possibly not the right thread but does anyone else . . .

[lucysmam]

buy their kids clothes exclusively in the sales or from Primark?? As it's starting to get to me a bit when I wander round town and there are sooooooo many expensively dressed and immaculately turned out kids and mines in the cheapest of the cheap and most of it bought in the sales so even cheaper then!!!

Also, does anyone have any thoughts about buying kids stuff from charity shops as we have a couple where I live but they look a bit scruffy from outside tbh so have never ventured in and the British Heart Foundation one in town is more expensive than Primark a lot of the time ime

Just cos stuff is second hand or from cheaper shops doesn't mean they can't look nice.

I buy all my DCs clothes in the sales - I really don't see the point of buying designer clothes for kids but maybe that is just me.

And definitely nothing wrong with charity shops - I buy the DCs books fron our local one all the time.

exclusively from tesco with clubcard vouchers when the sale is on!

i buy from charity shops mainly toys and books but they do get some nice clothes in sometimes you just have to be quick to get them

Yes, unfortunatley due to tight budget, apart from Christmas/Birthday pressies we always buy Asda/Tesco or sales. Breaks my heart sometimes but have got some good bargains Monsoon/Junior J/Mothercare etc from E-bay. A lot of them have been immaculate for only a few pounds.

We buy off ebay, Tesco, primark, peacock... We don't do designer stuff (except 2nd hand from ebay)
She still looks gorgeous though

oh we always used to get hand me downs or second hand clothes for our kids. we were always broke!

i think you need to look in charity shops in 'posh' areas to get good stuff, try NCT nearly new sales (look on their website) and ask around. You get amazing bargains especially for girls (ime boys start to ocmpletely trash their clothes from the age of 4).

Much of my kids stuff is second hand, or bought from Primark, ASDA etc. DS wrecks his clothes fairly quickly so I can't see the point in spending out too much. He always looks smart (and clean to begin with) when he needs to. DD has been very lucky with hand-me-downs, and unlike her, most children grow out of clothes very quickly, so they often look new. It doesn't worry me in the slightest. I can see that when they get older and clothes (or fashion) become more of an issue I may have to change my shopping habits!

I buy a mix but always in the sales if possible, and found a great advantage in this at school disco, one of DDs friend came in with this seasons must have HSM outfit followed by 10 others (loads of tears0, whereas last season is more unique.

I buy most of my DCs clothes in the sales or in outlet centres. Here in Germany there are lots of fab 2nd hand shops for DCs. Some of them specialise in designer wear and have lovely clothes at a fraction of the original price.

There are also lots of children's clothes sales here, often organised as fundraisers for the church or kindergartens. You pay a set fee for the hire of a table and sell on any clothes that are too small.

There is absolutely no stigma attached to selling or buying used childrens' clothes here.

What do you Brits do with your DCs clothes once they grwo out of them?

Never designer though

DD is almost always in charity shop clothes or ASDA/Sainsburys. TBH, we could afford to dress her more expensively, but I think its a complete waste of money when she look gorgeous (IMHO) in the clothes she has. I would much rather save the money in a Child Trust Fund or ISA and she can reap the benefit in university fees or a car or something when she is older.

Plus its greener to recycle and buy second hand.

Go to a really posh place (Ilkley, Otley or Harrogate near us) and you will find them stuffed full of French childrenswear, Next, Boden, Catimini etc. We have had loads of stuff esp baby stuff with tags still on. One shop in Otley has all its clothes 99p, Martin House's children's clothes 75p.

We rarely buy Tesco or Asda because they don't wear as well as already second hand good brands and cost more. My daughters are always interestingly dressed and I never worry when the 1 year old crawls round and gets covered in that black stuff off playgrounds when her outfit cost 2.50.

I buy new shoes, Clarks or Start Rite, and pay 15 pounds or so for a really nice winter coat that each child will wear for one or two seasons from Sucre D'Orge or Catimini off EBay.

I was brought up entirely from jumble sales and we could have anything we wanted, it was brilliant. I never felt the need for new clothes or toys and we had more stuff than almost anyone we knew.

I have seen this coat on ebay. It is Catimini. Apparently cost £75 new. How much do you think it is worth second hand?

Also these

wow!! thanks, just got to me a bit wandering round town this afternoon cos everyone's kids look like they're dressed in brand new stuff from next or wherever and I feel a bit bad sometimes that I can't afford to dress her in expensive stuff.

Feel better about it now and I do see the point when they run around like nutters for most of the day and get muddy/messy quickly so thank you for the reassurance!