Keeping up with baby's wardrobe...

[celina14]

I will preface this by saying I probably go a bit overboard on clothes for my DD! I can't help myself!! Lol! Anyway, I love Carters and they just had their 50% off everything sale do we stocked up for fall for her plus you can use a 20% coupon with the sale which is great and you got a $10 reward for every $50 you spend! For us that just cant be beat and the clothes are good quality. I think they usually have that sale 2 or 3 times per year, just sign up for their emails and you will get coupons and sale notifications. Also what's good about their stuff is a lot of things mix and match do you can have different outfit combos. My other fave is Baby Gap, it's my weakness! I have a Gap Card so often I get 30% coupons and even 40% sometimes. If you wait and use coupons you can get good deals there plus they have rewards with the card as well. The other place we shop for her is Kohls. Good sales and again if you wait until you get a 30% coupon then you can get good deals. I usually do a bigger shopping trip got the season and then buy things here and there when there's a good sale or coupon. I don't really buy ahead because my DD sizes are too unpredictable right now. Kohls is the only place I will buy ahead because their return policy is so good (no time limit on returns and if you use a Kohls card you don't even need your receipt). You can get some pretty cheap deals at the end of season there!

 

[bedogged]

I am raising an 18 month old great grandson and he is a big boy. 98% in both height and weight. I usually pick up sale items at Costco. I picked up some Carter's blanket sleepers for the fall in size 3T. I am not a big fan about buying things well in advance as it can be hard to figure what size the child will be. For instance, I have some gifts in 2T that are fall and winter items that he will never be able to wear because they will be too small when winter arrives.

 

[jameyh]

I have 2 sons 7&1, I have found local consignment sales at churches to be a good source for gently worn clothing. Great for play clothes or daycare. I can buy $50 worth of clothes that would cost $100-$159 new.
Google consignment sales in your area, could also be a good place to resell some of your items

 

[rharper1496]

One thing I did was to avoid matchy matchy "outfits". In this house we're all about separates. Right now each kid has 5 pairs of pants and 7 shirts and DD has a few dresses on top of that. Because they're all basic pieces and in the same colour family everything can be mixed and matched. I could seriously go weeks without them wearing the same outfit twice.

At the start of each season I look at what we still have, get an idea of what we need to fill in the gaps and then check WM, Target, second hand stores or wait for an Old Navy or Children's Place sale. ON and CP seem to have online codes every other week. I made a rule when DD was born that I will not buy a piece of clothing unless it can be used to make 3 outfits when combined with existing stuff. The only exception is special occasion clothes, like Christmas dresses or a shirt for DS's picture day.

 

[crisi]

We had lots of hand me downs. - then I bought when I saw something cute.

 

[pittsburghmom]

I usually hit up some community yard sales in well-to-do neighborhoods. I've been really lucky and have found huge lots of very nice clothes for about .25-.50 a piece. Sometimes fill a bag for $3. Lots of Gap, Old Navy, Gymbo, Carters, TCP, etc. If the clothes are *really* nice, but too big, I'll buy ahead for next year.

 

[dpswift]

For my little kids I loved garage sales it gave me a chance to get out of the house and save money. They looked cute and if they happened to great ruined I was not too upset. As they got older I would buy them clothes on sale or clearance at Target or Old Navy.


Also I have always liked the look of young children(under 5) in oversized T shirts. In fact when my youngest DS was nine he wore the same T shirt that I bought on his first WDW trip when he was 4.

 

[tnd]

With my son, who is now 8, I shopped a season ahead on clearance because he always fit perfectly in the age range of the clothes. I also bought a lot of second hand stuff for him because I had more time to track down eBay and other sales (I was in grad school when he was little) and I had very little money. I also bought a lot of things Carters items at Costco. I agree with the other posters who suggested Gymboree sales. I got tons of good stuff there, and it is very high quality.

I tried shopping with my daughter, who is 2, but she is such a peanut that a lot of stuff is huge on her. She is still wearing 12-18 month stuff. For her, we are lucky to have a friend with a 3 year old daughter, so I get tons of hand-me-downs. I also buy a lot of my daughter's clothes at Target, Costco and Old Navy. I usually get a few nicer pieces at Hanna Andersson and some things at Gymboree. Because her sizing is difficult to predict, I do end up shopping each season.

 

[SEA333]

1> Accept ALL handmedowns. Sort through them as soon as you get them and throw the things you don't like into the Goodwill bag.
2> Buy pants/skirts at Target/Walmart, and save your pennies for the cute tops, skirts, and dresses for the Name Brand stores. I LOVED Carters and Osh Kosh, Children's Place, and Baby Gap when my kids were that age, but I never wasted my money on jeans there....nobody cared about the pants, just the tops. Actually, my DD only wore dresses and skirts with tights at that age, so the only pants we owned were hand-me-downs...
3> Wait to buy about a month into the season. I buy summer stuff in June, Fall stuff Labor Day weekend, Winter stuff in November/December, and Spring stuff around Easter. Waiting just a month allows you to buy everything on clearance - HUGE savings!! And everything is still in style because it's the same thing the neighbor bought last month at full price.
4> Buy shoes on sale before you need them at least a size big every single time because she will ALWAYS grow into them at some point. Never be afraid to buy something you love because the store only has bigger sizes...in a year or two, she will stay in a 2T...3T...4T for the entire year and you won't have to worry about her not fitting into a summer outfit in 6 months.
5> In the same vein, always check the clearance racks first, and always try to buy random things off season. Even if it's a color you don't think you would like, try it! You may be surprised at how cute green or blue is on a little girl (my DD ALWAYS wore pink when she was little, so a little lime green or aqua shirt was a nice change!)
6> One $20 dress is a total of $20 for the whole outfit, as opposed to a $12 shirt and $19 jeans. Even during potty training, my DD wore a dress. It was summer, so she went without tights. All I had to do is teach her to keep her dress up. Kids are smart...she figured out how to keep the hem out of the toilet pretty quickly, and she was only 26 months when she was potty trained.
7> Until DD was about 4, she owned about 25 dresses and 20 skirts, a bunch of shirts, a couple pairs of pants, and about 30 pairs of tights in various thicknesses/patterns. Dresses and skirts were hung in her closet, the rest were in her dresser. We tried to keep summer stuff accessible in summer, and vice versa - the out of season stuff went to the back of the closet.

 

[sherry7]

My DD is 3, and I confess to buying too many clothes for her. I'm a "matchy matchy" type person, so every top needs a bottom to match, etc.

I do buy some of her stuff out of season when it's on clearance. Kohl's and Carter's store both have an unlimited time return policy. On the rare occasions where I've guessed the size wrong, I can take it back with no problem. I don't generally buy shoes ahead since the sizes are too hard to guess, except for at Kohl's, because I can return them easily even a year later.

I really like the Jumping Beans brand of clothes at Kohl's. They fit a bit smaller than Carter's brand, but they wash up nicely, and I can get them inexpensively. I personally think they're cuter than Carter's brand too, at least for toddler girls. The girls clothes seem to have about 8-10 assorted colors, so it's very easy to coordinate tops to bottoms. The trick to shopping at Kohl's is to have their store credit card, because they run 30% off sales about once a month. Even if you don't get the 30% off coupon in the mail (some flyers are 15% or 20%), you can still use the 30% code online, and they usually have a free shipping code too. (It's always easy to find the codes via Google.) As an example, Kohl's has a good sale starting on the 11th. Jumping Beans separates for infants (up to size 24 mths) will be $5.99 each. Take 30% off that, and it's $4.19 per piece. The upcoming sale is also offering Kohl's Cash, at a rate of $10 per each $50 spent. So, that's basically another 20% saved, for a final cost of $3.35 per piece. Another example is that they'll have Carter's 2 pc bodysuit/pant sets for babies for $9.99. Minus 30% makes those $6.99, and then after Kohl's Cash, you have a final cost of $5.59 for the 2 pc outfit.

I've also been surprised at the quality of the Garanimals brand at Walmart. I bought DD a couple of cute summer outfits there this spring, and they've held up very nicely. I also like their Faded Glory brand 2 pc cotton pajamas, that come in a box. On the flip side, the clothes from Kmart are awful quality, including their Disney line. I caught a great clearance sale there last fall ($2.99 for 2 pc summer outfits) and bought 5 or 6 outfits for this summer. Every one of those outfits look awful now, even though they've only been washed a few times.

I also shop some at The Children's Place, but only at the outlet, which isn't that close to home. I like their adjustable waist jeans, and they frequently go on sale for $8.50 a pair for toddler sizes. Sometimes they'll have free shipping on the website with no minimum order.

I've went to a lot of children's consignment sales, and it's really hit or miss. I found a lot nicer stuff when DD was still in infant sizes. Every since she grew into toddler sizes, the clothes at the consignment sales are generally in not so great condition. I did go to one on Friday, and picked up a nice fall jacket, a Halloween costume, and 2 cute outfits. Everything else I saw was either seriously overpriced, or in poor condition. My best finds at consignment sales lately are usually dress shoes and toys.

 

[writersblock42]

There are tons and tons of ways to find baby clothes. Most yard sales have clothes for like 50 cents to a dollar. You have to pick through sometimes to find something really good but I have seen so many really cute baby clothes that way. Check out online yard sales as well and consignment shops.

 

[Trinity88]

I've started buying used clothes on FB. There are lots of groups out there. I get complete wardrobes for less than $20. I love it!

 

[JaymeC]

When mine were little almost all their clothes were used. I usually paid 50c-$1 when shopping at the thrift store and yard sale. I had a box for each age/season and when I bought something I'd put it in the appropriate box and eye it to see how it was going. If we needed more once they hit that size, we'd buy it but I'd try to hold off for a sale. It usually worked out very well.

I will say I had two boys close in age, so what one didn't wear it seemed like the other got a chance to at some point so clothes rarely didn't get worn.

Now as they're getting older I try to buy one year up either at thrift stores/garage sales or when they're really on sale at the store. I hate paying retail prices for things. At 7 and 8 they are getting their own styles bit by bit though, so I try to accommodate for those as well, but I'm pretty good at guessing what they'd like and luckily it's still pretty easy to find.

 

[kristinradico]

I am also a Gymboree/Crazy 8 junkie!! I hit the clearance at the end of seasons and buy a size up. Pairing clearance with coupons is the only way I clothes shop for my kids. The Children's Place usually has sales and always has a coupon code floating around.I save a lot of money, I just need to work on not buying too many cute outfits!!

 

[Pesky]

1. See if you don't have nearby friends or relations where you could arrange for a hand-me-down program, even offering to pay them a flat fee per bag of stuff. You can meet to sort and figure out what will work for your kid.

2. See about relations farther afield. I just learned that to ship a 20 cubic foot box to my SIL, packed to the gills with baby clothes, ran about $38 (using my AAA discount). Seriously, when are you going to get to pay $38 for that much stuff? It's CRAZY! Offer to pay shipping and for the box costs and see if you can't get relations to box up hand-me-downs for you.

3. Shops sales and discounts. Big holidays are usually good and end of season clearance is another good one. Find places that work for you in terms of style, size, etc. For emergency back up shorts and such, Wal-mart is my go-to place. For leggings for DD, who is tall and thin, Hanna Andersson, especially when they go on sale at Costco. DS, who is not as thin, he does well with Crazy 8s.

4. Shop the outlets WITH a sale. That can work wonders!

5. Buy ahead but like pps said, don't overbuy. Think BASIC! Odds are good your kid will be in 2T for roughly a year and same with 3T. Basic shorts, zip-up hoodies, t-shirts. I tend to buy shirts, coats and hoodies a bit big because that way they can wear them longer. For girls, consider investing in some boots for winter which can hide pants becoming floods as they grow!

6. To get the best deals, be sure to sign up for the emails for coupons and special offers for the stores you like to frequent. You can often stack coupons with specials and rack up greater savings then.

 

[usd2bmd]

When my daughter was born she basically outgrew what she had every three to four months. It was that way until she was two. I would buy stuff if i saw a good sale but for the most part it was a trip to Children's Place and Old Navy or Target. I could get a lot for my money and they lasted.

 

[AZMermaid]

I have a boy and a girl, 17 months apart. I am lucky with my daughter that so far, she gets a lot of hand-me-downs. But, the little girl I get them from is a tiny thing and it is likely they will be in the same size within the next 6 months, even though my daughter is more than a year younger. So.... I buy ahead like everyone else! I love Gymboree and agree you can get good deals when pairing with a coupon. The better deals are in the store, but online you can still get the stuff on sale and are more likely to be able to make outfits. So, I do both depending on what I need.

My kids have way too much clothes. My son just turned 3 and has been in a 3T for a couple months. He has probably 25-30 shirts and 12 shorts and PJs. I wash when I am down to 1-2 shorts or PJs. My daughter (almost 19 months) has more clothes than that, if I had to guess 40 tops, 20 shorts/skirts and 12-15 dresses. Like I said, hers is 75% hand me down and she is also sort of straddling bigger 12-18 month and 18-24 months, but I would say 2/3 of her closet is 18-24 at this point. She thinned out a lot lately so the 12-18 month has been fitting forever. But, this is way too much for both of them. This is part of the problem with buying ahead- you buy more than you need, but I do it anyway! I do get a lot of my son's shorts at Kid to Kid.

I don't buy shoes ahead. I got burned with my son and a BOGO sale at Stride Rite when I bought a size big and he grew 2.5 sizes in like 2 months. He never wore the second pair! My kids have 2-3 shoes at one time. A sneaker, a sandal/water shoe (except in winter), and a pair of Crocs.

 

[CuteAndFluffy]

One thing I'll add---

Even if you're done having kids, its sometimes worth holding on to a couple of outfits a size down for times when they thin out. I had my son bouncing between sizes for a while when he was around 18 mos and was glad I had procrastinated that particular task.

 

[Arielle22]

My DDs were 22 months apart. However by the time they were 3 and 5, DD#2 was outgrowing DD#1. They would also grow mid season. So I ended up buying a few things in the smaller sizes and waiting until the growth spurt before I bought more.

They had totally different builds so I couldn't use hand me ups from DD#2 to DD#1. DD#1 was lean and short. She was in the 10th percentile height/weight. DD#2 was in the 85th percentile with long legs.

I just used coupons and shopped sales.