what is the normal amount of back to school clothes?

[stahshee]

How much do you usually buy? Do you get some summer/ fall and winter in the begining of the year. How many shoes do you usually buy example. I bought dd4 going to pre school some summer and fall t shirts and some skirts and capries. I also bought 2 pairs of shoes and sneakers. I plan to buy more fall and winter in Oct. What do you usually do?

 

[christinadei]

DS just started kindergarten and I bought him 1 pair of tennis shoes, about 5 pair of pants, 5 shirts and a few shorts.

Last year for pre-k, I bought about the same amount of everything.

I want to add that his birthday is in April and he has lots of shorts/shirts in great condition, as well as another pair of tennis shoes. I also buy him more winter clothes at Christmas.

one suggestion is to check closets and drawers before you go shopping. I didn't realize how many clothes he had. When I wetn to put his new clothes away, I realized that he already has a drawer full of good pants, another full of good shorts, plus one full of good shirts and more nice shirts in the closet. I should've cleaned them all out BEFORE I went shopping, not after. I got rid of lots of nice winter shirts that he barely wore that I bought for school last year, as well as lots of almost brand new sweaters. In florida, long sleeved shirts just really aren't needed. This year, we only bought short sleeved shirts. He has some light jackets/pullovers and a heavy jacket, those are plenty on cooler days.

 

[gr8ful4Him]

I usually buy things for my 12yo ds as he needs them. I may buy him some clothes at the beginning of the year if he has grown out of what he was wearing last year (or worn them to the point of....) He will be getting a few short sleeve shirts, some socks and underwear too. Fortunately, he has plenty of jean shorts that will fit him until it starts getting a little cooler. I will need to get him some new jeans, but that will probably wait until around October.
The tough thing is his shoes...his feet just seem like they grow very fast and he goes through shoes quickly! I just had to buy him new sneakers (a little big)...they'll be "worn in" a little before school, but that's a good thing. I only buy him one pair at a time though because I have no idea how quickly he'll be out of them, and as long as they look decent, he can wear them to church too. Of course, girls are different...sneakers, dress shoes, casual shoes, colors, colors, colors...

 

[MrsPete]

DS just started kindergarten and I bought him 1 pair of tennis shoes, about 5 pair of pants, 5 shirts and a few shorts.

This is about the same thing I do. I like to make sure that each girl has five pairs of good jeans before school starts. I don't worry much about shirts. They both already have plenty of tees and sweats. I tend to pick up shirts as I see them on sale or on clearance racks. Jeans are the big back-to-school item for us because last year's tend to be worn out.

Actually, since we live in the South, they'll start the school year in shorts (and they have what they've just worn all summer). But somehow it just seems "necessary" to buy jeans before school starts so that when those cold days arrive mid-October, the jeans are ready. Of course, jeans are on sale right now, which helps.

I don't worry too much about tennis shoes yet. My girls will start school wearing their summer sandals, and we'll buy tennis shoes later. At any given time, my girls tend to have 1 pair of church shoes in basic black or white, 1 pair of good tennis shoes for school, 1 pair of nasty tennis shoes, and a couple pairs of sandals/flip-flops.

one suggestion is to check closets and drawers before you go shopping. I didn't realize how many clothes he had.

This is so true. Kids probably dont' need nearly as much as parents buy for back-to-school.

 

[Laurajean1014]

Well, DS9 goes to private school and wears a uniform.

Summer uniforms = $109.00
Winter uniforms = $185.00
Gym apparal = $125.00
Shoes = $105.00 (he wears men sizes now)
Weekend Clothes = $185.00

All totals $709.00

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

DD15 & DS13 get $100 each to spend on fall clothes for school (excluding outerwear and shoes). I found this to be much cheaper than telling them they could get "3 pairs of jeans and 5 shirts". It's amazing how, when they're "paying" for it, they can find 3 pairs of reasonably priced jeans but when I'm paying for it, they hate anything that costs under $50 a pair!

 

[zurgswife]

Typically I only purchase as needed...so I don't really purchase clothes for school.

Though my DD14 has a uniform this year and to me it felt like a fortune...I think I"m up to $250 and we still need shoes and a gym uniform....

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

When I was a child we used to get a $50 budget for clothing, for the entire year (counting shoes and underwear)

The best part was that we had to order from the catalog since we lived far away from a town and had too many kids to fit in one car. It was like Christmas when those big boxes arrived in the mail. Was interesting to see if the items you picked out either fit or looked like the pictures promised they would.

Slightly Goofy (who is very, very old LOL)

 

[momxx5]

Most years I do not have to do lots of back to school clothing shopping.
I buy on clearance at the end of seasons. The newer shirts and shorts the kids wore in late spring will still fit for back to school. If I buy things now, hopefully they'll fit next spring.

Each child does get new sneakers as needed...just bought 2 boys each a pair of sneakers and still have 2 more kids to buy for. Two needed new backpacks this year.

My DD, soon to be 7, will need some winter clothes, so I'll watch for sales.

 

[babytrees]

My girls are allowed one new outfit for the first day of school.....this is one that doesn't have to be on clearance(but I have taught them so well that if it's not on sale or on clearance they don't usually look at it ). They are also allowed one new pair of shoes. We lucked out this year as part of the freecycle group in our area we were able to get a bunch of almost brand new brand name clothes that fits her(13 year old brand matters!!) and they fell in love with ballerina flats at Target ($5 on clearance!!) So for the two of them I will have to get some new undergarments but I will end up spending about $50 for back to school outfits!!!

We also buy as needed/warranted through the school year....we are clothes horses on a budget!!

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

For both my boys (1st grade and pre-K), I bought:

5 pullover shirts x $12 = $60

5 pairs shorts x $8 = $40

1 zip-up hoodie and sweatpants = $40

6 new T-shirts = $30

socks/underwear = $15

tennis shoes = $45

slip-on moccasins = $35

total of $265 each??

around October they will each get a couple of pairs of jeans, sweatpants, plus long sleeve shirts and winter coat for around $250 total.

 

[ckoncurat]

I have 5 daughters ages 2-8. We get MANY clothes as gifts or hand-me-downs, so I don't buy much. I don't buy ANYTHING thats not on clearance. I just finished going through and making sure each girl had 2-3 weeks worth of nice outfits and getting rid of worn out stuff. I only ended up buying a 1-2 new outfits per girl, plus 7 new pairs of shoes- UGHHH. Each girl gets a pair of sneakers and a pair of "dress" shoes. My girls will also wear shorts/skirts the first few weeks. I try to buy clothes on clearance year-round, but like I said, most of our stuff is hand me down. When my older daughters were preschool age I would make semiannual trips to nice consignment shops when they had clearance sales. I got lots of cheap, nice things that way.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

I usually just get my kids a few new things before school starts as we normally buy clothes throughout the year. My DD (12) is the only one that really cares. My DS would wear the same thing everyday if I let him...I should just buy him five identical outfits (LOL!).

 

[slgober]

I have four kids to buy back to school stuff for and it can get sooo expensive!!!

I always buy at least two new pairs of shoes each, one pair of tennis shoes and something else, and at least five new outfits for the first week of school. Most of the time they wind up with more stuff. They also all get new backpacks and lunchboxes.

This year I did the shopping before I really went through what they actually have. My 13-year old daughter has 22 pairs of jeans that all actually fit! That doesn't even include the capris, shorts and skirts that she has. She also has 25+ shirts that she likes (Aeropostale, Abercrombie and Hollister).

Man - I wish I would have looked through her stuff before we went to shop! I doubt she would have gotten as much as she did. She can wear a different outfit to school every day for at least 25 days!!

I wish I had her wardrobe! It seems like I only wear the same three pairs of jeans and same three t-shirts all the time!!

 

[dismom9761]

I didn't have to buy much for school to start since they start in summer clothes.I bought one pr of shorts and two shirts for my oldest.Then the next only got two new shirts.My older DD did got three outfits but her summer stuff was looking bad.They all got new tennis shoes and my DD got a pr of shoes from payless.Also they all got new socks.The bad thing is I looked through their winter clothes and my DS9 has not one single pr of pants he can wear.Same for my DD6.And the baby will have to have everything new also.I think my DS7 may be able to wear everything he had last year.He should love that.

 

[Carolinagirl1063]

This is dds first year of going to school 5 days a week. I went way overboard, but I have been having a hard time finding her sizes. When I found her sizes I swooped it up! She has eczema and cannot wear scratchy or itchy clothes. I bought her 4 skorts, 5 pair jeans, 8 pair of leggings, 14 shirts (about half and half long and short sleeved) 1 basic cadigan, 1 pair tennis shoes and 2 pair Mary Janes(brown and navy).
She is pretty much set until spring with the exception of a winter coat. I did not cut any tags out and I will return a few things towards the end of September when I see what we don't like or need. I usually do heavy shopping for her in late July or early August and again in February or March. I usually have to buy sneakers in August and January. I may buy a shirt here and there but I am basically done. I will probably return 3 leggings when I really think about it but will wait. I spent way too much money this time but did get some really good deals on her jeans. I like her to have 2 weeks of clothes for school and I buy the type we can mix and match.

 

[MELSMICE]

For both my boys (1st grade and pre-K), I bought:

5 pullover shirts x $12 = $60

5 pairs shorts x $8 = $40

1 zip-up hoodie and sweatpants = $40

6 new T-shirts = $30

socks/underwear = $15

tennis shoes = $45

slip-on moccasins = $35

total of $265 each??

around October they will each get a couple of pairs of jeans, sweatpants, plus long sleeve shirts and winter coat for around $250 total.

I have 3 DD's & I'm more along the lines of this budget. I actually budget all year to go school shopping for them in the summer. It's a real adventure for us. I split my budget 3 ways & they get to spend it how they want.

I do buy them each a pair of sneakers that's not included in "their" budget.

I must say that they each have a fairly sizeable budget for school clothes. If they shop clearance and sales they can get tons & tons of things.

 

[calie_j]

I don't do much back to school clothes shopping, it's hard enough just getting the supplies without thinking about clothes too. I usually just make sure they each have a pair of tennies and they make due with short sleeves & last years jeans until sometime in Oct when it starts getting colder and I start putting away summer and taking out winter clothes and can make a list of what they need. I also try to keep an eye on what they're outgrowing thru the year to pick up a few things at a time and pick up a few new shirts every once in awhile (on sale or clearance of course) to keep their wardrobe fresh. It's alot easier to pick up a few things every month or 2 then it is to buy a whole new wardrobe all at once......but that depends on if they grow too much and suddenly everything is too small which happens too.

Calie

 

[chrisn]

I'd be embarassed to post the monetary amount but DH and I both work full time and well let's just say I like to shop for clothes both for my kids and myself. DH pays half and I pay half and of course ever since 6th grade, DD's tastes in clothes run along the lines of Haute Couture...well almost. DS could give a flying fig if I got all his clothes from the Salvation Army but I LOVE to dress him too! I always get good use out of his stuff by sending it to my nephew whom is 1 1/2 years younger and DD's stuff gets downloaded to my niece whom is 3 years younger but the same size. I buy for the entire school year but then they get a few things for X-mas and also when it starts getting warm again. They would do with much less but it's my weakness.

 

[CarolMN]

I learned the hard way with my daughter.

When she got into 4th or 5th grade, I only let her get a few outfits before school started. After she saw what the other girls were wearing, then we went shopping. When we bought a lot before school actually started, she ended up not wearing most of it. She didn't want to be too different from the others.


Best wishes-