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?

That insane! Why aren’t you buying some things a size bigger? Where on earth do you shop?

Go to charity shops some absolute bargains there!

Why don't you up size? Is this not something people do anymore? My daughter is very tall, mostly in the legs, so upsizing trousers for her does not work but it does for tops. Her tops last her at least 2 years. Dresses just get a bit shorter so wear with leggings underneath etc. I can't say I have needed to replace an entire wardrobe annually and tend to replace in dribs and drabs. School uniform, she's wearing the same uniform as she had last year as when I bought it last year I was a little bit big for her. Not stupidly so. But saves a lot of money!

The buying everything at once makes it sound more, so yes if I went and spent £600 I would probably think it was a lot, but if you buy over the year it sounds reasonable.

Though if you are good at buying ahead you should take more advantage of the sales and discount codes. I also don't know where you would buy all seasons at once.

Some clothes cross ages and can last a couple of seasons but my DGCs pretty much outgrow their clothes year on year, its only the odd thing that still fits for two seasons. I'm sure their underwear and socks are replaced lost in the washing machine more than once a year.

I don't think your annual bill is over the top. For example, you only have one coat in there, £100 for a years footwear and £75 for school uniform is minimal. I just don't think many people add up the cost.

My son isn't even 2 and I wouldn't dream of spending that. I'll buy bee Clark's shoes but the rest from primark and supermarkets, and good condition bundles from Facebook marketplace. Got a few bags of lovely stuff for £25 recently, most hardly worn.

First thought was that the list of clothes and the cost seems excessive but then I remembered the almighty growth spurt that my dd went through last year, she jumped 2 clothes sizes and grew about 4” and she needed an entire new wardrobe as nothing fit at all. I probably spent the same amount. But that was an exception rather than normal, I tend to replace as needed before that.

New Clark's shoes!

Coat - probably spend 30 each buy good and big and uniform Is bought in tesco for very little.

Could you sell her old clothes and shoes on Vinted (or similar)? If they are hardly worn and in good condition you should be able to recoup a decent % of the outlay.

Consider buying secondhand for things like raincoat?

Buy some things two sizes too big.

Use the grown out of vests, tights and socks as cleaning rags?

That totally wouldn’t work for us - all brands are different and surely she grows out of different things at different rates. As an example - ballet uniform is pretty stretchy. We only need to replace that every few years as it’s all elastic- changing the whole kit every clothes size sounds unusual! ( and expensive!)

Shoes can really add up... we have...
Wellies
Walking boots
Trainers
School shoes
School trainers x 2 (they need outside and inside ones)
Rugby boots
Sandals
Pool shoes
Water shoes (neoprene shoes for water sports)

Some can be passed down. Hoping to do a swap on rugby boots next season. But it does all add up if you buy it all at once.

I can’t understand how you need to but all of that each time they go up a size. Things like undies, vests, tights and socks don’t run in single sizes but generally cover a range so you can get 2-3 size changes out of them. Do you not buy things like coats etc in larger sizes? I deliberately bought all of mine too big but just passable and it meant I didn’t need to replace when they went up a size. Things like shorts you can get a longer life out of as they just tend to ride up the legs, so again you can tend to miss a size change before they become ‘too short’. Same for t-shirts if you try and buy ones with decent length to begin with.

Most of my kids got 3 size ‘growths’ out of most of their wardrobe. They would look a bit big to start with, then would look just right, then would look a bit small and then I’d replace and the cycle would start again. My DD had 2 sizes of school uniforms cover her entire schooling (13 years) as I got them with LOTS of room to grow. They were dresses; skirts/blouse so very doable. She did need more than 2 pairs of shoes though, I think maybe 4 or 5 sets. I wasn’t as lucky with the boys due to long pants and they have more growth spurts than girls.

It's a gradual spend for us, and mixed with some hand me downs. Shoes is always the big expense, as I buy new.

I think it’s really odd to do it all at once! Surely she grows unevenly through the year? Feet grow at a different pace from clothes size? There must be massive wastage here, so I agree 600 sounds way too much. Kids don’t need a complete new season wardrobe - they make things last until they don’t fit.

I wouldn’t buy slippers in summer for next winter, or sandals in winter for next summer. I buy things like coats, wellies and shoes as and when my dc actually need them. We’re also lucky we get lots of lovely hand-me-downs. Also clothes come up in different sizes from different shops, so if my kids stopped fitting one pair of say, 5-6 trousers, I wouldn’t go and ditch all the rest - others will come up slightly bigger etc so would try them on and see which will do a bit longer.

I can't imagine going out and buying stuff all at once like that. I just buy bits as we need them along with some hand me downs or second hand bits. No need to regularly fork out £600

We probably spend a similar amount but I don’t buy it all at once, I buy things throughout the year and put them away. I just got a load of pyjamas from Gap for example that were 80% off, I just put them away for later.

I also get clothes for free from our local children’s clothing exchange. You can easily find excellent quality or new clothes there from good brands like Boden, John Lewis and Joules. I also get nursery clothes from here so I don’t mind that they get ruined!

Not all at once. But it probably adds up to a few hundred over the course of the year. I only tend to buy what they need when though. So when my dc grows out of an item it goes in the too small/ too big box and it gets replaced. Sometimes I will see something I like and buy it even if it's not needed. I will spend a bit on clothes for birthday/Christmas and it tends to last my Ds all year. But my dd is tall so I do seem to be replacing her clothes much more regularly, she grows our of stuff quickly.

I do tend to buy more in the summer as I do feel I need to buy a whole new wardrobe then as my dcs don't tend to wear summer items all year round. I used to spend lots but now I really limit how much I get as it used to go unworn.

The best thing I do is buy the next size up in the sales and then get it out when they need it.

They all have a very unisex pe kit so they will share all the items.

I think it's OK for DH to have opinions but unless you're really hard up or he's offerering to shop around, source secondhand, etc, he should probably butt out as he's essentially valuing your time at zero. I have very little free time as it is, DD has a bunch of foot issues and her school are very fussy about uniform -- DH can do one if he thinks I'm spending hours more on it all to save a few £££!

I think your mistake here was adding it up tbh .

And always buy a size up of things like coats and jumpers so they last longer

Being on the 50th centile doesn't mean anything- clothes don't correlate to that at all, some shops fit big, some small, some are stretchy, some look fine a little on the big, some look fine, like skirts, a bit too short etc. Always buy coats to fit two years etc.

Saying this though, I spent a fortune on my dd's clothes because I enjoyed styling her and would see things and think she'd look great in them and if she was near the end of a size I'd buy a bit bigger and put away, I'd collect things in the next size up for a whole year before she needed them so was buying regularly, not a bulk shop in one go.

Shorts lasted a few years. Longer length, perfect and shorter style 😀

I don’t know anyone that shops for their child like that! Do you have money to burn?!

I totally agree with your DH. How are finances organised in your house?!

I think it is your shopping style that is making things expensive and it sounds like you’re possibly quite rigid about when things don’t fit.

I have a giant legged 5 year old who is in 7-8 now. Things like hoodies have often lasted a couple of years because I’d buy them on the big side and then she’d get some use of them while smaller. She’s currently wearing a pair of older pyjamas that now look like cropped trousers. They’re still perfectly functional even if they’re too short.

She’s done ballet since she was 3 and has definitely not gone through £75 of uniform each year. We’ve had 2 skirts, 2 pairs of socks and 2 possibly 3 leotards in 3 years.

Shoes have been the most obvious hit for my older one as we generally need school shoes, school trainers, school wellies, home trainers and home wellies but even then we tend to find we get a bit more wear out of trainers and wellies so often slightly staggered.

So if she goes up a size in winter you buy her summer stuff then too? That makes no sense. Sizes vary so much across stores dts have never just grown out of everything. I replace it as it's needed. I give them £50 each for a summer and winter primark 'haul' where they get to chose what they like.

All the other necessary bits I buy as needed - their wellies are a couple of years old now but still fit, they're wearing last years winter coat this year but will need a new jacket in spring, need to get new leggings this weekend not because they've grown out of them but they've managed to get holes in most of them playing in trees.

I buy all of DS’ stuff on Vinted, either with tags or in excellent second hand condition.

The only thing I buy new is shoes. Coats etc are a bargain.

Probably about £100 last year when he’s gone through multiple sizes in a year.

As he gets older, if he has a real preference then maybe I’ll spend more on specific stuff, but it’s amazing what you can pick up still with tags and branded.

A lot of that stuff lasts my children more than a year. Dresses and tops in particular last 2-3 years. My daughter’s leggings are getting a bit short but all of her other clothes still fit so I would just buy leggings not replace everything. Maybe my children don’t grow as much as yours though!
Bundles on ebay or marketplace are great if you need a lot of clothes all at once.