Did your parents dress you in a cheap or expensive clothes growing up?

[OrangeBirdGirl]

I had quality stuff but we weren't in a big enough area to have large department stores or trendy stores (whatever would have been like Justice when I was a kid). My parents were so big into making sure I had decent shoes. They had to be leather, no "man made materials" or else my feet could stink they'd say. LOL my parents are still that way where for me alot of my dress shoes are man-made materials. LOL and don't even get my dad started on how I could spend $100+ on a pair of running shoes that is just fabric, not even leather. I am not even sure they made leather running shoes. But, yes my father is the one that has the white New Balance w/ the "N" logo in blue on the side.

 

[prairie_girl]

^^This. I grew up in a remote rural location and as a small child in the 70's, options for shopping weren't really a thing. Practically everything I owned came out of the Sears catalogue - same for all the other kids in my area. It was actually exciting on the first day of school to see if any other girl had exactly the same shirt or shoes as you. If they did, you knew you were "on fleek".

I remember being so excited to pick out a new outfit for school every year out of the Sears catalogue.

My mom was a Home Ec major in University so until about grade 5 or so, everything I wore was home made. This sounds made up but I swear it's not... I didn't wear a pair of jeans to school until Grade 7. The kids were so shocked that they wrote it on the homeroom calendar LOL

I did own jeans, but they were play clothes for after school and weekends.

 

[disneychrista]

My mom made a lot of my clothes. Those she didn't make were basic, a lot from Kmart.

 

[tvguy]

I grew up wearing JCPenney clothing. Usually purchased on sale. I consider that moderate cost clothing. At that era I would suspect K-Mart clothing might have been cheaper, no Walmart here when I was growing up.

 

[E&Cmom]

Nice clothes often on sale. My mom was good at sale shopping. She also made me some of my clothes.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I was the only girl in my extended family and I was small..no hand me downs. My mother's family was poor and she was cheap. We could afford more but she didn't believe we needed anything nicer than what she had growing up. Dad's family didn't have much but believed in quality over quantity. Sometimes he would indulge in something special but had to pay dearly...mom would throw a fit. My grandmother was widowed at a young age...tight budget but did her best to help out.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Name Brand—- Ralph Lauren, Guess, Espirit, etc...

My sister and I dressed better than my mom. Just like I spend more money on my boys’ clothes than I do on mine.

 

[Mysterian]

Normal stuff. My Member's Only jacket means I was a member, and so were millions of others. Members of a club so exclusive that you can purchase admission at K-Mart, Bradlee's, JCP, Sears, you name it.

 

[superme80]

My mom was very frugal. We shopped at Kmart, Payless (now Rite Aid), and shoes from Payless Shoe Source.

 

[HiStitch626]

My mother and her mother made most of my clothing growing up. I took dance class for many years. My tights and leotards were bought, but my mother always knitted my leg warmers. They were always much nicer than the store-bought ones.

 

[design_mom]

My parents believed in quality over quantity.

I wore a uniform to school so my non uniform wardrobe didn’t have to be huge. For instance, they believed in quality, especially for shoes but I had one pair of school shoes, one pair of sneakers, and sometimes had a pair of dress shoes, but never more than 1.

I had 2 uniform jumpers, 5 shirts, 1 school-approved cardigan sweater, 1 pair of school shoes.

My non-school clothes were classic, decent quality clothes that would last (not fashionable, trendy stuff). So, for example, my jeans were Levi’s not no-brand... but I usually only had 1 or 2 pairs. They were not a "fashionable brand" and were never pinstriped, acid-washed, colored, distressed or whatever the latest fashion was. They were plain old blue jeans that could be worn for years.

If I asked for something trendy, I had to hope Santa would bring it (but he sometimes would).

 

[mjkacmom]

80s girl. I loved Calvin Klein,Chardone, Jordache, Swatch, Benneton, Cacherel, Esprit and Gloria Vanderbilt and THE LIMITED! I would say I dressed high end as a teeen. As a small child I was run of the mill wardrobe but once I hit 7th grade I discovered fashion!

Those were my brands, too. My mom was a lands end/llbean prep, she begged me to wear more traditional sweaters and turtlenecks vs. my oversized print blouses and sweaters (and rugby shirts), but gave in.

 

[Darcy03231]

My mom was the queen of bargain hunters so we had nice things that she bought inexpensively. Nothing name brand, but nice department store clothes. When we got to be teens and really wanted the name brand items she gave us the money she would have spent for school clothes and let us to our own shopping. It didn't take long for us to understand that we could get 2-3x as much by shopping clearance racks and not getting the name brand stuff. I ended up doing the same thing with my own children, with an occasional splurge on something name brand (but on sale).

 

[scottmel]

Those were my brands, too. My mom was a lands end/llbean prep, she begged me to wear more traditional sweaters and turtlenecks vs. my oversized print blouses and sweaters (and rugby shirts), but gave in.

RUGBY Shirts!!! YES! I loved those....Super stiff heavy almost canvas bennneton!

 

[1GoldenSun]

I don't think my parents spent a lot of money on our clothes when I was a kid; what I remember is basic OshKosh and Garanimals kind of stuff. Not Kmart but not high-end either.

But when I got to high school age and became more interested in my appearance and fashion my mom bought more or less what I liked, although it was limited; it wasn't like I could have whatever I wanted. I had ONE Member's Only jacket, not one in every color like some kids. I had half a dozen Izod polos, not dozens, and one pair of Guess jeans, with the rest being Levi's. I could choose a few outfits from The Limited but I couldn't go crazy.

My parents were financially comfortable but fairly frugal, but they also wanted us to be happy.

 

[monarchsfan16]

Reasonable quality, purchased on sale. We wore a lot of Osh Kosh and JC Penny's. Shoes were from Stride Rite for many years. Outdoor wardrobes for NH winters were LL Bean, purchased with rewards certificates from the LL Bean credit card.

 

[Skippy918]

I wore a uniform for school and the rest of my clothes were hand me downs from my older cousins.

 

[disney212]

All from Sears until the early 80s when I hit 13. Used my baby sitting money to buy Calvin Klein jeans and Nike shoes. In middle and high school clothes were very important and unfortunately lots of kids were bullied for not having the right clithes. My parents didn't have the money to buy those things so I worked for them. I am still very aware of fashion but I am great at finding bargains. I have tried cheaper clothes but they just don't seem to last. I have 0 care whose name is on it now but I want qypuality. Example my dad, against my mom's wishes, got me a Halston sweater for Christmas when I was in 10th grade, I'm 53 and I still wear it, it looks new and I get tons of compliments on it. Now I wait until the 60% off plus and additional 40% off sales. My clothes cost less after the discounts than I can buy a knock off for at a big box store. For my kids I did the same.

 

[NannyBeBe]

My clothes were always clean and pressed, but my parents could not afford the Harbert skirts and Capezio shoes that the popular girls wore. I still remember those girls treating me and my friends like we weren't there. It hurt, but I've never made fun of or looked down on anyone because their clothes were not the expensive or popular brands. Now that I can afford to buy the higher-end clothes, I still shop at Walmart or thrift shops. All clothes, cheap or expensive, eventually wind up in the rag bag or the trash.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I went to Catholic school for 12 years. We had to wear dresses, jumpers or a blouse and skirt even if it was 20 below zero! JCP was where we shopped. The nuns wouldn't allow girls to wear pants. In high school it was a navy blue blazer, white blouse and plaid, pleated skirt. After school we all wore Levi's, tee shirts and hiking boots (New Hampshire).

Our son was a challenge as we sent him to prep school which was a stretch to begin with. The first parent meeting I went to (8th grade) was full of mom's explaining how they got great buys on designer jackets at Good Will. That tip saved us a fortune as I'd go to a thrift store, buy a gorgeous high end jacket and take it right to the cleaners. He needed a jacket to wear at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, so I bought a linen double breasted jacket for $8, had it cleaned and told him to leave it at the hotel!