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?

Sounds like DH needs to do the clothes shopping from now on....

At first I thought £600, that’s crackers! Reality probably not a million miles off. Like others have said though we buy in dribs and drabs not all at once. We do buy a few bits from eBay, although less now she’s started school compared to when and was at nursery and my DD’s cost for example was a Christmas present from her gran. I also find wellies don’t need changing every foot growth as they’re pretty relaxed sizing and socks over a few she ranges. Biggest expense for us this year has been school shoes. She started reception in size 9s but by Xmas was complaining they hurt. Turns out she’d grown to a 10.5!
I think if you can afford the £600 then fab

I think it’s a lot, you can get a lot second hand and I tend to pick up random bits in the sales as and when, I’d probably spend £200 or less throughout the year to be honest and I still think he has too many clothes

I realised that one of the T-shirts that ds wears he got it in about 2016 when he was 5 🤣

@WhyYesYABU

I don't think £50/month for clothes is outrageous really. We spend a lot less as I buy secondhand but horses for courses!

But OP isn't getting great value for her £50 pcm though.

Eg - hot summer, weather gets good in May. Spend £50 pcm one month on 6 dresses/shorts-tee combo sthat gets worn all summer. That's loads more variety than OP currently has for fraction of the price.

I can’t figure out how you’re spending £20 on tights and also on a tracksuit. What age is your child? What’s the logic behind buying everything at once, is it because of a lack of storage?

I’ve never added it all up like that. I guess I might spend that over the course of a year, although things like winter coats I tend to buy biggish to get at least 2 or even 3 years out of them.

I tend to buy at the beginning of the season, so I will have a look what my kids need for spring / summer and buy a few bits for that - this year they all need new sandals but last summer my son’s sandals from the previous summer still fit him.

Things like uniform and school shoes I buy when I notice they need it and get rid when I notice it’s suddenly too small. I guess I usually properly check everything in August before the school year starts in September.

So, I don’t think YABU but it’s probably not necessary to buy everything brand new each year.

I buy sone things in the sales one size bigger for the following year and a lot of stuff secondhand. Is she given clothes as presents ever? I don’t buy dresses as my sister always gifts one at Xmas and one for her birthday

Can’t believe you buy it all at once! What a mad way to go about it. To each their own of course but I think most of us just buy as and when required and don’t if it’s not.

I’ve never spent anything close to £600 buying everything in a oner. Don’t know anyone else who has either.

I only know I never spent that much on clothes alone. Not even when DD started secondary school. Gifts, cast-offs, charity shops, jumble sales all offer same items for cheaper than prices OP listed.

With shoes, maybe start to get close to OP's numbers. I got coats for DD for £4-£8 each time, in charity shops.

2nd hand is your friend here

Clothes sizes are all quite close together though. I always buy a size bigger than a child currently needs and I don't replace it until its clearly more than a size too small so I only have to buy each item one third of the available sizes. I never replace the whole wardrobe all at once, just every so often trawl through and look for (usually much loved that DC don't want to stop wearing) itens that are obviously grown out of, and order a few replacements. I have no idea what a complete replacement set all at once would cost so maybe spreading it out like this helps make it more affordable?

@ivebeentotheyear3000

I see the point about her not needing it all in one go, but I tend to buy all at once and then just get it out gradually as she outgrows that item in the size below.

She is on 50th centile for everything so pretty much outgrows sizes at the age designed. So she's in a size for a full year and requires both summer and winter clothes in each size.

I still don't get how? The places you buy from all size differently, eg ASDA usually fits big so same as pp I have a range of sizes for each child

I think you're missing a trick.
Please consider buying second hand: eBay, charity shops and FB are such good places for children's clothes.
A fraction of the price and massively beneficial to the environment and the climate.
Just think that you could clothe your DD assured that your purchases had not necessitated any resource extraction, no pollution, no carbon emissions from the manufacturing process and no questionable working conditions. To me, second hand buying is a no-brainer, especially as it helps safe-guard a living planet for the child you are raising.

That seems a lot of money. Mine didn't need that many clothes, especially once they were in school and wearing uniform. If you are buying a lot of clothes and she's not wearing them out I'd buy bundles from eBay, and also sell what I've bought previously.

What happens if you buy everything in say, April for the next twelve months in one size, but by September she's had a growth spurt and gone up two sizes?

Don't you then have loads of clothes she'll never wear?

I don't think £600 per year is outrageous but surely you just replace things as needed?

It seems like an awful lot of clothes to me for a child in school uniform most of the week.
I buy as they need it but mine don't have anywhere near that amount of clothing.
Coats tend to last a couple of years, as do hoodies and shorts.
Also my children don't seem to grow evenly so I think I'd end up having wasted clothing if I did things your way.
Our biggest expense is shoes, I seem to be permanently buying them for someone!

I spend about €35 per month for three children, but I buy 80-90% second hand. We have a good friendship circle where I am and we pass things around so that helps a lot.

For new stuff I tend to buy a size or two ahead and look at sales, multipacks etc. In the UK supermarkets also have great quality clothing. You don't have to shop in H&M, Next etc and you don't have to be stuck with Primark quality for cheaper clothes.

Usually by the time they get to a size I have most of what they need and I only need to go shopping for specific items quite rarely.

I also make some (not loads) back from selling the outgrown clothes in bundles locally or individually online. Averages out around €10 per month over the same period as the €35 per month.

But yes if I was buying everything in one go from full price shops I'd probably spend similar! It's a lot when you add it up isn't it?

I never bought everything all at once, that just seems odd due to the weather as they may not need something, clothes from different shops rarely fit the same in the same size so a fleece may be big enough to last a couple of years.

I think it's much easier to dress your child for less if they are primary school age. At this stage I bought most of my DD's clothes at car boot sales for about £1 an item and then sold most of them afterwards for £1 an item. She had some really gorgeous clothes.
Shoes I bought new but not wellies or slippers.

Once at secondary age mine wanted to choose her own gear so we bought a lot more new items, but also she was in school uniform most of the time. Lots of items lasted more than one year though.

YANBU to spend the amount that you do OP. It can be done for a lot less - or you could also spend a lot more!

Do you sell her outgrown clothes on?

I thought you just buy things as they need or as you want and if you’re buying something new you just check and see what size they are wearing now and does it need to be bigger.

School uniform I used to buy new and then replace as needed throughout the school year.

But things like socks tights and pyjamas are on a need to buy thing - when they need them you buy them but don’t necessarily Chuck everything out.

I wouldn’t be spending £50 on dresses (partly because I have boys) but I’d be buying those pretty jersey dresses that are about £6 each in Tesco and allow room for movement and play.

Maybe, you could sell on stuff she grows out and use that money to replace other things?.

To you buy clothes in a larger size to grow in to or fit her perfectly at time of purchase? If the latter, you’re missing a trick. Coats can easily last 2 winters by buying the size above and having it a bit big the first winter. Of course she’ll grow out of clothes quickly if you buy clothes that just fit when you buy them a there’s no room to grow. I always buy school uniform at least one size larger - dd was in the same uniform from nursery until at least year 1 (so that includes reception) by buying big

Buying all in one go like that would only make sense if you lived somewhere very remote where you had to get as much as possible during an annual trip to 'the big town'.

Surely you end up buying a lot of things she doesn't need because old ones fit her or the season is wrong?

But I agree with the comments about handing the task over to your DH, along with all the useful but time consuming tips like trawling FB market place or car boot sales for him to show you how it is done.

Be sure to comment any time she doesn't have suitable seasonal appropriate items that still fit.

I'd spend about £200 on my toddler if I replaced his whole wardrobe.

But I normally do it for one set per month e.g it'll be trousers next month, then the tops when he runs out of ones that go over his head comfortably (he's got a big head lol).

I probably spend similar on DD. I tend to buy in dribs and drabs but often will turf out a lot of her clothes at the same time and move her into the new size. DD is tall but slim and I find we can’t really skip sizes as it becomes far too wide. Summer clothes sometimes last a bit longer where the length of the limbs isn’t such an issue.

I buy almost all her stuff new. I understand the environmental argument for second hand but if no one bought new there wouldn’t be nice second hand stuff. I do pass most of her clothes to charity shops or sell anything of higher value.