Where do you shop for your kids clothes?

[Jennifer in MI]

Handing down clothes is a practical idea when you have children that are the same sex...not so much when they are different sexes.

And speaking from someone who rarely had "new" clothes (due to an older sister) I hated it and resented the fact that I never got anything new..it was always old and used.

I swore I wouldn't do that to my kids and luckily, I got a boy and a girl, so I didn't have to worry about it.

I wonder if that's a girl thing - caring so much about getting hand-me-downs? My boys just don't care, luckily - yet! I guess if they did care, I'd think about getting them a couple of new things each, but I don't think it'd add much to my clothing bill. My two oldest also have jobs now, so they could buy some of their own clothes when it starts to matter more.

You are right about the different sex thing! My older three are boys and things get handed down straight from one to the next to the next. My youngest is a girl. Very few things are still nice after three boys!! But, we do have a couple things that she has used. So, most of her clothes are used from the thrift store or from a family friend.

 

[happygirl]

Walmart
Good Will
Yard Sales

 

[HelenePA]

Handing down clothes is a practical idea when you have children that are the same sex...not so much when they are different sexes.

And speaking from someone who rarely had "new" clothes (due to an older sister) I hated it and resented the fact that I never got anything new..it was always old and used.

I swore I wouldn't do that to my kids and luckily, I got a boy and a girl, so I didn't have to worry about it.

My youngest dd LOVES wearing her older sisters clothes but I'll admit it not much stuff gets passed down from kid to kid.. I have an obsession with kid clothes I do TRY to reuse baby baby clothes but the seasons are all wrong for the sizes I need so that didn't even work. One son was born in June the other October

 

[SaraJayne]

I don't even know what Lucky brand jeans are.

 

[livie1205]

I just went to kohls and got my boys a few pair of tony hawk shorts,a few tony hawk shirts and 2 pairs of tony hawk shoes for 40.00.I also go to target.

 

[java]

oops I forgot tjmaxx. My dd is 11 and I find that she can fit into the XS adult tees and stuff. Which generally isn't picked over. So I lucked out with a $4 Lucky brand tee for her from there and some ed hardy stuff for $11. The merchandise changes frequently at our local store so you have to be patient and only buy when it's a great deal.

 

[Grumpy'sWife4Ever]

I've got a boy and a girl, too -- in that order, which is crucial. DD wears DS' old playclothes all the time. She's a bit of a messy eater at this point in her life (she's 23 months) and yesterday I needed to send 4 extra outfits to daycare. Everything I sent was out of the boy box; I wasn't going to send 4 good outfits to sit in her cubby for "just in case". A solid-color t-shirt is a t-shirt on a little kid; gender doesn't matter.

ITA - we are lucky in that our youngest is a girl, and after two boys of course I looked forward to a sea of pink and hair bows....which she has, don't get me wrong....but for playing in the yard, or arts and crafts, there is nothing better than throwing one of her brothers' old shirts on her. In fact, my DS 8 is built kind of small and DD 4 is big for her age, so sometimes she raids his CURRENT wardrobe which drives him up a wall....

 

[PrincessMom4]

My DD10 is a tomboy...loves her dresses (I've tried getting rid of the dresses w/o success and its not that I really want to anyway..lol) but she is as rough if not rougher than a boy. I usually buy a lot for her but don't spend a lot on it. I see moms buyins a child under 2 a top that is $40 (and its not a special occassion-just because its hip and new...same person who buys matching car seats that are over $220 each, but I digress). I feel like a kid in a candy store when I saved almost $200 on clothing. I buy shirts that normally cost $40 for $6.

 

[NikiM20]

I buy alot for DD at local thrift stores. She likes Abercrombie and gap, I buy Abercrombie jeans for $3.00 a pair. I have found Polo sweatshirts for $2.00. Its still Abercrombie no matter where you buy it from!!

 

[abcboys]

With 3 boys ages 10,7,4 I shop anywhere that is cheap. I love yard sales but is getting hard to find nice clothes for the oldest. I keep all their clothes for handme downs for the next boy. I shop goodwill, walmart, yardsales, or clearance at regular stores.

I do usually have to get new shoes for them, though.

 

[neatokimmo]

This summer the kiddo is wearing clothes from all over the place. If it is new, I bought it on extreme clearance at Baby Gap, Gymboree & Old Navy. She has three super cute Gap dresses that she is wearing this summer that were $4-5 each. For the fall she has several pieces from Gymboree that I got at the end of winter that I'll mix with other new pieces from less expensive places.

I also lucked out a few years back on her summer clothes this year (when you adopt, you stockpile stuff for a looong time) and got a lot of new with tags outfits for $3 each.

But 50% or more of her clothes are used. I shop the children's consignment sale twice a year. I also visit our best consignment shop for their dollar sales. I garage sale shop a LOT. Just today I got 9 pairs of jeans and a Tommy top for $9 (3 levis, 1 arizona, 2 old navy, 1 mudd and 2 I can't remember) that are cute! She'll start wearing those any time now.

I spend $400-500 a year on her stuff with shoes (darn those crocs on clearance!). I resell most of it to buy the next size up.

 

[ShootingStarMom2]

I don't have any issues with Walmart clothes not washing or holding up well. DS had a ton of clothes from there that our 2nd child is now wearing. Target has been ok, but I really only buy their clothes on clearance (even for myself). They had a 50% off the clearance ticket one day and I got DS almost everything for the upcoming fall. The jeans were $2 a pair, the polos were $1.50 each, and the hoodies were $1.90.

I love our kids resales (2x a year) at the county fairgrounds. 3 local mother's groups take over and have clothes by the ton, most of which go 50% off half way through the day. There are a few church sales in the fall that we always go to. Last year I got Carter's 2 piece jammies for $2 a pair. Our fire department does a yearly sale too with $1 or less for shirts. I'm always proud to come home and show DH what I got for so much less.

 

[richmond282]

I shop at Children's Place and local consignment sales mostly. Occassionally I also buy my DD clothes at Kohl's and Target. You can find some great deals on name brand clothes at consignment sales.

 

[Goofyzgurl]

I shop for the girls at TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Gymboree, Target....love my marshalls.

 

[heartsy77]

I do not buy my kids clothes at Walmart for two reasons: 1. I can buy name brand either on sale or on the clearance rack for cheaper. 2. They don't hold up. My girls are tween and teen and my store list looks likes this: KOHLS, JCPENNYS ( mostly for jeans) AEROPOSTALE, HOLLISTER - A&F (CLEARENCE ONLY) , 6PM.COM FOR DC SNEAKERS, OLD NAVY , AND GAP. I do not buy anything unless it is a good deal. I have had great luck in the NIKE, ADIAS, AERPOSTALE, OUTLETS as well. I am almost done school shopping for this year already.

 

[labdogs42]

Children's Place with sales and coupons, Old Navy, Carter's and OshKosh outlets with coupons, Kohl's. I buy certain items at Target as well, but you're right, some items there don't survive the wash too well.

 

[NiftyJ88]

I buy the majority of DD3's clothes at Kohl's. I usually have a 30% off that i can use. The jumping bean's line is usually on sale 2 for $12 and it coordinates well.

 

[disneymomjcs]

I shop everywhere for DD12. Kohl's always has a good sale and with 15 - 30% off coupons its always a good deal.

Also, Aeropostle usually good sales, JC Penny. We used to always shop Justice and Limited Too but they merged to Justice only the the clothes aren't the same. They've changed the style and the clothes don't look as nice more junky well maybe trendy.

 

[JoyG]

My kids wear uniforms to school and that saves me lots of money b/c I don't have to buy them much else. M-F they're in uniform, and Sundays they're in dress clothes (which is usually their uniform pants with a sweater vest).

I just need enough casual clothes for one day a week (Saturday).

I buy their clothes at Sears to make use of the Kidvantage guarantee. I can't tell you how many times I've traded in denim jeans, uniform pants, and sneakers for a free new pair...too many times to count.

My kids are really hard on their knees so pants last 2-3 months here and shoes last about the same.

Occasionally I'll buy them a shirt or something from Gap, Abercrombie, etc. but only on sale. I also never buy anything navy blue from Gap because it fades so fast!

 

[Nik's Mom]

My kids wear uniforms to school and that saves me lots of money b/c I don't have to buy them much else. M-F they're in uniform, and Sundays they're in dress clothes (which is usually their uniform pants with a sweater vest).

I just need enough casual clothes for one day a week (Saturday).

I buy their clothes at Sears to make use of the Kidvantage guarantee. I can't tell you how many times I've traded in denim jeans, uniform pants, and sneakers for a free new pair...too many times to count.

My kids are really hard on their knees so pants last 2-3 months here and shoes last about the same.

Occasionally I'll buy them a shirt or something from Gap, Abercrombie, etc. but only on sale. I also never buy anything navy blue from Gap because it fades so fast!

Ok, our kids sound alike. My boys will put holes in the knees in no time flat. Tell me about the Kidvantage program.

Thanks!