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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:
Mostlyjustrunning · 07/02/2022 16:00

@LadyCleathStuart no reason at all if you can afford it and are happy doing it. As long as out grown shoes are handed on/sold/charity shopped.

ShallWeTalkAboutBruno · 07/02/2022 16:01

[quote RussianSpy101]@LadyCleathStuart me!!
My DC have several pairs of trainers that “go” with different outfits. My DD usually has 2/3 pairs of sandals in the summer- white, tan & black, again to match different outfits. The horror! They also have clothes that I bought just because I liked them. And I buy them in their actual size.[/quote]
And that’s fab that you can afford that, but you must know that many can’t? We’re higher earners but with 3 children and a monstrous mortgage we can’t afford to buy multiple pairs of trainers to go with outfits. I imagine a lot of people are similar.

Snaketime · 07/02/2022 16:31

Omg! I wish I had £600 to spend. I have 2 kids who outgrow everything really quickly. I just get what they need as they need it. Car boots and sales are good too.

Oblomov22 · 07/02/2022 16:33

I used to spend a tiny amount. A bundle off eBay of high quality stuff for a few pounds.

DockOTheBay · 07/02/2022 16:38

@cptartapp

Dock six pairs of pyjamas for two seasons?!!! Short sleeved do spring/summer and long sleeved do autumn/winter surely. Different sizes. Pj's can be washed and dried in a day if need be. Don't think my DC ever had a choice of five or six pairs. There were two or three on rotation max.
My daughter has about 10 pairs of pyjamas in her current size, she got a couple of character pairs at Christmas, and a couple of multi-packs from M&S or Sainsburys. I don't see why it's a big deal. I don't want to wash and dry clothes daily. They will last a year, then be worn by her sister and if they're still decent I will put them in the clothing bank. I don't think 6 pairs of pyjamas warrants three exclamation marks.
DockOTheBay · 07/02/2022 16:40

(and she wouldn't need different sizes for summer and winter, she will still be in 5-6 in the summer because she will be 5 for a year)

FerretFumbler · 07/02/2022 16:41

I make mine wear the MN chicken carcass before I boil it for stock.

Mostlyjustrunning · 07/02/2022 16:43

@FerretFumbler

I make mine wear the MN chicken carcass before I boil it for stock.
You’re doing it wrong - save the bones and weave them together.

In all seriousness though most people don’t live frugally because they want to but because they have to.

liveforsummer · 07/02/2022 17:10

Haha yes! I wonder how many of the parents would be happy to wear clothes which were obviously too big or too small?

I have clothing items in a range of fits the same as the range my dc wear as they grow, yes. Some shorter tighter jumpers, some loose over sized ones, some neat fitting coats and some bigger baggier ones that I can layer under in winter

Chichimcgee · 07/02/2022 17:34

I wonder how many of the parents would be happy to wear clothes which were obviously too big or too small?

Adults tend to stay the same size though. I’m heavily pregnant and other than maternity jeans I’m wearing too small t shirts and coat.
Im not saying kids should wear things that are blatantly too big or small but there’s a bit of give.

Chichimcgee · 07/02/2022 17:35

Although saying that I keep seeing teenage boys from the local secondary and they’re all wearing really short black trousers with white socks.
First time I thought poor kid, if I was his mum I’d at least try and get him black socks.
Now I know it’s ‘fashion’

Phormiumjester · 07/02/2022 17:40

I don't grow out of my shoes being that I'm, you know, 44. So if I have a pair to go with black, tan & white they can last longer than 6 months!

Its fine. Buy what you like and can afford as long as you're OK with the implications of waste or you're recycling them somehow.

RussianSpy101 · 07/02/2022 17:52

@Phormiumjester we clearly have no issue recycling them. This thread has highlighted that there’s no shortage of people wanting second hand in any size.

Lovemusic33 · 07/02/2022 17:56

@Chichimcgee

Although saying that I keep seeing teenage boys from the local secondary and they’re all wearing really short black trousers with white socks. First time I thought poor kid, if I was his mum I’d at least try and get him black socks. Now I know it’s ‘fashion’
🤣🤣 I joke with dd about this when I collect her from school, I ask “why are the boys wearing trousers that are too small?”, apparently it’s fashionable as long as you wear white socks.
Ohyesiam · 07/02/2022 18:02

Have a look at Vinted for second hand bargains in great condition

endlesssighing · 07/02/2022 18:22

[quote apprenticewage]**@RussianSpy101* @endlesssighing* we should go for a drink 🤣🤣[/quote]
Honestly!

This thread has gone ridiculous.

mathanxiety · 07/02/2022 19:35

Buy some items on the big side?

mathanxiety · 07/02/2022 19:42

I didn't spend that much on five children in three years, even adjusting for different currency and elapsed time, and I had to get heavy duty winter gear as we get freezing winters.

I took out their uniform pinafores as they grew, went to the uniform swop for blouses, bought the rest of their clothes in tbe cheapest places, incl second hand, and gladly accepted hand me downs from neighbors and relatives, and passed on plenty too.

I appreciate you may have nobody to hand down clothes to you, but are there car boot sales near you, or could you buy outerwear from ebay, etc? You are spending a lot.

Booklover3 · 07/02/2022 19:43

I generally buy a couple of sizes up. Lasts longer. Except shoes obviously but I don’t do half sizes. If they are half a size I get the next size up in shoes.

Looks a bit big to start with yes but with washing shrinkage / growth spurts etc it seems to work.

I probably do spend around the same amount. I do try not to get it all at once though as I have two children and that would be a nightmare.

No school uniforms anymore as also homeschool but their clothes do get wrecked quicker now.

Svara · 07/02/2022 19:53

[quote RussianSpy101]@WhatIfWhatIf it sounds like madness to buy your children the correct size clothing? Did you really mean to say that? So if your son fits in age 6 clothes, you don’t buy him size 6 clothes?[/quote]
You don't buy children shoes that fit exactly like you would buy an adult, you buy with growing room. Same with clothes. If a child fits a age 6 the age 7 won't look too big, it just has a bit of growing room. There's usually only an inch difference between single sizes!

apprenticewage · 07/02/2022 20:00

@Svara I always buy shoes that for exactly! I don't want them tripping over themselves and falling out of their shoes! And maybe it's just me but if something looks too big on a child it automatically looks scruffy!! I but the size that fits...and IF (big IF) the next size up looks acceptable then I will but that bit generally I stick to their current size.

LittleBearPad · 07/02/2022 20:03

[quote RussianSpy101]@WhatIfWhatIf it sounds like madness to buy your children the correct size clothing? Did you really mean to say that? So if your son fits in age 6 clothes, you don’t buy him size 6 clothes?[/quote]
No I probably buy the age 7 so there’s a bit of growing room. It’s hardly like it’s going to swamp him.

I probably spend over £600 a child a year but I would expect the pjs from Boden or JL etc to last over a year - in pretty much all cases they easily do

LittleBearPad · 07/02/2022 20:05

[quote apprenticewage]@Svara I always buy shoes that for exactly! I don't want them tripping over themselves and falling out of their shoes! And maybe it's just me but if something looks too big on a child it automatically looks scruffy!! I but the size that fits...and IF (big IF) the next size up looks acceptable then I will but that bit generally I stick to their current size. [/quote]
A half size up in shoes isn’t going to cause too much trouble.

Svara · 07/02/2022 20:07

[quote apprenticewage]@Svara I always buy shoes that for exactly! I don't want them tripping over themselves and falling out of their shoes! And maybe it's just me but if something looks too big on a child it automatically looks scruffy!! I but the size that fits...and IF (big IF) the next size up looks acceptable then I will but that bit generally I stick to their current size. [/quote]
So their toes at the top like an adult? Not a thumbs room for growth? If you have them measured for school shoes then the growth room is built in, they won't tell you to buy shoes where their toes are at the top.

Bimblybomeyelash · 07/02/2022 20:10

I find clothes last longer than a year. I tend to buy everything with ‘room for growth’. My eldest is on his third year of his winter coat, and my youngest is on his second, and I reckon he’ll get another year out of it. Kids don’t need their clothes to fit ‘exactly’.

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