What deals R U finding for back 2 school clothes and did you clean out their closets?

[okeydokey]

We don't really need a whole this year. My very slim 13 year old son needs jeans and they are so hard to find in his size. I am not about to pay $40 a pair for them. He is about out of Children's Place and Old Navy sizes, but way too skinny for the Aeropostale etc.

 

[bookgirl]

Update DD went to the outlet mall with a friend and picked up 2 pair of sneakers for DS at the Nike store. One was a pair of skate shoes marked down to $20 the other were hightops for $50. The $50 pair was over budget for me however where we live peer presure is brutal and a good number of families are very well off. At least he has not gotten into the Nike socks.

Mine are all about the socks. We hit the outlet for those at Christmas and birthdays.

We also hit the outlets for their shirts (RLPolo) They like the long sleeve tshirts and if you get on their mailing list you get some decent mail offers, so we stock up at Christmas on that line.

Right now if they need anything it'll be shoes (nike outlet) and pants (gap or RL outlet cords). I love the outlets for the name brand stuff. It's not a whole lot cheaper but at least you save some. Luckily they are also only going up about a size a year to year and a half so we don't have to update constantly.

It also helps that we all buy stuff. I know that a lot of parents are the lone shoppers but with the twins being the only kids we all end up buying stuff. I think the way things are today it helps when the other relatives can help, but the twins do often ask for clothing for birthdays and Christmas instead of stuff. They get that it's easier to get the things they want if they wait till it's a birthday. The other good thing is when not in school they prefer cheap basketball shorts and any old tshirt, so that at least is cheap and easy to get.

Our tax free weekend is coming up in two weeks so I might shop then if they need new stuff, but we bought ahead at Christmas in a size up so I think they are fine.

 

[AverageDiser]

You may want to check and see if there's a Plato's Closet or teen resale shop in the area. Ours just had their stuff a bag for $20..we scored 6 prs of jeans (lucky brand, aero, hollister, etc) 7 skirts, and 8 shirts for that. Retail was over $275 at consignment prices. She's 12, and just in a size 0. They also carry some boys clothing.

 

[CdnCarrie]

I constantly clean out their closets. But they are still young. Every time we find something they have outgrown or refuse to wear I throw it in a box in their closet. Once the closet is full it goes to the younger sibling or to charity.

As for back to school shopping I don't really do it. I just buy them clothes when they need it. Only thing I buy specifically for the start of school is runners.

 

[freckles04]

Well thank goodness that is not on our BTS shopping list here!

 

[freckles04]

My son wears a uniform for public school. For boys it's khaki or navy pants/shorts and white, black, or your school's color polos. We go back to school next week (yes, already!) so I've definitely been getting prepared.

I thought I got a great deal at $8 per shirt and $13 per pair of shorts at Old Navy. Just looked and they now have the polos for $5 and shorts for $8! Darn, that's a STEAL. Hate I missed it!

I'll worry about pants later, it will be hot/warm here for several months yet and DS grows like a weed.

 

[texasroni75]

Now that we live in Texas, we hardly do back-to-school shopping. It's still hot enough here for the kids to wear their summer clothes pretty much till Thanksgiving. When the kids have growth spurts or need new shoes we go as we need it. I clean out their closets once every three months or so.

We mostly shop mainly clearance sales throughout the year at places like Ross and Marshalls. We have a Premium Outlets right in town that has tons of brand-name stores, but I rarely find any really good deals there. Typical markdowns there are 25-35% off. Not a good enough deal for me - I find much better deals going to the regular mall every once in a while - finding things already marked down with 50-70% off those prices.

For my kids (ages 8, 11 and 18) we have most recently found great sales at Pac-Sun, Aeropostale and Papaya. The Vans store occasionally has a buy one get one sale so we watch for that and get the kids new sneakers there.
Oldest DD also shops at Plato's Closet (resale/consignment chain) and jeans run about $14, tops $8-$10.

 

[kinntj]

My oldest is cleaning out her closet right now. She'll take inventory after she decides what gets donated or thrown out. We wait to shop in September for most things she'll need.

I like to shoe shop early because all of the popular shoes sell out fast.

I'll go through my 9 yo closet in August and go outlet shopping before school starts.

 

[dpswift]

I look at it as 2 pair for $70 and name brand too. I hope I do that well this weekend at the Nike outlet. We have the socks on our list.

I am looking at it that way also. Hopefully they will last better than his last pair(Target brand). DD 20 will only wear Nikes and they have held up well. DS 21 loves the socks and they have held up extremely well.

 

[lucyem]

What i do is pop into goodwill every few weeks and pick them up pants for $2 a pair. Sometimes i find nothing but sometimes i find lots of things. But seriously both my boys grew over 4 inches last year. I feel like a revolving door of clothing so i save where i can. My oldest is just now hitting the age of growth spurts. Buying mens shoes for him to wear for 6 months and then grow out of them is killing the budget.

 

[pixiewings71]

I don't buy things for BTS, I buy my girls things as we find them or as they need them. For instance last week I was at the mall, our Rue 21 (our favorite place to shop right now lol) had jeans for $5 a pair so I bought a couple of pair, they had shirts for $3 each so again, bought a few. When we find deals like that I buy them, that's how we do it.

 

[Alexle2007]

Ok, done! The Polo Children's Factory Store has an awesome sale going on! 30% off of everything including clearance plus an extra 20% off with the coupon that came in the mail! 7 polo shirts, 3 jeans and socks for $121. Not too bad.

 

[cheap traveler]

We go back in 6 more weeks, so I haven't really started yet. I found one pair of jeans at Kohl's that fit DD9 perfectly for $6, so I grabbed those.

The one thing I did buy already, with no thought to cost (though it was 50% off with an additional 30% coupon) was a new bathing suit for DD9. Our school starts swimming lessons in 3rd grade (once a week), and I waited to buy her a suitable suit last year and couldn't find any!! Luckily she was able to fit into an older one until the end of the year. This year, I have it bought and washed already. School rule in 1-piece, my rule is maximum coverage - I only get her the speedo suits that swimmers wear.

I'll probably only get them each one first-day outfit because they grow so quickly, and we get the new shoes late in August. Luckily they aren't too picky on sneakers, though DD9 did have to chip in for the expensive converse high-tops she wanted last year. Now she wears a 6 in women's, so she has more selection.

 

[PA Princess]

. Our school starts swimming lessons in 3rd grade (once a week), and I waited to buy her a suitable suit last year and couldn't find any!! Luckily she was able to fit into an older one until the end of the year. This year, I have it bought and washed already. School rule in 1-piece, my rule is maximum coverage - I only get her the speedo suits that swimmers wear.

I have 4 kids who all swim competitively year round, so I buy a lot of racing suits. There are many places on line to buy suits, so if you are ever in need of a suit again no need to rely on local places to have in stock at odd times of the year. Another good name for girls (my younger 2 are girls 8 and 12) is Dolfin - specifically the Uglies line is very popular. These suits offer the full coverage of the Speedos (and generally less expensive).

 

[pigletto]

We'll get a few things here but not too much before school starts. DD wears a uniform in high school and I spent $700 at the start of 9th grade on all the pieces. She may need a second gym uniform because I hate having to wash it every night so it's clean for the next day. We bought her school shoes the other day, and I ordered her a Dakine messenger bag from 6pm.com the other day. That's about it for her for school.
Ds doesn't wear a uniform but it's still shorts and t-shirt weather here until the end of September. He grew and needed all new pants in the Spring just before the end of the year so those will be fine for next year. I ordered his backpack when Lands End had them 75% off last winter.
The only other thing I've bought for him is a new coat and snow pants. They had a really nice Burton set on 6pm as well and I got the jacket for 80% off and the snowpants for 60% off. That saved me a bundle. It really pays to shop off season.

I'll start looking for more things for them as needed around October or November when things go on sale again.

 

[Mamakop]

My oldest Dd starts kindergarten this August and I am super excited to take her school shopping! Can't wait

 

[kellia]

Sear's no longer has their kidvantage program. It's a bummer because it saved us a ton of money. My son went thru 3 pairs of shoes in 1 school year and they weren't cheap shoes.

I was so upset about this! That was the only place I got pants for my boys. Although, I think it was one of my sons' fault they stopped the program...

 

[NotUrsula]

Just FYI, for girls 1-piece sport swimsuits, check your local Sam's Club right now; they have theirs on clearance, and I picked up two of them for DD6 for $4 each.

I just ordered our necessary uniform replacements from Kohl's, $129 for 10 pieces, and I got Kohl's Cash and SWA RR points.

DS likes zip-off khakis (they are allowed by his high school), and those things are normally horrendously expensive, but Kohl's has a decent price. I also got DD some polos in her school color, which is mustard; a very hard color to find in girls' polos. My best find was a PLAIN navy polo dress for her, no pleats and no ruffles -- it's essentially a long shirt, with a detachable ribbon belt.

FWIW, Penney's has tall polos for young men. My DS is all torso, so I find those good for him.

I'm holding off until the very last minute on sneakers and long pants for DD6; she starts her new school in three weeks, but she's in the middle of a growth spurt right now.
I'll have to buy the sneakers soon, but the long pants will wait a few months.

 

[phewms]

Osh Kosh has an additional 30% off clearance online.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

My kids wear "uniforms" for public school, but the tops are just plain polo shirts and t-shirts (in elementary only) in the school colors. Bottoms can be denim, khaki or navy. My oldest is moving from elementary to middle school and had very few polos in elementary as he preferred the collar-less t-shirts, so I bought him about 5-6 from Lands End recently when they had a good sale. I think they were about $10 each? I also got a couple of new t-shirts for my younger son at the same time, $7. They both have plenty of denim and khaki shorts to last until October, when we usually buy jeans. A friend gave me a bunch of shirts for my youngest son, as they're moving and her son won't have to wear the uniform shirts anymore.

I just got my youngest a new pair of Nikes at the Nike outlet on clearance for $20. I have to get new sneakers for my oldest, too, but his will be more expensive because he wears men's shoes. I usually wind up spending $50-60 on his shoes.

I often buy the Sears jeans for my boys - they're hard on the knees and Sears will replace them in the same size under Kidvantage.

I haven't made it all the way through this thread yet so maybe someone already mentioned it, but Sears discontinued the Kidvantage program.
http://www.sears.com/kid-vantage/nb...00010000100600&aff=Y&PID=6146808&AID=11042411