Quality baby clothes brands?

[Marshmallow12345]

I'm starting to think about buying baby clothes and want to keep an eye out on vinted for secondhand bargains. What brands would you suggest are good quality? I've not had a chance to check out any of the brands in the shops so don't know what they're really like e.g. kit and kin, little kids, JoJo maman bebe, Fatface, White Company, frugi etc. Which ones are quality and which ones just have a logo on something rubbish?

How do the big chains like John Lewis, M&S, Next etc compare in terms of quality?

Is it worth buying supermarket basics secondhand? Just not sure it'll be worth the postage. Thanks!

Good quality:

John Lewis
Polarn o'pyret
Kite clothing
JoJo Maman
Lindex
Boden

M&S and Next I've found to be very good as well, but between m&s, JL and Next the fit is really different. JL is better for long, slim babies, m&s better for chunkier ones like my DS was. So you might have to wait and see what you like on your baby when he/she is here.

JoJo is shit quality. I’ve had several girls jersey dresses rip at the seems, boys joggers fade in the wash and it’s probe to shrinking if you accidentally tumble dry it. Boden and JL are decent IMO and I also really like Jacadi Paris. Petit Bateau is good but also prone to shrinking so depends how on it you are with laundry sorting. I do coats from Patagonia or North Face, probably not all that necessary in the UK but it’s a habit I started when I lived in Chicago and had to get the kids through sub freezing winters!

I quite like Kite and also have some Maxomorra bits and pieces (as well as some already mentioned). I try to get a few nice bits and then some really cheap bundles of leggings, tops etc for the childminders.

I really like M&S kids clothes, I think for what you pay you get great quality. JL I’ve found hit and miss. Next is good, I really rate their PJs.
Polarn O Pyret, Boden and Frugi all fab. Jojo is ok, a lot of things seem to fade easily though.

M&S and John Lewis are pretty reliable, but some of the best things I’ve had have actually been George and F&F.

Just be aware when buying second hand that things are often a lot smaller than their size because they’ve been washed and shrunk. Baby clothes do shrink a lot because they’re so small to start with.

Also if it’s a new baby I wouldn’t bother with too many nice “outfits”, simple babygrows are so much more comfortable and practical when they’re at the tiny squishy phase.

I've always loved Mayoral. Gorgeous dresses

Kite clothes are lovely and quite big in sizing so last well. John Lewis is also great for quality, design and durability.
Frugi used to be lovely but I've not been that impressed with the quality recently. There seems to be lots of FB groups dedicated to Frugi secondhand sales.

Thanks this is super helpful! You've suggested some brands like Polarn O Pyret that I'd not heard of that I'll check out - I find vinted works so much better when you can filter by brand.

And really good point about potential shrinkage so not buying too much too small. Thank you!

I really like Joules for quality. Super soft, and they wash and last better than other brands in my experience. Baby Gap and Next are also good. Sainsburys are a good supermarket brand but can come up a bit small.
Avoid White Company and Blade and Rose, not good quality unfortunately, even though they initially look cute they don't last and tend to get holes around the seams, very poor for the price bracket.

I eBay a lot and search for Boden, M&S, Next and old Mothercare. The old Mothercare stuff is amazing, lined, embroidered and still looks fantastic after being used.

I would buy JoJo new in sales, it is soft and lovely with thick fabric. On eBay though it seems people mainly resell the jersey stuff which naturally gets pulled and looks a bit worn. Jojo isn’t as expensive as the others anyway.

frugi stuff second hand looks good too.

I got my toddler an M&S dress for £3 in a fun print and my mum can’t stop complimenting it. She culturally thinks second hand for young children isn’t appropriate so quite a big “win” in that way.

With babies though, you wash their stuff so often it all gets a little wear. I had mine in covid (so no shops open) and all the newborn stuff was from a couple in London who’d had their two kids and wanted rid of all of it, I picked it up for a tenner. Maybe look for the same locally near you? I went through it and there were some great brands, a couple I’ve kept on as heirloom quality and rest donated once no longer needed.

m&s bodysuits and sleepsuits best in my opinion. Boden stuff lasts absolutely ages.

If you like bright printed stuff look at Mini Rodini. Expensive but fabulous quality. Good re sale value as well! I also like petit Bateau, Arsene et les Piplettes and Carrement Beau.

Also H&M have some really nice things. More muted colours rather than brights generally.

Old frugi is good. Current and the past 2 years frugi is shit and the quality has gone way downhill. I have bought anything for just over 2 years now because of it.

I like

Next
Maxomorra
H&M
Boden
Lindex

My favourite baby/young children's clothes were always Boots. I was actually so gutted when he grew out of their largest size (I think they went up to age 6) that I wrote and thanked them for having designed and made such lovely clothes.😍
It does depend on the body shape of the baby as well. Sainsbury's suited DS as he was tall and skinny. Some other brands were too wide if I wanted the right length.

We used to love Little Bird by Jools Oliver. Next online sell them. Decent quality and really colourful.

Frugi - 100% organic cotton and beautiful designs. If I were rich I would have kitted out my babies exclusively in Frugi. As it is they had a few items each as gifts and whatever I could get from Vinted in good condition.

Brands such as Kissy Kissy, Rachel Riley, Jacadi and Confiture are all brands the Royal Family favour and are beautiful quality. I’ve found some fab second hand items on eBay and they’ve all lasted well (would never buy them full price) 😊

Thank you this is so so helpful! I've bookmarked so many gorgeous pieces on vinted with your recommendations 😊

Sainsbury's were the worst supermarket for baby clothes. The other supermarkets were always decent. Tesco sleepsuits fitted best.

I like the quality of Next clothes but their service is awful.

All the foot grips fell of my son's JoJo sleepsuit the first time he wore it.

Polarn O Pyret is good quality. I've had good quality stuff from Rachel Riley, Trotters and Emile Et Rose as well.

Also think of what style you like. I'm not a fan personally of some of the rodini patterns (the rats spring to mind) and some of the scandi brands are just a bit too lairy for my tastes and didn't suit my super pale red heads!

Might be filed under lairy Scandi brand but I love Dunns Sweden! Quality is brilliant, I’ve had stuff that’s gone through two kids and still looks brand new. Conversely a new Frugi piece faded horribly after two washes.

*Duns with one n

We really liked John Lewis, M and S, Frugi, Kite and Jojo.
M and S do a very helpful 'up to 1 month' size which was fab as DD came out big for newborn size so was in the 'up to 1 month' size instead. Much more practical than the newborn size, which thankfully we hadn't bought.

Frugi and Kite you can often buy secondhand cheaply as people get given it for presents and it doesn't get much wear.

Next organic cotton white vests are superb. Lovely thick cotton and wash well. Same goes for their babygros and snuggle fit pyjamas.
M&S stuff is decent.
We also like fatface as they get a bit older, and sweat by mountain warehouse for waterproofs and winter coats.
JoJo is crazy sizing! My oldest girl is 6 in a few days, she's skinny but average height, can usually get away with age 4-5 but I checked the label of a Jo Jo dress she's been wearing this summer thinking shes had it a while and it was 2-3....

Oh and Boots Mini Club. Loved their clothing - nice designs and you could mix and match sets on special offer.

Don't bother with 'outfits' - loads of hassle getting them into them. DD wore babygros almost all the time until about nine months!