Clothes have really gone up in price!

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Sorted out kids spring/summer clothes and nothing from last year fits ds16 or dd14. They’ve picked some bits and I’ve started ordering and already I’m up to just over £1K with a few things still to order plus both dc need new trainers and crocs as feet have also grown. Dreading going through my own clothes as haven’t replaced summer things in several years and I know a few pairs of my linen trousers are threadbare. DH can sort and order his own!
Do you set a budget per dc and say for example you’ve got £400 this season send me some links? Or do you just suck up the cost? I think this has been the most expensive year to date but both kids have grown a lot in the last 12 months.

But sometimes, particularly with trainers, we have given DS a budget and told him if he wants to spend more it comes out of his pocket money or birthday or Christmas money.
This. All day long.
When it's their money suddenly, for some reason, brands aren't quite so important Or they get good at bargain-shopping.

H&M sell adults clothes you know.

Posts like this reek of privilege. "Darlings, stop being so cheap, if I can get 4 items for only three hundred pounds, I'm sure you can too!!"

Bullied for not having brands? How ridiculous. It's not the 1990s now.

I think that the one being bullied is you OP.

Someone already mentioned you can get them lots cheaper on Vinted.

You've asked for ideas but don't seem to be accepting any advice!

I think branded clothes are a luxury. Could you shell out for all the non-branded basic stuff. Then your teens could get an allowance or something if they want to buy 1 or 2 expensive branded items throughout the year.

I personally think Vinted is a great option. I have a teenage nephew who's quite fashion conscious and him and his mum have a great time choosing clothes on Vinted and pick up some brilliant bargains!

Honestly there is a ridiculous mindset here.

i would NEVER condone buying fakes as they feed into criminal activity and round here they’re a massive no no.

Encourage your DCs to mix it up. My teen DD loves a whole range of stuff from charity shops, vinted, H&M, TK Maxx, a bit of M&S for uniform and underwear, and Primark. Mixed in with a branded coat, rucksack and converse she’s happy as Larry and loves a bargain.

DS is a tween… a couple of branded T-shirts and trainers here and there but he’s happy with no-name shorts, tracksuit bottoms and T-shirts too. He has a couple of hand me down coats.

Honestly OP you’re being played.

No WAY would I be paying £100+ for DC’s trainers when for me I really think carefully about buying £65 ASICS ones that I play sport in and will last for years. I actually bought a brand new pair of ladies Puma courts in TK Maxx last week for £23.

You would honestly teach your children to confirm and comply no matter what the cost?

So very, very glad that my kids’ peer group has a mildly competitive green/hippie/environmentalist trend instead! There is one girl who insists on her Christmas/birthday budget going on ludicrously expensive makeup and branded clothes, but the rest think it’s a bit odd. They’re mostly smug about charity shop finds, and proud of their alterations and customisations.

Although mine dgaf. My biggest outlay is good shoes and coats, for proper outdoor activities.

Oh wow this is bizarre. £200 for 3 pairs of crocs? We’re all in adidas sliders at £25 a pair.

these absolutely are choices.

£175 trainers are a Xmas/bday wish list here, not an everyday purchase. Football kits, tracksuits, they make up part of gifts - and are asked for as such too, kids don’t expect them to be given.

@LollyLandLol. Plenty of hoodies under £100!

We stopped buying new Converse, Vans and DMs. They get trashed quickly so we use Vinted now.
We have a mix of Hollister, Urban (usually sale or for birthdays and Christmas)and cheaper high street brands like Primark and H and M. Lots of vintage stuff; obviously teens have more time to research and hunt out stuff they like than I do.
They sell quite a bit which helps too. Edited to add, also they love a charity shop, and are strangely proud of snagging 2000s Next and Dorothy Perkins items!!

Why is not wanting to dress like a chav considered a "race to the bottom"?

Crikey. Eye opening thread.

There seems to be more pressure to have expensive clothes if you are not that well off. We use a mix of Primark, H&M, Vinted, birthday and Christmas presents and charity shops for DD14. A lot of her friends are pretty wealthy and they all head out to the charity shops or get stuff from Vinted, so I am glad she/we don’t feel too much pressure to keep up. I adore trainers and buy quite a few myself, so now her feet have slowed down in growing I am more likely to splurge on them for her, but not multiple pairs per year. DH doesn’t get the trainers thing at all and thinks we are both mad.

Luckily she and her friends are into baggy jeans and little tops with a branded hoodie (Stussy or Carhartt from Vinted). DS is 22 and a bit more ethical/snooty/cool, so he shops exclusively on Vinted/DePop and in charity shops.

@meadowfinchBoohoo tall range are good for this.

I’m one of the lucky ones. When ds turned 16 he declared that he would not wear any labels (aside from trainers) as he “didn’t want to be a walking advert”. Apparently loads of his peers are the same. He’s very tall and slim so lots of his clothes come from boohoo tall with a few t shirts from H&M thrown in. Dd is 14 and dresses in clothes from New Look (aside from trainers). We did give them about £300 at Xmas on top of random gifts and said they could buy themselves whatever they wanted, clothes, gadgets etc, they’ve just put it in the bank.

A t-shirt might be £20 from Hollister but it’s £3 from Primark. I’m an adult with my own money to spend and I do buy nicer brands but my basics are cheap. Last time I was in Primark I got a few T-shirts and long sleeve T-shirts in various colours for less than £20. They’re plain, nobody looking at me would know where they’re from and in the UK they’re often under a (more expensive) jumper anyway.

Yes I tend to think so

its similar with Christmas threads

There was pressure when I was a teenager to be wearing certain clothes, but my parents couldn’t afford them, so I went without.

Its your choice to buy brands and spend so much on them so I don’t really have much sympathy.

As others have said, if your kids had to pay for these items themselves, I’m sure they’d realise they actually weren’t that fussed about a brand.

Even now I wouldn’t spend £80 on a hoodie!

I have a teenager (and a 7 year old but he doesn't care what he wears so I just buy second hand bundles for him) in a school with no uniform and I still don't pay ridiculous amounts of money on clothes. I buy basic clothing for her (New Yorker is great for this if they have it in the UK, teens love it and its h&m level pricing) and occasional nicer stuff for Christmas and birthday (like some over knee high socks she wanted that cost more than I would pay usually but still less than 20e) and anything else she wants, like particular brands, she needs to buy herself with pocket money/birthday money. Shoe-wise I bought her whatever was at a good price, not expensive brands, but now I think her feet have stopped growing so I did buy more expensive boots for winter. Crocs are always cheap knockoffs

Between both children I doubt I spend more than 300 euros per winter/summer (do need different clothes for the seasons where I am) and clothes, especially shoes are pretty expensive in my country (plus I have to buy ski boots and ice skates for PE)

I'm glad my teen DD likes Primark! Less than £90 for a "summer haul".

i don’t understand how a jumper, pyjamas and two tops from hollister can cost £300? My teens shop there a lot - tops are about £30, a jumper maybe £50? You’re telling me their pyjamas are almost £200?!

To answer the question "My question was as clothes have increased so much in the last year, how are people budgeting?" - simple, same as we have had to with food, shop around and drop the brands

Its the grandkids who are needing the clothes now and yes I have a CF grandson who insists he has to have such and such trainers ( £150 + ) - I say I have £50 - you need new trainers or what ?? Granddaughter is now getting to the age where she wants certain items , but still of the age where she's not looking after her clothes, so with the "special items" - birthday or Christmas - and the rest is Tesco , Primark , Asda etc. I do go look around the sport clothes shops during the sales and if there is something that's a real bargain, its bought, and put away

Granddaughter is as happy in supermarket as she is in anything . She goes to big school next year and things may change but she will still get the same from us - Birthday or Christmas. And she is learning to save and buy for herself. She insisted she wanted high tops last year, so Birthday it was, within two months totally wrecked!! Her last pair she paid for with Christmas money - they are being looked after a bit better

Our kids aren't high earners and rely on UC, so they have never had the money to splash on branded. There was a time when we ( grandparents ) were big earners but big buys have always been Christmas/birthdays etc. We did it with the kids and they never suffered bullying because of their clothes

I’m with all the other PP! Yes clothes are a bit expensive and yes adult clothes (and shoes are worse) cost more than children’s. But you just shop carefully. When we go to the thrift store we keep an eye out for clothes 1-2 sizes up, and we go to the one in the rich area so we sometimes get name brand items. I’ve scored lululemon for my nieces a few times! If anyone wants anything special it can be for Christmas or birthday, or you can see if you can get it on sale - I just got myself winter boots. Then H&M and Uniqlo and wherever else. I’m building up my wardrobe from after kids so it is the same for me! A nice nightgown for Christmas and a few pieces on sale ($125 for 2 dresses and 3 tops). I put on my jeans or slacks when I leave the house and wear my leggings or sweatpants at home because I need a few more pairs to have enough.