To ask how much you spend on DC clothes?

[Elmo67]

Posting for traffic.

DD is two, up until now I have been on the ball when it comes to buying and selling her clothes on Vinted. I’ve gotten lazy recently, can’t be arsed bargain hunting but urgently need bigger clothes for summer.

Opted for Asda but as usual hardly any sizes in stock, always find H&M quality dubious so landed on Next.

Now I am sat debating over whether to check out with my eye watering £300 basket. Is this normal?! For one DC for one season?!

When DS was little we used to get some nice bits in the M&S sale, H&M and next clearance, and supplement with Asda, Sainsbury, Tesco and charity shops for basics or stuff for nursery.

You can also get good bundles on eBay auctions that usually work out cheaper than buying individual items.

We also set up a next credit account so we were paying an amount each month rather than all at once.

For a full summer wardrobe in 2-3 which may stretch to next spring I don't think £300 in next is terrible. But I get my DS some nice bits in Next & H&M for family time at weekends and when he is with DGP and cheaper supermarket Tesco, Asda, Tu for nursery. Usually 3/4 'hauls' between £50-£70 each I guess!

Yes a fair amount.
Things like basics of t shirts, leggings, a few jumpers aren’t that expensive. But then they often need various shoes, coats , smart for an event etc.

Mine also needs duplicates of some things like rain dungarees, wellies, sun hat and slippers to be kept 24/7 at nursery so they are x2 every time outgrown.

Recently bought for 4 year old: all New underwear, smart shoes for wedding, wellingtons x2, a few leggings (as others getting short or hokey). That list alone was about €140

Whole new wardrobe probably £100 on vinted so easily £300 brand new

That sounds like a lot to me, do you need so much in one go from one place? What sort of things are you getting? They have packs of 5 shorts for £22, I'm sure they'll have packs of t-shirts too. Their outfits are lovely and tempting but expensive so we don't tend to get lots of them. www.next.co.uk/style/su052327/461035#461035

Have you tried Tu? They're generally very decent, especially for that age.
I generally use vinted so I think I've lost touch with reality on proper shop pricing.

Do NCT sales still exist? I never bought a new single item for my 3 until they became adult sized.
Bundles on eBay or facebook were good as well.

For brand new wardrobe from Next I guess that’s not surprising but personally I wouldn’t spend that much.

There are some great bundles on Vinted. That’s where I have kitted out my son. Then all I need to do is buy new socks and pants (supermarket) and new shoes (typically online sales).

Even my dd who is a teenager gets most of her stuff on Vinted. She just picked up a new wetsuit for six quid. We are struck by the high value, particularly for denim and coats which often seem to be sold in perfect condition. DD was so shocked when I took her shopping in London recently and she unthinkingly chose a top that cost £16, she actually apologised to me at the checkout 😂

We do a £150-£200 shop every season on Zara (as it fits him best and we like the stuff) and that tends to do us for a capsule wardrobe. When we were potty training we bought 10 pairs of leggings to supplement the collection!

Sizing varies so much that I never need a whole new season at once (e.g. he's 5 and a half, but some 4-5 stuff still fits), but then DS doesn't wear dresses/skirts/tights/hair accessories.

£300 seems a lot! I usually get shoes for max £25 in Clarks/Start Rite sale and trainers from places like Sports Direct for £15. I buy the next year's coat in the spring sales. The rest is supermarkets, Vinted new with tags or a bit of Primark/H&M.

Now he's in school uniform I find I barely need anything else though.

For babies and toddlers I have found some treasures from the supermarkets - namely Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda.

DD1 is 5 now so buy most of hers from next, Zara and mango their pricing is all very similar and they all wash really well. I’ve been abit gutted when DD1 has ruined something pretty as I’d envisioned DD2 wearing it when she grows but nevermind! Zara and next do a sale where you can gets really good bits for the following year etc.

I buy bundles on FB marketplace, quite often get a whole load for £30 so all in about £60-£90 will do the year. Then it gets passed down to her sister that's a yr younger ;-)

I buy all mine on Vinted other than shoes and underwear. I don’t think I’d spend anywhere near £300 per child per season though, that would be like £600+ per year?

There’s some stuff that I think is maybe worth buying new such as leggings, little ones wear them so much that you get the use out of them. But I never buy stuff like denim jackets or dresses or nice outfits etc brand new. It’s just not worth it. You can buy all that stuff from Vinted for a couple of quid each instead of say £18 for a jacket brand new.

3 DCs here - Probably close to £500 twice a year then top ups throughout (where do all the socks go!!)
That's not including jackets, hats and trainers etc.

I find next too expensive; £300 would be more than I think is reasonable. H&M summer dresses are great in my experience for girls, TU at Sainsbury’s is good quality, odd few bits from primark.

Pretty much use all hand downs from family and friends so only really buy shoes, pants and socks and the odd thing so not sure really. Sounds like a lot though. I agree with PP about looking for stuff in supermarkets - I like morrisons stuff

DD4 is in hand me downs, charity shop, Facebook marketplace and jumble sale clothes.

Got a big bin bag of 3-4 clothes for £10. Sold the ones that weren't to my taste for £30.

She ends up in Next, JoJo Maman, Blue Zoo, Frugi, Ralph Lauren etc as well as supermarket brands. Had a Rachel Riley dress once for about £3.

Only things I will buy new are socks and pants and shoes.

She has had brand new clothes, but things like dresses from H&M in the sale for £2.50 or something.

Very frugal here. Benefitted for years from an older cousin but otherwise 80-90% of their clothes are second hand. All passed down between them. Charity shops are my idea of heaven, have had so many amazing bargains over the years. Most shoes are bought new. I reckon I probably spend for three of them under £200 each per year including Ng coats and shoes. Having three ds helps. Eldest is now 13 and getting choosier but I still get bargains. Got some ,nike high tops recently with the labels on for £16!

I would also say it depends what you’re going to do with it after as to whether or not it is too much to spend. I find supermarket clothes a false economy because they have very poor resale value. People just won’t pay much for second hand Asda/Sainsburys stuff. However I have bought some quite expensive brands on Vinted and sold them on again when outgrown for the same or sometimes even more than I’ve paid for them. For example a £15 asda Toddlers coat you will struggle to get more than £3 for when you sell on again second hand. However I have bought Engel or Merino wool snowsuits for £30-40 second hand (£80ish new) but then got that back again when selling on.

Id go to primark for summer bits to be honest (mine are older and I think it’s worth spending a bit now and I pass them down)

but not for little kiddies - no

I tend never to buy a full season of outfits in one go. I would never spend £300 in one month. I would buy some leggings and tops then a few weeks later or the following month buy a couple of dresses and a coat etc. M&S is my favourite for kids clothes- quality is good, lovely bright colours, wash well, nice prints. I buy the odd bit in (massively expensive) JoJo. Summer dresses often from next.

I think that sounds pretty much right by my estimations.
We used to do a seasonal shop for the dds when they were small enough to grow out of stuff every year (they’re now 18 and 19 and they’ve hopefully stopped growing pretty much!). We usually went to H&M, Next and Gap Kids and spent £400 give or take in the spring and then again in the autumn. So around £200 per kid at each shop. All these years later and £300 for one dc doesn’t sound wildly crazy.

3 teens
shoes alone are 3-500 a year. each. <sigh>

Far too much IMHO

Sounds like I need to get my arse back on Vinted! ‘adds to mental load’