What do you really think of second hand for kids?

[thewalrus3]

I get at least 50% of my toddlers clothes from Vinted. Probably more. She does get brand new things too and I love the clothes in places like H&M and Zara but I cannot justify the cost when I know things are likely to get stained and ruined, or grown out of quickly. I get a lot of my own stuff from Vinted too so it’s not like I’m decked out in designer gear while my toddler is only getting second hand.

I have a friend who is very aesthetic focused and her and her dd always look perfect. She hasn’t said it directly to me but we’ve had conversations where she’s made it clear she’d never dress her dc in second hand anything.

I suppose it makes me feel a bit embarrassed and inferior. Not that I’ll stop doing it because we’ve had some great bargains. Does it really matter?

I dont get why second hand equals 'scruffy' - I buy a lot second hand on vinted and it means I can afford more expensive brands like Next, Frugi, handmade clothes ect. Plus like people have said, after a few washes you cant even tell if something is second hand!

I love clothes & looking nice & often buy second hand. I sell loads of my stuff on too. No idea why that makes me feel inferior. I drive a used car too.

6 figure income and I buy loads second hand and get lots of hand me downs.

90% of my DC’s clothes are second hand. The clothes are usually in near perfect condition. It means more money for us to do fun things and a highly likelihood of them having a planet to grow old on.

My dc have a mix of 2nd hand & new school uniform too. Why not?

I think second hand is better all round but for me personally I prefer to buy brand new. I grew up in poverty therefore never had anything new. Now as an adult I can afford to buy new things & clothes so I prefer to do so.

DM had a friend who childminded a former colleague's daughter who is 6 months older than DD1. The mum was in her 40s and they knew that she would be an only child so all the outgrown clothes came out way. There was great excitement when we heard that the friend would be visiting DM because that meant bags of clothes to go through. The mum is from a Southern European country so there were often beautiful little dresses and t-shirts from her home country. Once DD1 had outgrown them they were put away for DD2 and then they went to my cousin's DD and then my niece.
I have always shopped in charity shops and have picked up some real bargains over the years and my DDs love a charity shop rummage too. I also buy and sell on eBay and my DDs use Vinted. DD1 is getting married next year and she found a gorgeous bridesmaid dress for DD2 on Vinted for less than £4.

Unfortunately charity shops in my area aren’t great. I do love browsing them when we go shopping in other towns and cities though. The quality of other people’s cast offs definitely depends on how affluent the area is!
Agree Vinted can be a bit hit and miss. But I would say I’ve had way more good buys on there than dodgy ones. Occasionally something might not fit as desired or may be more worn than the photos showed but it’s rare (in my experience).

The majority of my kids clothes are second hand. We are lucky enough to have family for some hand me downs and friends for others. It seems a waste to not use those second hand clothes if they are good enough just to buy something new. They get new things if needed so I'm not adverse to buying new.

DS is now 8 and its starting to be a struggle for second hand clothes. They seems to wear out before getting to us at this age.

We don't entirely do it for money. Although buying something that looks pretty much new for a faction of the cost is great and means that money can go elsewhere! I also like to reuse and recycle where we can. It seems so wasteful to buy something that will be worn once for an occasion from the shop where there is plenty in charity shops and on vinted/ebay/facebook marketplace

I did the same, I don’t see the point getting everything new for young children, and it’s much better for the environment to reuse. I got loads of baby stuff and toys second hand too

Practically all my Gdcs’ things are 2nd hand - mostly outgrowns passed around among friends/relatives. Ditto a good many toys and big items like bikes.
In DD’s circle it’s entirely normal.

Same here.

Unless and until the kids earn their own money, they get what you give them. And if it's second hand, so what? The only time I'd say no would be if it was something obviously old and they got teased for it at school. But I can't really think how the other kids would know unless it was an old brand that you can't get now and looked a bit shabby.