best place to buy baby clothes

[coastalchick]

Am obviously also going to look locally for bargains (eBay/charity shops and the like) but just wondered where you'd rate for baby clothes. So far, bought some first size sleepers from George and 0-3 (as no idea how big he might be yet!) from Waitrose. Waitrose seem better quality but not sure.

What's mother care like? Any other recommendations?

Know they grow out of them quickly so don't want to go mad and expect he will spend majority of his time to start with in bodysuits? (as you can see, I have no clue what I'm doing!!)

I’ve bought quite a few things from Sainsbury’s, there’s a good amount of non-pink clothes for girls and they wash pretty well so thumbs up from me!
H & M do some nice stuff too, although the sizes are a bit weird, everything comes up huge on my LO.

H&M is great if you have a tall baby the body suits are nice and long. Think they are my fav atm but I also get a lot from sainsburys and Tescos.

Sainsbury’s Tu is good. Baby sleeping bags from there are great, warm and stay done up. I managed to pick one up for about £4 in the sale. I still buy children’s clothes from there, most trousers have adjustable waists. The colours stay put too! I didn’t like Tesco’s, I find their clothes to be huge around the waist and I have tiny babies! Mother care tends to fade. Next baby gros lasted but their cheapy 3for £15 fade and look shabby quickly. However their more expensive stuff lasts and lasts. I put my tiny 2 year old in a 9 month top (over a year and a half’s wear) and it still looks great, I think it was about 13 but well worth it as she wears it regularly. As do the more expensive jeans and dresses from Next.

I also bought some hand knitted cardigans from a stall and the hospital shop. They lasted and were soft and warm, I know some people hate knitted items but I do like them.

George clothes are good in the main, especially trousers.

I did buy a few frugi items as we used cloth nappies, so big bums! Again one twin fitted back in 9 month leggings and trousers at 22 months once potty trained! Buy some vest extenders to prolong the use of vest style baby gros.

Remember sunlight is your friend, it removes food stains and poo stains. Rinse cold and pop on the line even in winter. Often removes stains that stain remover doesn’t touch.

Sainsbury's, Asda, boots, baby gap, next, Tesco, Mothercare

I love john lewis.

I wouldn't buy too much in advance. DD arrived and was basically size 1m for length but tiny baby size for width. There were 'newborn' size babygros I was given which never really fitted as the brand (jojo) is particularly short and wide.

I ended up sending my parents out to buy some up to 1m size babygros on day 3 when I realised newborn were too short despite her being a 2nd centile baby.

So until you know what shape baby you have it's impossible to know what brands will be best for your baby.

@Creatureofthenight I was in Sainsbury's today and was whining to my DM about the lack of unisex colours.

Sainsbury's, Next and John Lewis are good. I also love Frugi clothes but they are quite pricey so I tend to only buy in the sale!

They grow so quickly when they're little (plus you'll probably get given lots) so I would personally stick to cheaper stuff. I quite like Morrisons designs, but also other supermarkets, primark etc. Mothercare sizes tend to be on the small side, M&S on the big side (everywhere else fairly average in my experience).

Definitely found babygrows/sleepsuits mostly when little (bodysuits are the vests with poppers on).

H&M do lovely clothes, as do Love Bee Baby (online), and Sainsbury's.

I found with my first that Asda was okay for basics like vests/bibs, but the clothes were very separated into the "typical" colours for boys and girls, vast oceans of blue and pink and nothing much in between. I haven't shopped there much lately so I don't know if it's changed.

Oh, and echoing not buying too much in advance. My 6 month old is very long, and currently in 9-12 month clothing, with little wiggle room.

Sainsbury’s TU all the way. The quality is really good. Dds both had stuff from there as babies, that and Debenhams.

I love Boots baby clothes...lots of lovely bright colours. Unisex without being boring and plain.

Depends on your baby and their shape!

Boots. Supermarkets. Gap is gorgeous but very pricey! Always wait for a 40% off code. John Lewis has some lovely stuff, mix of expensive and reasonable, same with Debenhams. Don't forget clearance and money off vouchers as well.

I actually had a lot of luck (and fun) buying on ebay. You have to use the filters heavily and then go in and see what each seller has additionally but I got quite good at it :)

Don't forget nearly new sales and FB selling sites as well.

Oh sorry - I really like Mothercare's stuff but it doesn't seem to be very popular. Again they regularly have offers/events so I would wait for those.

One thing I didn't realise is that size 0-3 is quite big. Look at the weights on the labels. DS wasn't in 0-3 until 3 months old! He's now big for his age and only spent a week or two in 3-6. So would buy as you need.

Also the wear vests under the baby gro and might need a hat if you end up with a c section as the room is cold even in summer.

For the DCs we like Tu (regularly do 25% off), mini club, La Redoute (wait for a sale - also use cm rather than age as comes up small) gap sale, jojo outlet.
As you can tell I'm mainly a sale shopper as they grow so fast!

Mothercare and John Lewis are great quality - worth it if you're planning more, mine have lasted through three (although a few white vests had to be sacrificed along the way due to enormous poosplosions!)

Sainsbury's and H&M dont last as well but have nice deigns and stay soft and good for a while, I have found better than George. Next has never worked for us as mine are short (like me) and sturdy (like DH) while next is very long and lean. M&S has some nice stuff but is hit and miss, the things I've bought have worn out really fast.

And John Lewis and debenhams sales are great.
Local Facebook groups if you want a big cheap bundle

I love George stuff for the basics.
If money was no object, I think my baby would spend a lot of time wearing the Jools Oliver range at Mothercare. I love the retro feel of that range, I tend to pick it up on eBay though.

We found Sainsbury’s best for basics, they do the packs of vests/baby grows in the standard pink and blue and do neutral white and grey packs up to 24 months. Good quality and wash well, we found H&M babygrows tore around the poppers eventually whereas all the Sainsbury’s stuff was still ok to pass on to friends. I get most things off eBay though, picked up loads of Bonpoint, Petit Bateau, Baby Dior (not heavily logoed stuff) Kenzo, Chloe etc. for less than £15 a pop. H&M is good for organic cotton basics that aren’t expensive, and lots of the trousers have elasticated adjustable waists. Also they do baby cashmere leggings and jumpers which make a snuggly newborn even more cuddly which are great, lots of silk velvet too. We liked Jojo Maman and The White Conpany for pjs.

I’d warn against buying too much stuff before baby has arrived though, we got given so so many clothes as gifts that DD didn’t have time to wear it all before she grew out of it. Save your money for when they are a bit bigger and get a bit more wear out of things.

H&M like to be 'different' when it come to fastening etc which tbh are a pain the the arse for me! I think they'll be good for older kids clothes though. You can't go wrong with asda and Tesco for cheap basics (there will be times you just want to throw away the shit covered vest rather than take it home and wash it, at about 25p per vest it doesn't hurt so much). Sainsburys also very good for little ones x

I've got some lovely stuff from Baby GAP but its expensove, I have an outlet near me which is great.

After trial and error with my nearly nine month old, I now buy sleepsuits and bodysuits/vests from M&S and John Lewis on the whole as they are big, therefore can be worn longer, and wash incredibly well. I like H&M for footless sleepsuits, but their sizes are all over the place (quelle surprise!).

When i started to dress my baby in outfits during the day at around six months, I bought all sorts of things to try and decided I have little brand preference for fun clothes. Saibsbury’s, H&M, Tesco, Next, Polarn o pyret, M&S, John Lewis, Zara - none have been particularly outstanding or terrible. As she moves into next size up, though, I’ll probably stick to mostly leggings, bodysuits and cardigans as they're comfy and easy to move in. Not a fan or dresses and jumpers, unless they are super casual and have additional poppers/buttons at the neck.

Oh, and socks. Think of a number and triple it

And eBay is your friend - bargains galore. I’d say 50% of my baby’s clothes are second hand from eBay.