How much do you spend on your dc clothes?

[slipperandpjsmum]

My ds is almost 16. I just wondered how other parents manage requests for clothes. Do you give a set amount or buy as and when.

Where do you buy clothes from? Is there anywhere I don't know about that might save a bit of money?

my dd is 16 , she gets 40 pounds allowance a month.. she buys all her own clothes from this apart from school clothes. She loves to shop in Primark and Matalan
Normally she will waste 5 pounds a week on rubbish, then go into primark end of the month with about 20-25 pounds.. she has managed to pick up a full outfit including shoes for that

I spend a fortune. I have long standing issues.

Teenagers want quantity rather than quality don't they? Top shop is a pretty good compromise - cheap but not shit.

Sorry ds not dd

River island is ok.

God they are inpenetrable at that age aren't they Mary.

A shop that is ok one day is just vile shit the next. I bought ds a super dry sweatshirt on the very day he would not be seen dead in logo crap. [sigh]

I buy them quite a lot of clothes at Christmas TBH. I have 2 boys and get most of their clothes from Topman, New Look and Burtons. It's the ridiculously expensive shoes that annoy me TBH!

Top Man, Primark or Quicksilver depending on my bank balance.

So usually Primark.

He's not really interested in clothes so I just take him out every 3 months or so to buy a new pair of jeans, couple of hoodies & couple of t shirts.

WHile DD was growing like a frigging weed, I would set a budget, and DD (15) has to buy all essentials from that budget - but I would specify that at the end of the shop, she would have to have:

Underwear
Nightwear
2 pairs jeans
1 pair smarter trousers
3 shirts
a coat.... etc. etc.

Otherwise she would buy superdry and hollister and not have any undies!

I would sit and drink coffee or go to a movie while she shopped and decided what she wanted. SHe had to figure out whether she could afford it all. Then we'd go round and buy the items.

This meant that she could buy lots of Primark basics, and then splurge on a hollister T shirt or some ridiculous pair of shoes.

SHe has now pretty much finished growing, so the budget may be reduced a little.

I do buy her school kit, and decent trainers. I also buy a pair of boots in winter, depending on the state of the old ones. Never scrimp on shoes, and basic shoes do not impact the budget.

Now my son is just starting to grow, I may do the same thing with him. It gives them some idea of budget and value, but allows them to make their own fashion statement, while actually coming home with enough clothes to last them.

Anything outside of basics come out of their pocket money.

I've never worked it out!

Two girls, 12 & 15. They're quite keen to come with me to Asda on the rare occasions that I go there, there's a big George department there. 15yr old thought she'd died and gone to heaven the day I splurged on an American Apparel hoody for her

I'm sure she'd love to dress entirely in top shop (not that cheap Pag!) and super dry but until I can afford to dress myself entirely from John Lewis and not Tesco/charity shop then she can carry on dreaming

The 12yr old is the most difficult to dress, she won't wear jeans and doesn't like buttons on trousers which means I have to keep an eye out for the most jean like jeggings I can find. She also has absolutely no sense of what goes with what and likes patterned things. She regularly looks like static on the telly

Thankfully the 15yr old is into the retro look rather than katie price stylee.

We buy the basics: school uniform, a pair or two of jeans, a few basic tops, school shoes, socks and underwear, and a warm coat. Any extras come out of their monthly allowance: £14 for the 15yo and £10 for the 11yo. They usually do their own clothes shopping: I give them the bus fare and they set off to town together. And if it's something relatively minor like jeans or socks that is part of what we fund, I will give them a sum to buy it with; for something more important like shoes, I will come with them.

I usually buy ds1's clothes he will save Christmas/birthday/pocket money to go in town with his friends and come back with the odd hoodie, chinos usually he wastes it on Microsoft points and macdonalds!
I don't mind buying the sweatshirts up to around the £50 mark so from hollister, republic, top man, superdry. Anything else such as jack wills, stone island, etc comes under birthday presents or he has to save for it. I'm a bit of a shopaholic myself so like the excuse to go shopping and as long as I don't go over budget that's fine by me.

£50 on a hoody????
DS1 is 16 and DS2 13. I thought about giving DS1 a clothing allowance but he would simply bank it and wear rags . I just buy as and when needed, and no fancy labels, usually H&M or TKMax.

We spend way too much!! I know that but it's not going to be forever!!

This year DS1 has had a TNF jacket £180
3 xDC shirts
2 hoodsies 1 was £60 and 1 was £80
2 pairs of trainers 1 was a pair of Vans for about £60 and the other was Duffer St George (or something) can't remember how much
1 pair of jeans at £80
1 belt at £40
2 x Calvn Klein undies £22 I think.
New school shoes and bag

DC2 has had 2 pairs of jeans at £30 each
2 hoodies at around £30 each
Rab jacket at £200
several t shirts at around £20 each.

I won't be buying unless it is something very very specific (maybe a suit for interviews) until the summer.

I tend to buy them when they ask for things tbh.
But I do make sure it is good quality stuff that doesn't fall apart quickly or go out of fashion by the weekend.

Very similar to HattiFattner here - though ours usually are based around holidays (we usually do a big shop just before a holiday and most of our holidays are UK based so the clothes are suitable for the weather here, not bikinis!). So several times a year DD will get a big spend on clothes, with infrequent top ups.

When it became clear that DD had no respect at all for the fact that we were spending a lot of money on clothes, and then giving extra holiday money as well, we created a new rule. We now set an amount that we think is an acceptable figure to buy clothes, and still have enough spending money left. She then makes a list of what she needs (with encouragement to consider what she already has, since she is prone to wanting an entire new wardrobe rather than just adding to it). She then has to buy everything on her list out of the money, whether she chooses to buy it in Primark or Gucci is her choice. But whatever she has left she then gets to keep as spending money. It has really honed her in terms of not flippantly expecting to have money thrown at her, as she was beginning to get very money grabbing!

I have one teenager who wants designer everything, and two other DCs who would happily see out the rest of their days in a pair of ripped jeans, literally falling apart Vans or Converse, and a black band T-shirt. Waht I spend on one, I save on the other two.

i have been wondering this as I got £20 a month clothing allowance (included pocket money too) 30 years ago, and have been trying to work out how much to give DS1 (13). ATM I pay the equivalent of chain store prices and he pays extra towards designer stuff with his paper round money.

My ds is well into mooching into the charity shops - he realises that you can get FAR more clothes, and sometimes much more (originally) expensive clothes than he would get if buying new.
He'll often ask for something specific for Christmas or birthdays.

Ds is 17 and we do as and when with limits! I buy all shoes and essential jeans. Special stuff at xmas and birthday eg American apparel and certain expensivethings. He skate boards and goes through about 4 pairs of skate shoes a year I am still buying those as he can,t find a job. He has gone out tonight happy as larry in a lovely jumper incline in a charity shopmfor £4

i think topshop, riverisland are expensive. as i recall its like 30- 49 quid for a top and the same for a pair of trousers, if its a dress its even more.

i duno where ill shop as my kids get older im new to it all, any suggestions fashionable but not too expensive? i was thinking h &m might be slightly cheaper than next, or new look.

my kids are 5 and under. i cope with nexf only due to discounts. i buy usually twice a year in bulk and thats the entire wardrobe done. its only uniforms and shoes that need to be done more often.

i never got an allowance for clothes growing up. im jealous of todays kids. it will be as and when needed. if my kids want designer they'll have to get a wkend job, i had to because my parents coulnt afford everydsy clothes for me, forget designer.

if i had the tolerance for elbow pushing and snatching id hit thr sales but i really really hate sales. the noise, the clamour, the early morning queues. its stressful enuff gettirng 3 little ones dressed forget the sales.

What amazes me is how my designer/brand conscious DS can lustfully covert one particular item, and yet turn his nose up in disgust at another item that virtually identical.