Buying kids clothes a year ahead on clearance?

[Fall1]

I am looking for some size help. DH and I just had twins in June and I wanted to buy them some summer clothes, bathing suits while they are on clearance for next summer. I see threads of people doing similar to save money, but I don't know what size to buy. If they are born in June, do I buy 12 mos (age they'll be) next summer or 18 mos. Do you always buy a size up? Trying to save where we can.....thanks!

 

[LJRJR]

It is always very tough to judge what size your children will be next year, but it is definately a huge savings. I would buy the 18 months size size, if they dont wear the clothes in the beginning of next summer then they should definately fit by the end of next summer. Once they got alittle older my children DD7, DS5 & DS3 always were true to size, and as they get older it is definately more difficult with what their likes will be. And remember if there is something you really want to buy for them and they olny have it in a much bigger size, get it because they will be wearing it real soon. Good luck and happy shopping!

 

[bzzymom]

Both of my kids wore clothes that were pretty much true to size....at 1 yr they wore 12 onths so I had it easy. I have known people whose 6 month old babies wore 12 months clothes. Now that they are 3 and 10, I have a harder time.

 

[moepanz]

Hi and congrats on the twins. I also have twins, b/g 18 months and a 4 year old boy. Clothes are tricky. Everything fits my 4 yr old like a model. My twins are a different story. What I have found is it depends where you buy the clothes. Target clothes run really small for example my DD no longer fits in her 2T's from Target but 2T's from Khols are too big. We are going to Disney in Dec clothes shopping has been the biggest hassel thus far. Still trying to figure which double stroller to bring.... Ahhhh the joy of twins! I hope this helps a little. Good luck and get some sleep.

 

[CJ's Mommy]

I would base it on how your babies sizes run now. Do they wear their true size or a little bigger? Are they in the 50th percentile or way above average or below? My son was born at 9 lbs 5 oz and as an infant always wore a size bigger. As he started walking he slimmed down and now at almost 3 years old he is wearing his normal size. (Although, I did have to put him in 3T's this summer and his 3rd bday is in October...hmmm)

I have to agree with the previous poster about getting 18 months versus 12 months. A little bigger is better than too tight in my opinion.

Good luck!

 

[laughinplace199]

First of all, congrats on your twins!

I wouldn't buy summer stuff for next year. I think it's too much of a guessing game when they're this little and you could end up wasting your money if the items don't fit. I have three kids and they're all different. I've never been able to guess what size they'll be wearing next year. For example, my first child was always in the 50% percentile, but different brands fit her differently. My second child was 9 lbs 8 oz at birth and was in the 95th percentile for the first 6 mos. Then, he began to slim down. Then he really slimmed down. He's now 6 and all of his shorts are a 3T. My youngest is 10 months. He was 8 lbs, 2 oz at birth, which is on the big side. However, he is not the greatest eater and is now only 16 lbs. I have no idea what size he'll wear next summer. If he starts eating better, maybe he'll wear 18 mos. If not, maybe 12 mos.

 

[SeeDisney]

Perhaps buy a few outfits a couple of sizes up. I always do this myself as well.

Babies can run from a couple sizes larger than themselves. Older children stay true to their size for about a year or so, experiencing from my kids.

Right now, I'm buying my daugther the next size up or two for next year.

Have fun.

 

[Princess Roo]

I agree that you're taking a risk here...lots of kids go through funny growth spurts in their first two years. For example, DS never really wore 9-12 mo clothes, just shot up over the course of a week or two and skipped the size.
If you want to buy some things, especially steer clear of onesies and things that snap since height is the hardest thing to judge. Two piece outfits (or just shorts) are easier, since you only have to worry about the waist measurement then.

I have also found that often regular prices at outlets and at Target are cheaper than the clearance prices at department stores. OldNavy.com runs great pre-season sales, too, where tons of things are $4 and $5. We also have a lot of consignment sales near us where you can buy 'gently used' clothes in GREAT condition very inexpensively.

 

[thepeach80]

You can always get things that can be worn for several seasons like jeans, short sleeved shirts, pjs, etc. I think girls bathing suits run small so buying those in any size I think would work. I just bought Ilana a 5T for the future and she's only in 6-9 mos now, but it was so cheap! lol AJ was always ahead a size or 2, but now wears 4's and 5's now at 4 so is right on. Evan can still wear 18 mos (smaller if it's shorts) and he's almost 3. I bought a few one piece things for Ilana for next summer in 18 mos b/c one piece outfits can usually be worn even if a little big or a little small (I'm thinking these will be too big). She's almost 10 mos now and 17# so will easily make it through the winter I bet in 6-9 mos. Good luck!

 

[adoptionmomma4]

I started buying ahead for DD after she was one. We were fostering her at first and if for some reason she went home, I didn’t want to have to look at all of her clothes the next season. It would have been way to sad.

Having said that... I have had great luck buying ahead for all 4 of my kids. I usually buy one size up for each child. I have 2 children who (in the past) have run pretty true to size and 2 children who are small (boy 6.5 who was 39lbs yesterday and girl 2.5 who is 22lbs). I still buy the age appropriate sizes. Most waists synch in now with the tabs to make a better fit. I would not want my 6 year old wearing 2t or 3t shorts (which fit in his waist) because they would be so short and look terrible. It is getting a little harder as they get older. My DS 8 went from a 7 slim to 9 slim last school year. This year I bought him 10 slims and I am praying he is not swimming in them.

As someone else posted it also depends on the stores you shop at. I have been kids shopping for years now, so I can pretty much tell how something runs. In beginning it would have been harder for me. I shop at Gymboree and the Gap and fill in from target. In my experience I find Gymbo runs big, gap runs true to size and most things from target are right on for my kids. I also buy a size smaller in swim suits, or for us they get wet and want to slide wayyyyy down

I will also add that buying ahead has not really saved me a ton of money. I always see such cute things at the beginning of the season I think they NEED! So, I end up over buying and half the stuff in the kids closets are only wore a few times.

I hope this helps a little Congratulations on the twins.

 

[Denine]

I didn't buy a year ahead when DD was a baby. It was too hard to tell what size she was going to be.
Since then however, I do buy a year ahead.

If you decide to go ahead and buy now, I would get the 18 month size.

 

[ZPT1022]

I would base it on how your babies sizes run now. Do they wear their true size or a little bigger? Are they in the 50th percentile or way above average or below? My son was born at 9 lbs 5 oz and as an infant always wore a size bigger. As he started walking he slimmed down and now at almost 3 years old he is wearing his normal size. (Although, I did have to put him in 3T's this summer and his 3rd bday is in October...hmmm)

I have to agree with the previous poster about getting 18 months versus 12 months. A little bigger is better than too tight in my opinion.

Good luck!

Twins are a bit harder to size unfortunately, as they tend to be smaller at birth but you don't know when they will catch up. My oldest was a singleton and has always followed the sizes almost exactly. My twins were a bit off for a while, and even spent 2 months in preemie sizes even though they were only 3 weeks early. By their first birthday however, they were wearing 12 or 18 months clothing, depending on the manufacturer and the cut of the outfit. Other twins catch up or even pass the "norms" and some stay small for awhile, like my cousins kids who were more closer to preschool age before they caught up in size. As much as I like to save money by buying ahead, I might wait this one out. Sorry, not what you wanted to hear, I'm sure

 

[danicaw]

Both of my kids are longer in the torso than the legs. So pants last and last, while shirts come and go a lot quicker.
So, if your little ones are the same get the 18 mo in shirts and 12 mo in pants. Or if they have long legs swap it around, larger pants. etc.

This works for us, maybe not for everyone.
DD (13 months) still fits in 9 months pants but has 18 mo shirts that fit fine.
DS4 is about the same 3T shorts still fit (yeah! for the adjustable waist band) but he has a handful of 5T shirts that work fine. (This sounds like they would look funny, but they really look normal, not top heavy I swear the idea of this made me laugh)
If you little ones are girls then another thing to remember is that skirts are forgiving...pants are obvious if they are to long or to short but skirts are much more forgiving.

Enjoy your shopping. Got to love a deal!

 

[allyphoe]

IMHO, it depends on how much tolerance you have for clothes that don't fit quite right. I have a *lot* of tolerance for it - my DD4 has clothes sized from 3T to 7 in her closet, and they all fit well enough for me (and for her). I did recently weed out the 2T stuff, because the dresses didn't cover her underwear anymore! She got a lot of wear out of a Lands End 5T shirt, which she wore as a dress around 18 months. Good thing, too, because she won't wear it as a shirt now.

I second the suggestion for separates (or dresses if your twins are girls).

 

[Princess Roo]

I wanted to add that if I find a GREAT deal on something basic, I'll buy it in the much larger sizes. For example, I just used a coupon combined with GAP clearance to buy neutral colored golf shirts and sweat pants in sizes 3T, 4T, 5T for less than $3 each. Even if for some strange reason my son never wears 4T during sweatpant season, I'll happily donate them to charity at that price. Plus, once you get up to 3T, 4T, 5T chances are kids will have a summer and winter season in each of those sizes.

 

[MSSANDRA]

I always did this when DS was little. Easter and Christmas outfits were always the after holliday sales. I always bought one size up from the current size. Only once did i ever mess up and that was with a really cute disney store outfit that ran REALLY small.

I would look for clothes that are "forgiving". pants with cuff, oversized shirts, overalls are great. I avoided jeans as they need to fit a little more.

I almost always bought at 75-90% off.

 

[NotUrsula]

... Not only do I do it, I do it w/ resale. My local OUAC is having a .99 clearance on summer-weight things right now; I picked up 18 pieces for next year, almost an entire wardrobe. For under $20 on tax-free weekend, it was worth it.

My older child is male, the baby is a girl. I bought a lot of neutral basic pieces on clearance when DS was little, and I kept them whether he wore them or not. DD will be wearing them now. (I really don't care about "style" with babies/toddlers; if it was cute then it will be cute now.)

Personally I'll always jump at clearance prices on long pants with snaps in the crotch, regardless of color. They have been hard to find in recent years, and there are few things I hate more than having to take a child's shoes off and completely undress her to change a messy diaper.

 

[llp479]

I've always done this. My twins were born at 31 weeks and were wearing 24 months by the time they were a year. My niece, however, was born at 40 weeks and was in 12 mos at a year. It's hard to guess. I usually stuck with separates, because the difference in sizes wasn't that big of a deal vs a one piece item if it's too big or small you can tell.

My twins are now 13 and I hope are done growing. My youngest is 10 and I bought shorts and bathing suits on the clearance racks at Limited Too for our cruise next March. Better to buy them now at 10 vs 40 in the spring.

 

[PA Princess]

I second the idea of shopping the resale clearance! I have 4 kids and I always buy a year ahead for them. I have been able to buy some many things for a $1 at the OUAC clearance sales. The great part is that if I am off a size, it is so much less of a stresser when the pricess are so cheap.

I think buying ahead with twins (if they are the same sex) may be even easier than a singleton...you have better odds that someone will wear that size May older 2 are boys 12 months and 1 day apart (it is the age old story...we adopted a baby and very soon after found we were pregnant). When they were small I could buy a few things in various sizes and someone always wore it at some point.

I would recommend you buy a few 12 months (think more spring than summer...short sleeves, but not sleeveless) and then several 18 month items. Look for basic wardrobe items and try to avoid hard to match colors unless you can buy something at that point to match. Happy shopping!

 

[tweedlemom]

Buy bigger! You can always roll up pant legs and sleeves, cinch waists or shrink all cotton outfits. Congrats on your babies!!!