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?

It feels a bit utilitarian to me. When mine were young I'd quite like seeing a nice top or some pyjamas that I knew they'd like when I was shopping and buy them in a size up. It's nice going home with something spontaneous as a treat.

But it’s not a MN chicken thing at all is it?

It’s hardly unusual to be able to get hand me downs from friends and family. It’s also likely for all but the fastest growing children to be able to buy a coat a bit oversized one year and for it still to fit the next year.

I should mention my £600 estimate is for a massive child. He's 11 in 12-13 and small adult sizes plus size 8 shoes. Costs me a bomb. Don't know what I spend on the younger one.

Also with waterproofs - these are usually highly elasticated. Ive only ever bought 3 sets in my life and that's done 2 dc. DD8 is on her second set, dd12 on her 3rd, first set used from 18 months til about 5 and second set 5-9 ish . When Dd1 outgrows they are passed to dd2 and a new set bought.

Surely her feet don't grow at the exact rate as her body and an exact size each time. Dd1 was in the same shoe size for 3 whole years then jumped about 2 sizes, a couple of months later she grew another size. Shoes are replaced as needed which was when they were worn out and the same size bought to replace at one stage then hardly worn at others.

Pyjamas don't need replaced every clothes size, another thing you can size up and wear til they are snug

How do you find summer and winter clothes and shoes in the shops at the same time? I have a nightmare trying to buy stuff out of season!
Anyway I have no real idea what I spend on clothes for my 3 children as I buy it throughout, when they need it. They’re on the second year of their winter coats as I bought a size up last winter. They’ve got swimming costumes that they’ve had for years and still fit! I wouldn’t dream of buying all their stuff in one go as their tastes seem to change a fair bit.
Yours is a very rigid and unusual approach, but if it suits you then keep going.

I've known a few Mums who have your system but they've had ICD (properly diagnosed). Everyone else buys stuff when needed and enjoys shopping with their growing child. There's going to be a time when she will want a say in what she wears. As said there must be some clothes that she could still wear, so to replace everything doesn't make sense.

I just used to replace as necessary, but have no idea how much I spent overall. I would buy coats etc in bigger sizes so that they would last two winters, and would then tend to be passed down to siblings as well (so one coat might have been expensive - I used to buy coats from Mini Boden before they were made in China - but ended up lasting about 8 years). I'd also buy stuff on ebay and from charity shops, as and when I saw it. Plus bits in the sales, and bits that friends gave me. I would in turn pass stuff on to friends once my DC had outgrown them.

School uniform was monstrously expensive new - into the several hundreds to kit out one child (independent schools) - but I bought most of that from the second hand uniform shop and friends gave me some bits (which, again, I then passed on - the school uniform was stupidly expensive but also incredibly durable - made in the UK).

The DC used to wear pants, socks etc until they were so small on them that either they complained or I actually noticed - though it could be a very long time before that happened. One of mine is 20 and I noticed some M&S age 13-14 pants in the washing basket during the holidays.

My daughter is ridiculously tall, on the 98th percentile but I can’t really afford to buy clothes all the time so I buy her secondhand items as and when she needs them, I also look through the sales and try to buy some items before she needs them like buying a coat in a larger size when it’s half price etc.

Surely you can buy T-shirts etc a couple of sizes up so that she grown into it?
No point in bothering with fashion on children given that they haemorrhage money

My rule is to only buy at 70 percent off. I'm always scouting online shops and waiting for the clearance sales and stocking up in the next sizes. Obviously someone has to pay full price and they are the people who are looking for a certain style or colour. I am not that fussed so I just sweep up what's left. I check both the girls and boys section. If dd is wearing a grey zipper sweater with flowery leggings the sweater will keep her warm and nobody is going to mistake her for a boy.

Dd has just turned 4 but she's really tall with a massive head so she's probably about a size 5 years and I'm buying size 6 years. Trousers go up to the rib cage and tshirts worn baggy and then eventually she grows and it all evens out.

I buy a pair of pjs reduced 70 percent down to 3.50 and then I make that pair of pjs last two years. A thin long sleeved top reduced to 2-5 quid can be worn under a hoodie in winter and then with leggings in spring and late summer - and if it's baggy to begin with you get 2 years, so 4-5 seasons out of that one top.

But it's an effort searching for sales and organizing everything so you get the maximum wear out of stuff. Plus you have to be willing to dress your kid for your budget not for your taste. Although I do find lovely stuff in the sales that I couldn't afford otherwise.

I’ve never heard anything like this. I but slightly big and they wear till slightly small. We also get bags on hand me downs which we then pass on again. £600 is absolutely mental.

£600? Wow, that seems a lot of money to spend on kids clothes. I’ve never spent anywhere near that but I have a boy so I don’t feel under pressure to spend money on trying to create an image with his clothes.

He doesn’t need endless t shirts, jeans, trousers etc. so I only buy a few of each and wash them regularly. He’s not worn jeans for about 2 years as he lived in joggers during lockdown.

He’s currently got one pair of trainers for school/outdoors, a pair of wellies and a pair of slippers. One winter coat, 3 pairs of dark blue joggers and a few t shirts and sweatshirt tops.

After all, as he’s growing, they’re not really going to wear out before he’s in the next size up.

Wait for sales, buy second hand, sometimes family buy clothes as gifts. It sounds like a lot to be spending!

We spend a lot on school uniform because it only comes from one shop and they charge what they like. However, DD is in adult clothes now and whilst her dress size isn't changing too much she is getting increasingly tall. We thank God for the current trend of cut-off jeans.

We buy the same blouses for school from Amazon at £2 a pack less. We have to buy a certain brand of tights or she just wears once and ladders them, but we buy pricey well made shoes and hope she can get a couple of years out of them. She wears Kickers at the moment, and I love them. She just had 3 years out of an H&M coat which regularly ends up in the mud and has been washed so much it's wrinkly. We'll buy new this autumn.

As for regular out of school clothes she doesn't mind charity shops and will spend a happy hour looking to see if there's anything worth buying. She also likes vintage. She does like pricier brands like Pull and Bear and Fatface but she will have at most one or two items a year from them. Underwear is from MnS. I have to remind her to get new pants because I still wash holey old ones! She gets through a pair of trainers a year, but has had some DMs for a couple of years now. Pyjamas are usually from a catalogue which I pay off monthly.

We buy as and when the need arises, not an entire set in the new size. Recently we went to a wedding so DD needed a nice dress. We found one for £40 and she was much complimented on it. But she wore the old DMs and that saved us £££. It's good to mix and match, and find new uses for clothes. DD is very environmentally aware, and will take hand me downs from her cousins, as well as donate perfectly good but too small clothes to charity.

Wow that's a lot of money!

Our DS16 has just had t shirts replaced from when he was 13. He wears until they start to look small. Then they are relegated to home use only.

He has 2-3 tops new and 2 pairs jeans and then a couple of cheap tracksuit bottoms

Shoes he has school shoes and trainers and then a pair trainers and a pair walking shoes

One coat we are now on winter 2 with

Just update things that are starting to look small. I can't believe yours grows out of everything at the same time

Socks last YEARS as do pants

Out of interest I’ve just added up how much I’ve spent on clothes for 11 year old ds in the past year and I think it’s £38 (though £12.50 of that was Father Christmas…).

You buy this when she goes up a dress size but you’re buying all season clothing, not sure I get that. Surely winter if it’s winter etc

That’s an odd way to think about it and I don’t think you need everything in every size.

Many clothes will cover more than one size
Eg a hoodie or fleece you might buy it when it’s a bit big then the next year they can still wear it it’s just more fitted. And same with dresses and skirts. My kids always had shoes that lasted a full year generally. You can also buy some things second hand. And a full set of uniform from a supermarket wouldn’t cost £75 (if we’re talking state primary)!

Yes and poor 13yo dc is still wearing pants that say 10-11 but if they fit what’s the problem 😆

What I don’t understand is how she’s outgrowing everything at once so that you need to buy a whole new wardrobe.

Clothes labelled the same size can vary in actual size, even from the same shop and we all know that some brands come in bigger than others. To buy new just because she’s grown a bit, without looking at what’s actually become too small feels terribly wasteful.

Socks cover about 3 shoe sizes so there definitely isn’t a need to replace those every time. I’ve never bothered buying school uniform every summer when there’s a good chance that what they have already still fits, same with school shoes. And ours have never outgrown wellies, sliders etc at the same time as their other footwear.

You sound a bit bonkers, and wasteful and if your daughter expects a whole new wardrobe like this as she gets older I think you’ll be settling yourself up for some extremely expensive shopping trips during her teenage years!

But it's an effort searching for sales and organizing everything so you get the maximum wear out of stuff. Plus you have to be willing to dress your kid for your budget not for your taste. Although I do find lovely stuff in the sales that I couldn't afford otherwise.

I get around this by using eBay etc. Both myself and dc have quite strong sense of style and they have a hobby that comes with expensive clothing . I've just bought DD8 a £40 item on eBay, unworn for £9.50. I couldn't have got it cheaper as a used item but it's for her birthday so wanted new on this occasion.

Nowhere near that much. I don’t buy things like swimwear very often. I usually make once size last till it no longer fits. I have a boy but maybe 3-4 years for a set of swimming trunks. Similarly coats get 3-4 years. I buy big and then he wears until look way too small. No vests. Underwear again can last several years. He’s ten now and to be honest I would say I don’t buy more than ten items a year.

I completely agree with the shoes cost though. Feet can grow so quickly and good shoes are so important. I dread when the DCs feet suddenly starts growing, I think we once went up 2 shoe sizes in a year.

And it is worse with boys. School shoes, trainers, football boots (Astro and moulds), that is beyond expensive

No I don't do this.

I've got a 4 year old and a 5 year old

Its an exciting day if eldest child gets a new 3 pack of leggings from Sainsburys in a bigger size. We just replace as things get worn out/ too small. They both currently wear a range of clothes in the age 4 - 6 age ranges.

Both usually need the next size up of tops about 6 months before they grow out of the same age trousers. Shoes are bought when needed to go up a size and socks when we can no longer find any pairs that match or don't have holes in. Pyjamas etc we tend to ask for as Christmas and birthday presents.

We get a lot of clothes handed down to us from other older children in the family. My youngest is currently wearing a Joules jumper that is on its 3rd pass down in the family and still in excellent condition.

Not including school uniform I budget about £10 a month for children's clothes for both children

I replace things but by bit as we go- some things might be a couple of ages small or if a hand me down a couple of sizes too big.
Never replace it all at once (except maybe school uniform if getting a bunch of stuff in the summer hols, and def when starting secondary - that’s expensive 🤣)
Would you believe my dd is 12 and still wearing a pair of pe shorts (for under skirts) age 5-6!!!