Baby clothes - where to shop?!

[glueandstick]

It's time to sort out some clothes (due in a few weeks) and I'm at a loss as where to shop. Plain baby grows are fine but struggling to find nice cardigans and 'baby' things that aren't terribly gender specific (the sheer vileness of the pinks out there make me feel sick and the blues are all a bit 'oh look I'm such a real man') or just awful. I have a real hatred of Next and Mothercare but don't know where to go for nicer things. Petit Bateau will be visited in the week but apart from that- help!

I'm not a massive snob I promise, I just can't find anything I really like online (that is easy to get! There are some lovely European bits but they'll wait until it is older) or in real life. There must be lots of hidden gems out there but having had no children or contact with people with kids I've not been let into the inner circle of knowledge. Help!!

We are big fans of Scandinavian clothes and most of DS's baby clothes were Maxomorra, Smafolk etc. Little Sunflowers and Juicy Tots stock a good range. Toby Tiger is nice too.

The Essential One is a good website for baby neutrals.

I share your hatred of high street baby clothes (with the exception of Zara and sometime H&M) so I feel your pain.

DS also has a lot of Mini Rodini and Bobo Choses which have very good resale values, especially if you are willing to post internationally. There are lots of Facebook groups for those brands and I often got 70-80% of the original price for second hand which totally justified the originally expense in my mind.

Check out Jacadi and Bonnie Baby, they have some lovely stuff.

I don't like slogan things either but if you're not totally against supermarkets sainsburys tends to stay away from slogans or phrases, particularly in their baby range. Asda is worst for slogan clothing imo. But they do all still sell a lot of stuff that is slogan free! You're best not buying too much before birth anyway as you will probably find particular shops or brands are better sized for your little one, ie long or chunky.

No need to judge, not everyone buys clothes from supermarkets, and if I had unlimited funds I probably wouldn't be bothered about spending £30 on something that was only worn twice... It doesn't necessarily mean that op will instantly change her mind when baby arrives, plenty of people do buy expensive clothing for their children!!

My favourite places for gender neutral, good quality lovely baby things were John Lewis, Jojo Maman Bebe, Frugi and Polarn Y Pyret (think that's how it's spelt) which is another Scandi brand. M&S also surprised me with some of their multipack baby grows which had lovely designs and were good quality.

Has no-one mentioned Baby Gap? I love their baby ranges!

As above, try Polarn O Pyret, John Lewis, Frugi, some M&S, Vertbaudet, White Co., Baby Zara. You can often get branded baby items new with tags on ebay for pennies because people get inundated with gifts.

I have got a couple of things from Baby Gap that are really nice e.g. grey with bright bold stripes and a cute furry little jacket. Am still pregnant so not sure on wash quality but looks lovely and I am a fan of bright colours too (though I know I am having a boy).

Zara and Gap were my go to places with DS. The Gap stuff washed brilliantly too

Yes my Gap stuff has lasted really well so far too.

I got a lot in john Lewis, frugi (huge sizing though), white company, vertbaudet and Zara; with a mix of sainsburys/high street. Now DD is in nursery I do mostly send her in cheaper clothes as they come home soaked in paint/mud etc so I keep the more expensive stuff for the days we are home and I can wash immediately if she gets messy! DD is small and narrow build so I mostly get the brands which come up long and narrow- Zara, Vertbaudet, some of the brands in john Lewis and Gap.

Agree re quality in Gap, they are in perfect condition after lots of washes.

You don't sound like a snob OP but you do sound really over-defensive about where you want to shop. PPs have simply been saying what works for them, the fact that you might not find all the advice right for you doesn't mean everyone is criticising.

My two cents' - wherever you buy from, read the washing instructions!! I pretty much refuse to buy anything now that's not wash-at-40 and tumble-dryable. It's just too heartbreaking when I get attached to something gorgeous and it then gets stained.

I found the kimono style sleepsuits a huge pain in the arse when doing the many newborn nappy changes. I do like Gap and if you're happy with stuff being from supermarkets/ high street as long as they're gender neutral and look good I would try sainsbury's and mothercare Little Bird.

Boots have some lovely unisex bits in, plus their thick knitted cardigans are gorgeous

Frugi are big as they have space for cloth bottoms!

They seem fairly long too which is good for my long DS - and it lasts for ages. I've got a whole bunch of Frugi he's not quite big enough for yet, hurry and grow DS!

I really like the little white company, baby boden and blade&rose leggings

Ooh yes to blade and rose leggings. I have 3 pairs and they are fab.

Love baby boden too but I find it comes up very small. I bought a lot of 3-6m stuff and it barely fit when DS was 10 weeks!

If you want gorgeous but expensive baby cardigans try Brora. Alex and Alexa might be worth a look. Mini a ture is a good Danish brand. Try checking out Babyccino, it's a portal to higher end baby/kids stuff. Bonpoint and La Coqueta are two more. And of course Boden.

If you like Frugi, try Toby Tiger.

And petit bateau are really lovely quality too

Little White Company has some lovely neutral things, as does John Lewis (as others have already said). My baby is already too big for all the gorgeous newborn pale beige and grey stuff, sadly...

For brighter colours agree with PPs on Jojo Maman Bebe and the Scandi brands. Joules also has lots of brightly coloured things.

Scandimini are a pop up shop with a sale on you could try too, now is a great time in jan sales.

I found the brand that lasted the best with my daughters was baby gap, but brave a large store rather than online. Beautiful needlepoint cord dresses and well shaped cardigans as staples, teemed with a funky baby gro etc.
John Lewis do organic white cotton sleeveless baby gros which are brilliant as the first line of defence against nappy poo, it saved our nicer long sleeved ones and outer clothes. Gap pj's are good too.
Do you know if it's a girl/boy?
I agree re petite bateaux, beautiful, but again go in store as most websites don't have most of the sale clothes online.
Also it's cold so a decent looking pram suit and blankets go a long way.

Enjoy this time, enjoy shopping, get out and do it, you will feel better. You don't need to discuss what you are doing with anyone or ask permission, it's your baby just get out and enjoy the process and to tell with the rest of it.

Re baby groups they aren't everyone's cup of tea, I found them fairly exhausting but were useful to prevent myself going bat shit crazy in the early days, I didn't have a circle of friends close by who had children. But I found after a few sessions of big groups I found my people and we all naturally broke off into smaller groups. So it served a purpose. And it's much easier once baby arrives as you can just absorb yourself in your child and ignore anyone else being irritating!

*hell

Yup I second reading the washing instructions too.

White company- gorgeous colours and styles X