Best places to buy baby clothes?

[BananaToast]

I'm 18 weeks and starting to plan out what I want to buy and from where (in the hope that some of it goes into the sales in January) and was wondering if anyone has any advice on the best places to look for baby clothes?

Are there any particular shops (high street/supermarkets) that have clothes that last and wash better than others - or equally any to avoid? And any tips on where sells the best muslin squares (do these even differ by shop?!)?

I don't want to spend over the odds but also don't want to buy things that don't last very well as I'd like to be able to use things for any future DC or pass on to friends for future use, and just have no clue how much things like this vary from shop to shop.

Next wash the best & last the longest I have found & they also re-sell really well .

Ted Baker are terrible for sizing and going misshapen in the wash .

I tend to stick with Next, H&M & TU as they seem to be the best

Gap clothes last the longest.
Baby vests go down as well as up.
Matalan do nice kids stuff.

Gap, m&s, and john Lewis are the best quality and longest lasting. Also TK Maxx do beautiful stuff for cheap. Also look at zulily for a bargain and always good quality.

For sleepsuits (which i dressed baby in during the day too for at least the first four minths - Next. Hands down best place. Fit well (up to 1month is such a handy size!) And they have fold over cuffs at the hands so no need for scratchmitts. They wash well and have a good resale value.

Vests - any supermarket tbh

Normal clothes - h&m by a country mile! Though i popped into Sainsburys the other day and they do lovely boys clothes!

Tesco, mothercare and mamas & papas for three packs of vests and sleepsuits that you will use and wash to death.

Baby zara and baby gap for cute special bits.

Muslins do differ in quality yes, I bought six white ones from boots and though not the softest they are super absorbent and six months down the line still white and look new. I was given a box of aden and anais ones, personally I didn't like them, they're ok now but for a long long time they left fibres all over babies face whenever I wiped it.

Next is excellent quality and I also like Sainsburys baby clothes. Sainsburys come up a bit smaller which I found a good thing with a tiny new born.

Next sleepsuits are great! Marks and spencer are also good for bodysuits and vests.

Brilliant, thank you! So far we have a pack of 3 Next sleepsuits in up to 1 month and they feel lovely and soft and I love the integrated mitts so glad they seem to be a popular brand. I'm watching a few sets of Next sleepsuits on eBay and will also look at the other shops suggested.

I have a three year old dd and also 18 weeks pregnant with no two. My advice is for the first few months, because they grow out of it so quickly and because you need to wash more often (smell of dry spit up milk isn't great) I would recommend most supermarket lines (sainsburys, asda, tesco) as most have really nice soft clothes, quite cheap and wash and tumble sry very well. I have some baby grows and vest from the laces that must have been washed 100 times and still look lovely and ready to get them out again for baby2.

Mothercare and Next I found also do lovely quality stuff that wash and tumble dry very well but a bit more expensive. Depending on how many people will be buying you gift for baby you will probably get some lovely stuff from these type of shops. When I had dd most people bought us gifts from mothercare or m&s.

A few shops I noticed that do clothes that don't tumble dry were Matalan and Primark. I tried saving a bit by buying a few everyday pieces from both these shops and found myself having to hang dry them or they would shrink. No too bad in summer still a bit annoying particularly if it's been raining for days and your desperate for a clean load of laundry. Also a few M&S piece I have for dd don't tumble dry either but they are for a toddler rather than a newborn so not sure how relevant that might be. Maybe just check care label before buying.

These are the brands I have the most experience with hopefully that helps a little. Also bear in mind that most people tend to buy newborn or fist sizes as gifts so you don't want to end up with too much of these as they out grown them so quickly. My dd was out of newborn within a couple of weeks (long baby) but she wore her 0-3 mths for a while. Also it was nice to already have some 3-6 pieces for when she suddenly seem to no longer fit the 0-3 overnight.

One last thing to bear in mind is if you are buying in January is that the seasons won't match with when baby arrives. I'm guessing April (that's when I'm due) so within a few months it'll be summer and in my experience the one extra layer rule doesn't necessarily apply in the hot summer months. For examples you might want to get some romper suits rather than some close footed sleep suits for the summer but these won't be in the shops for a few months.

Anyway, sorry about the novel, hope that is useful and not just some garbled ramble.

All very helpful ILive, thank you! I am indeed due in April, and was wondering about the whole one extra layer thing. Think I'll get some sleepsuits and short sleeved bodysuits to start us off and we can see what we need from there. Aware I don't want to buy too much ahead of time as I'm sure people will end up buying us clothes too.

I bought lots of stuff in Sainsbury's which lasted very well. That and Mothercare (mainly because they were the closest!). I dressed DD in babysgros and sleepsuits until she could sit unaided, didn't see the point in proper clothes until then!

John Lewis sizing I found very peculiar.

Gap sizing can be off the further up the sizes you get. Next are great, and I like john Lewis for the basic white vests/gros given how often you'll be washing!

If you can find them, wrap over style vests are great early days- I found them far easier than the envelope style to start with, as did DH!

Next
Sainsburys
asda

I've found Sainsbury's to be the best of the supermarkets for baby clothes, they wash well and the designs are nice. I wouldn't bother with Tesco, I found the sleep suits come up small and look worn after a few washes.

Agree with PP that Next and Mothercare wash and wear well. I've found they come up pretty true to size. Gap sizing is a bit haphazard, and I don't think its worth the extra money at this age (their trousers for toddlers are fab though).

And I also agree that Primark is a false economy as their baby stuff doesn't wash well and can't be tumble dried.

Beware primark - their sizing is teeny tiny, they come up at least 1-2 whole sizes smaller in my experience. Plus as a pp says they have lots of clothes that aren't tumble dryable.

Also watch out for any sleepsuits that don't popper down the centre of the body and both legs. I was bought lots that had off centre poppers and only poppered down one leg - they were an impractical, nightmare, and as such were a very last resort and thus barely got touched, let alone worn.

Also whilst Next will wash and dry extremely well, supermarket ones tend to wash and dry well for a fraction of the cost. I have lots of Asda clothes, still looking really nice, from DS ready for DC2, especially in those early sizes they out grow quickly.

Also when buying - I expected people to buy newborn and/or 0-3, what I actually got loads of were 3-6, with a few 0-3 and a couple of newborn. So in 3-6 I probably could have clothed triplets (I did exchange a lot).

I find the mothercare stuff washes very badly. H&M is best value in terms of price and quality. Gap is lovely and washes very well but is expensive.

Next is also good quality but I hate the styles/designs.

I'd just buy lots of sleep suits and shirtsleeved bests. Proper clothes are pointless for a baby. Get cardis though and a cosy toes for the car seat.

I bought all my sleep suits from John Lewis and they are on their 3rd baby and still look good.

Here's a top tip- if you REALLY love a piece of baby clothes then beware- kids clothes are seasonal just like adults. And when they've sold out they've sold out! So buy all the sizes in one go.

I loved the fiat car pink baby gros last summer. I wish I had bought one in each size as I've never seen them since.

Sleep suits , vests from next as they wash well. Nice cardies from gap etc ..... Enjoy all the planning:)

Thanks all. We are probably sorted for knitwear thanks to my wonderful MIL who has knitted like crazy since we got married, so will stick to sleepsuits and vests. I'm not a big fan of outfits on tiny babies.

Supermarket wise I find Sainsburys the best, they keep the shape after washing and regularly have the 25% off sale.

Asda and Tesco babygrows and vests all looked faded after 1 wash.

As someone else said don't go mad with the vests, they are a popular gift and dd has some she never or only wore once, luckily I'm pregnant with dd2 so they are getting a second chance.

Shoes are pointless on babies so don't bother with them, I didn't use muslins either and have unopened packs of them, I mopped up any spills with a wipe, it seemed much more hygenic than reusing the same cloth on her face with stale sick/milk/saliva on.

I did make the effort to dress her everyday but in things with a soft waistband like leggings but there were also quite a few days when I dressed her in a vest/sleepsuit and cardi.

Also buying bigger sizes can be a minefield as you don't know how they'll grow, dd is very tall and some of the bigger clothes I bought weren't appropriate for the weather by the time she fit in them.

Sainsburys, Zara, Primark and Mothercare. The Boots range isn't bad either.

The White Company and anything French for treats! Boden as a treat too but can be hit and miss.