To want to buy my DD some slighter more expensive clothes?

[Swanky]

I only mean Zara/Next as opposed to Asda/Tesco/Matalan/Primark!

Its not like the things break the bank is it? Its all a matter of choice....but one of my friends only ever buys from the cheaper stores and I am sorry but you can tell.

We are far from wealthy, they probably have more disposable income than us, but I buy fewer, better quality items I guess.

Spent the morning with a friend who made lots of digs - can you tell

Lyra - I said nothing because in other ways I like her and also pity her because she DH is awful and she puts up with him because she likes the 'lifestyle'. My DH is lovely even if our house is normally proportioned. So I just come on here and bitch instead!

Cheerful Yank - I couldn't keep a big house clean either. I have trouble with just the one bathroom.

LeQueen pretty much my view apart from the fact I buy my children a few nice bits from the more expensive shops, IF I love them, and I enjoy them wearing them and, maybe because we don't have unlimited income, I choose them carefully quality-wise.

I really don't care what anyone wears, but I want my children's clothes to last! They don't grow fast and so most things last 2 summers/winters etc

cat64 I didn't mean to wear ON the beach - they wore swimwear on the beach, I meant more summery clothes than normal as we were going away with no washing facilities, so I had hoped most of those would be usable this year as well but no, apart from 2 pairs of cargo shorts from Primark.

I get this as well. It is really annoying. I get a lot of dds stuff from Gap or Boden. As far as I'm aware it is not a criminal offence to enjoy shopping for your children and buy them nice stuff (a lot of which was in the sale anyway)

redredwine1980 - read my OP - I said she was making digs - I went round to see her and her family as she requested - she immediately started asking where I got DDs clothes as she hadn't seen them before.

Next time I shall say Primark and be done with it

Thanks everyone! My first real AIBU post Interesting!

Gah!!

You know what? Dress your kids how you want. Leave your judging at the door and keep your thoughts on others childrens clothes to yourself. Who gives a shit what YOU think about what MY children wear??? Honestly, do you know the exact ins and outs of peoples money situations? Maybe they WANT to dress their kids in 'labels' but cant afford to and then there you go, sticking your snobby nose up because their clothes look 'cheap'. Do you judge your worthiness by what your clothes cost? Is someone dressed in Boden more likeable/worthy/better/etc then someone dressed in Primark? FFS. Looks arent everything, it is what is inside that counts. If the kids are clean and happy then leave them alone. Who the hell are you to judge?

northernlurker - maybe its our northern blood?! I love sale bargains and cheap stuff that wears well but have wasted £10 on a pair of jeans in Matalan before that shrank, wore at the knees and for some reason the stains wouldn't come out of - so now I but better ones for a reason.

I spend more as we have two boys, both born in March, so clothes are passed down.
I completely agree that more quality clothes wash better and are more likely to be worn by DS2. Then my nephew, and likely now his baby brother.
We do have lots of Tesco and Asda stuff as well, they are very messy boys, it is not unusual for them to have to change 3 x a day, if they have been rolling around in mud or whatever.

To be completely honest, I don't look at what other children wear and don't give a damn about labels, I just hate wasting money.

I've got about twenty mini-Boden things on 'watch' after this thread- gah! Anything else nice to look for on ebay?

Ok sorry sorry sorry - this thread caught me at a bad moment. I apologise unreservedly to all for my rant

thisisnotwhoyouthink Thanks I do know most of the ins and outs of her finances sadly, as she tells all the time - I don't tell her ours, they are really not worth mentioning I don't care about labels at all - we are not that sort of family but I like to brwose these shops when visiting relatives (we have Peacocks and Tesco and nothing else in our town for clothes) and if I see something I think is worth the price, quality/looks etc I buy it. Not their entire wardrobes.

Ah well, I felt a bit put out that once again I was subjected to a 45 minute moan about it all (inc her asking how much each item cost blah blah) but now I feel a bit shit that so many people assume I am judging her. Never mind!

Sorry LeQueen that totally makes sense, I menat this bit "but one of my friends only ever buys from the cheaper stores and I am sorry but you can tell. " Sorry again.

I dont agree you can always tell something is from primark at all- ive complimented many peoples/peoples kids clothes only to be told its from Primark..stop being so blinkered and snobby

op - yanbu. great example of inverted snobbery though!

fwiw my dd has piles of hand me downs from my god daughter. i went through mountains of gd's clothes before i accepted which bits i wanted. next stuff is not really my taste but i have just put a load away that my dd has outgrown and they still look barely worn, even after two kids and about a million washes. primark is cheap and cheerful but is unlikely to last more than one child. fwiw the boots stuff survived pretty well too.

i thought zara baby clothes were over priced and twee but the older kids stuff is pretty nice.

I think the point about crappy summers is a good one too- I get the point of buying durable everyday clothes, but a cotton sundress? I can't see it being worth the expense. Primark would fit the bill just fine.

redredwine1980 I didn't say always - you did! not blinkered, not snobby at all

I do agree that you can't always tell where something was bought, I have a Primark tunic (my own) that always gets compliments and it was dirt cheap, has been washed and worn lots of times and going very strong.

If anyone knows of boys grey school trousers that won't wear at the knee then please, let me know. DS1 has been through 5 pairs so far this school year

'but one of my friends only ever buys from the cheaper stores and I am sorry but you can tell.'

OP - you AND your friends sound very judgey tbh.

There is something to be said for cheap clothes if your DCs attend nursery/playgroup. Expensive clothes covered with yellow paint, and tomato sauce - not good.

undercovamutha - you can wash expensive stuff too you know - it doesn't melt or demand to be dry cleaned by experts in Paris

My DD's aged 5 and 10 wear a mixture of clothing, quite a lot of Asda, a few things from Primark, few from Next.

I actually favour the George Brand more than any as they are nice quality and very up to date in my opinion.

I take care, as do they of their belongings and I wash and iron well so things stay in shape and last for quite some time.

I often get pieces from outlets for M and S and Next as well.

By the way my husband and I both work and could afford to kit our children out in nothing but Next, or afford some outfits from Monsoon, but I am of the opinion that the children should look nice and also learn the value of clothing.

On Sunday my children were christened in 2 beautiful dresses, both my George and everyone commented how lovely they were.

I have a friend whose child is dressed head to toe in John Rocha/Ted Baker and she is 6 years old. She actually looks at supermarket clothing like it is worthless and states she wouldn't wear that crap. She also laughs at other children who do not have designer labels sticking out of every where or written on everything.

I do not wish my children to grow up like this ! This is how bullying starts.

My 10 year old doesn't realise about labels, she has Reebok trainers for school but is happy to wear her Asda trainers as she says they are better for some sports.

When she enters the comp, I will be prepared to buy her things with labels if that is what she chooses, but I would rather she took people at face value rather than tried to keep up with others.

I remember a girl at school whose parents were not well off having a 'copy' pair of shoes at school and everyone was so unkind to her. She was lovely and a friend of mine and I have always had a bug bear about parents who flaunt labels.

By the way this is JMO, I didn't have lots of labels at school but had a nice bag and shoes which I choose, I remember having a pair of Kickers but then the next year I had a thing for courts from Marksy's (this was 87 hehe - I swear it was the fashion).

Even now my wardrobe is a lot of George and Dot Perks with the odd warehouse and oasis (as for parties they do nice sequined outfits which are quite bling).

People comment how nice my dress sense is regularly and I say 'Oh Matalan' or 'Dot Perks', I am not embarrased, I like what I buy and I buy what I like.

Take Ugg Boots, personally I think they are horrid, some people like them, but I can tell you that some people buy things because they think they should due to fashion/because everyone else is wearing them.

Just my Two Pence Worth x