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?

Agree that you could be wasting money by shopping like this. What if your child has a sudden growth spurt and goes up another size before they’ve worn the next season’s clothes?? Or they might not grow for a long time and the summer clothes you bought will be too big come this summer but too small the following summer?
As others have said, I just buy stuff for my kids as and when they need it. Some items they grow out of quickly, and some items, like roomy T shirts and hoodies stick around for years. They had some Boden skirts that just got shorter on them as time went by but the elasticated waists meant they got years and years out of them.

Yeah, that’s definitely ott. Is it all brand stuff of something?

Sell on the stuff that is still in good condition on something like Vinted and use your balance on their to buy things in the next size up.

You can get a surprising amount of stuff on their that is ‘new with tags’ but for half original price or less.

Yesterday I realised that you can ‘follow’ sellers so if you liked and bought something from their kid the next size up to yours you can keep an eye out for each time they put more stuff on. So a bit like getting hand me downs from a relative but if you could choose your relatives fashion style.

I also know people that get second hand bundles off of Facebook market place and can get a large selection for say £10 with local collection.

[quote RussianSpy101]@liveforsummer my DD must have small arms and a long body. She tried on 2 coats last week; age 8 & age 9. The arms on the age 9 were ridiculous they would’ve had to of been rolled up about 3 times to be at her hand. I’ve never seen children walking around like this or with clearly too big clothing.[/quote]
That's because sizing up doesn't mean clearly too big. Most coats have elasticated cuffs so don't need rolled up. The last coat I bought for dd who is nearly 9 was 11-12. It's slightly longer in the body than the expected fit bit it just has a nice fashionable oversized look. Certainly doesn't look 'clearly too big' but will fit her for at least 2 years (thankfully, was a pretty pricey equestrian brand). It also means she can layer up under it when outside for long periods, can fit her body protector on under etc. T shirts are another example they look fine a little baggy/long, they look fine a perfect fit and as they are stretchy they are perfectly fine as they get a bit more snug too. Slouchy jumpers look great, again oversized is a popular look just now but they look fine at their intended fit also

£600 sounds shockingly much, but I don’t see where you’re going wrong. I budget £50 a month for 2 kids but sometimes go over, so that’s just over £600 for both. But the younger wears a lot of second hand stuff.

£75 for a ballet kit sounds much, and £40 for PJs. My kids have fewer shoes (2pairs+wellies each), but we spend a similar amount.

It doesn’t seem outrageous, if you do this once a year.

It does get expensive. When my dc were small people used to say “wait until they are teens, it will cost even more”, now they are teens and I spend a lot less on clothes than I did when they were at primary school, luckily they don’t ask for expensive brands and if they do they get them for birthdays or Christmas. They need a lot more when younger, especially girls. I think k £500/600 a year is about right. I used to buy clothes for them twice a year (summer and winter), I would eBay their old clothes and get a bit of money back.

@liveforsummer right, I need to get coats with elastic cuffs!

Completely off point but I'm impressed you find all seasons clothes at the same time. Often shops move out their winter stuff in about March to make way for summer gear, and then do the same with summer stuff in August/September. I remember scouring the shops for wellies once (can't even remember what time of year) and nowhere had any. And I've definitely looked for shirts in September (DS wears shorts all year round) and not been able to find any.

I've never spent anywhere near this. I get a couple of second hand bundles from Facebook market place, often for free but if not then super cheap. Or mum2mum markets are good. Then I get the odd new bit here and there from H&M or Primark.

Buying everything at once is a weird way of doing it and unnecessarily expensive. Children’s clothes are not all perfect, standard sizes, anyway - one dress, or pair of trousers, or t-shirt will fit for longer than another. Tbh, it sounds to me like you are discarding old clothes too soon, before they are obviously getting too small/buying more than you need on the assumption your child will need clothes she may never need, because she already has plenty of clothes that fit if you ignore the age label and actually look at the fit. As for short sleeved tops - you can keep those for years, unless your child is getting fatter each year rather than just taller, with longer arms. Same with skirts and shorts. I sympathise with your dh for thinking you are wasting money to spend that every single year, regardless.

Also her gymnastics leotard is £40 but I waited for stock clearance and got it for £10

I think that’s a lot of money, and spending it all at once, as pp said, is madness. I wouldn’t spend even £60 a year. My DD got only a few new items a year, not including school uniform or shoes. We often got some clothes second hand. £75 on ballet uniform is a huge amount. How can a leotard and simple shoes cost that much?

Sounds ridiculous.... but I have a relative like this, wouldn't dream of her DC wearing 'hand me downs' from family or friends and wouldn't step foot in a charity shop.
Many people are incredibly fussy snobbish about what their children wear, as if they need to be seen in the latest fashion and brand new clothing.
I manage a charity shop, we have some lovely childrens' clothes at very good prices (£1 for a new T shirt, £1 for brand new school uniform items etc) but very few people will buy clothes for their DC from charity shops - I wish I knew why.

I have never had to buy everything all at once. That said you are buying everything from cheap places so it is ok. D s is nearly 17 and hardly ever needs new clothes now but they all need to be fashionable from the age of 13. He has hopefully stopped growing.

I buy a lot of used clothing bundles from eBay, pick bits up at charity shops and buy almost all uniform items from the school second hand uniform shop which is 50p per item, but I agree that Childrens clothes are expensive because they don't last. You could try to recoup some of the money by selling the second hand clothes yourself.

Buying things all at once is definitely unusual.

I am a dedicated charity shopper and tended to buy clothes in the next couples of sizes up in advance as I saw them, ditto good bargains in the sales, so I'd always have a small drawer of stuff for them to grow into - not unlike your system but cheaper.

But OTOH I'd spend more on shoes: two pairs of school shoes, trainers, sandals, boots, wellies, daps, and maybe party shoes would be a lot more than a hundred quid for me even if the wellies were from a charity shop.

I don't think I've spent that much in 4 years! But 95% secondhand. So yes, to me, that is an absurd amount.

I wouldn't buy a new winter coat with each size - I buy one a couple of sizes bigger so that it lasts.

I always bought bigger sizes so they last longer. I had some things for years and looking back at old photos my daughter was wearing stuff at age 3 and still in it at age 6
Doesn’t work for everything but tops can be massive initially for example

Personally i think £600 is a LOT on clothes. I buy everytime mine goes up a size but spending depending on the time of year. So if its winter - winter clothing only (joggers, hoodies, long sleeve tops & vests, coat and a puddle suit) and if he remains in the same size come summer i buy as i need. Don’t think it comes near £600 though. To be fair though, £150 of your budget is on school uniform and ballet stuff for her hobby. I’m not sure I’d count that in the budget as its stuff she genuinely needs and coroner’s can’t be cut there.
A tip my sister gave me - in winter, you will find many shops sell summer stuff in sales. Can you try buy the next size up for clothing out of season and vice versa?

Yes I definitely agree teens do NOT cost more. Whereas they may grow out of things it isn't nearly as often. When he was 13 and 14 he needed many clothes replaced but these days hardly ever.

But surely she doesn't grow out of everything all at once?

I'd really waste money with that approach as the clothes just wouldn't get worn. Appreciate that this may just be my two but they wear a very narrow rotation of stuff n reality so I learned quite early to only buy the very bare minimum. So many pretty outfits or pairs of jeans barely worn.

We did do a trip to H&M once or twice a year to restock on their multi buy leggings:T-shirts/dresses which they worn until indecent or full of holes. Dd1 who is 12 still had a much beloved pair of shorts which are aged 7/8 which I have finally wrestled off her.

We did buy coats in the sales and they always had growing room so lasted a couple of years. Usually from outlet centres as were shoes.

These days Dd1 is a charity shop ninja. Dd2 has a 5 pack of t shirts from H&M boys (plain bright colours) and leggings plus football kit. One pair of pjs each as they just don't wear them except at sleep overs.

Gosh this thread is reminding me of the mumsnet chicken. Yes it's great if you can make clothes last, buy second hand, freecycle or have hand me downs. Marvellous if your child can wear a dress from midi to mini or a coat where they look like Kenny from south park for the first year but in reality £600 over a year is not frivolous for a growing child.

I would really expect most clothes to last, size-wise, more than one year, depending what they are. My DD’s secondary school blazer lasted all the way through for five years, from 11 to 16.

Do your purse and the planet a favour and just buy 2nd hand