Dressing DDs

[sparkout]

My eldest is a boy who is easy to dress, boys stuff all pretty much goes together, trousers, long sleeved tops in winter tshirts in summer, a couple of pairs of shorts and a fleece or two and hes away. Now have a DD almost 2yo and am finding she has very little to wear that actually goes together. With DS I just bought bits as and when he grew out of them but with DD I seem to have lots of items but nothing much goes together so she always seems to have nothing to wear (the fact that she likes to chose her outfits in the morning doesn't help either!!).

Anyone have an efficient method of dressing girls, should I just go out at start of each season and get everything she'll need in one go? Stick to one shop? Buy outfits together instead of everything separately as she grows out of them? I seem to be forever needing something for her as she has grown but then can't find it to match what she already has. DH thinks I'm mad when I say she has no clothes as she does have things and of course he can dress her but it sure as hell looks awful as nothing goes together at all

I get almost all the DDs clothes in charity shops and DD3 is now wearing them (mostly George/Next/Primark/M&S/Cherokee) so they have been through at least 4 children and they still look good.

I have a 'theme' each year and stick to it so I don't end up with a mis-matched outfit - for instance autumn/winter clothes in 3-4 are mostly burgundy/purple tops & jumpers with denim dresses, skinnies (though they are baggies on my skinny minnies), pinafores, leggings, and long skirts. Lots of tights in toning colours or neutrals and you are all set. I even found a pair of suede boots to match in TK Maxx.

If you have long skirts they do as long skirts the 1st year and then knee length skirts the next year so you get lots of wear out of them.

If you are DD2, who is particularly slender, you take a liking to your baby sister's skirts and snaffle them out of her wardrobe (this summer DD2 who is 105cm and 3y was wearing DD3's 9-12m maxi skirts as knee length ones [although DD3 is nearly 2 ]). This is all the more infuriating when she refused to wear them the first time around .

The charity shops round here seem to be virtually empty of kids stuff, I managed to get loads for DS 4 yrs ago but now I struggle to find anything much for either of them!

I'm very particular about what I get. I went in 5 charity shops today and bought a tunic style dress for DD1 for £3 and a skirt for me for 50p so well worth the trip!

I find looking at all the children's clothes both boys and girls in all possibly suitable sizes gets the best results. The dress I bought today is a 9-10 but will fit DD1 who is a tall age 5 (I don't like knicker skimming clothes for my DDs so it should hit her on the knee).

Often you find a basic pair of jeans in the boys section, or a plain t-shirt or jumper that can be worked into a girl's wardrobe without looking too odd

Dd is nearly 4 and I buy most of her clothes from eBay.

She prefers skirts and dresses, but I can get her into jeans/cords with some wrangling.

This autumn winter she'll mainly be wearing:
Jeans/cords, long sleeved top, gilet, with mac or warm coat and trainers or kickers boots or
Skirt, tights, long sleeved top, gilet, longish boots or trainers or kickers.

Special occasions it's usually a dress and cardigan. Around the home she wears "comfy clothes" - usually soft trousers and tshirt.

I usually give her 2 choices in the morning as she has particular likes, which seem to change with the wind. Most days she looks FAB!

I agree with Francagoestohollywood that odd mixes do look good on them. DD rarely looked cuter than the day she wore a t-shirt, leggings, tutu and fairy wings. She's only 3 - plenty of time to look coordinated when she's 33!

I do have a few pairs of navy blue/brown/black leggings (Next currently do a pack of 3, one of each colour) for days when she needs to look a bit smarter. And I get her party dresses from eBay - after all, party dresses are worn once of twice at most and you can pick up nearly-new Boden ones for £10 or so (and sell them on afterwards for the same).

I love Gap's colourful leggings, patterned/stripey. You can then choose a colourful t-shirt that picks out one of the main colours in the pattern. H&M is also good for basic plain leggings and t-shirts.

I do pick a few things from a coordinated range each time. Pumpkin Patch is good for things that not everyone else will be wearing. Otherwise you do risk her friends also being in the ubiquitous Gap/JoJo/Next/H&M combinations.

But TBH, DD now has a very strong opinion on what she wants to wear, so I rarely get a say.

One thing I'd caution is that at this age, practicality is key - think potty training! Trousers with buttons and poppers or tights are a nightmare to whip up/down in time and skirts and dresses get in the way, so leggings are the way to go (in my humble opinion!). Plus they wash easily and are ready to wear again, or cheap enough to be chucked out in the case of any major toilet "accidents".

Sorry not time to read this all hope this isn't a repeat .
Multi packs are your friend. Next and others do 3 tops and 2 leggings and skirts, if bought the same year all these items will match and you generally get on plain top or bottom in each set. With luck this goes with other things. Also girls do not have to wear girls clothes DD1 had some plain blue cords and two pairs of blue boots that were probably meant for boys, but were great because she had red and pink tops!

To the poster looking for the PERFECT top to go with her DDs cords, are you serious? Think you are overthinking and causing problems for yourself.

Pretty much any top will go with cords/jeans surely?

Agree that lots of bright colours and mash up mixes can look just fab on wee kids.