around looking at sales and eBay and charity shops and Facebook groups etc. I do it because I like buying clothes for DD, but to be honest I spend far too much of my time doing it, thinking about it, storing the items and then reselling bits and pieces. It’s a time sink and a time waster. I’ve recently come to the realisation that if I just did what you do, I’ve free up enough time to basically take on a few pieces of freelance work that would pay for the whole thing, and way more than I actually “save” doing the clothes hunting in the first place.

I suspect many of us, like I do, kind of enjoy the “clothes hunt” and do it because we kind of like it rather than that we strictly need to do it for cost reasons. I probably would save in the end by going to the supermarket or H&M twice a year and spending £300 each time on DD’s clothes. I’d certainly end up freeing up a lot of mental energy and storage space and time spent looking at the sales and posting parcels to buyers and so on. So I don’t think it’s that problematic doing what you’re doing honestly. Though I would tell your DH to butt out or he can do it all instead

DS had two five packs of age 10 boxers that lasted from age 9 to 12, then age 12 from Tesco until age 15, just gone into men's (narrow build).

Children's clothes and shoes cost money. I spend more that OP on DS - in the last 6 weeks I've had to replace:

Football boots £24 in sale
Gilet £12 in sale
Thin waterproof jacket £15 from eBay
Swimming jammers £12
Rash vest £12

As they get older they do need more stuff, and for activities, school uniform comes home filthy so need enough not to run out between washes.

I suspect many of us, like I do, kind of enjoy the “clothes hunt” and do it because we kind of like it rather than that we strictly need to do it for cost reasons.

I agree. If dads bought children's clothes then o think we'd see a lot more parents buying 6 months/12 months of clothes in one go at one shop. Shopping for kids clothes is much more fun than shopping for myself

There's a happy medium. Absolutely no need to replace every item of clothing in o
ne go. That's an excuse to shop not a necessity.
But equally, we're a step away from some of you making risotto from these Mumsnet Pyjamas!

I buy the next size up in this seasons sales, ive recently bought next winter coats 2 sizes up for next winter in this seasons sales, trousers , joggers, T shirts, hoodies, pj,s ect obviously not shoes.