How much $ per child for a season of clothing?

[ChristyMarie]

Around here used clothing for boys after 2T is pretty much a fairy tale, I believe they are all hanging out with the unicorns and cyclops of the world. So, to the stores we go.

So we went today for fall/winter clothing for DS as he has grown out of everything. I bought shirts, pants, pajamas and 2 coats (1 fall sweatshirt, 1 late fall/early winter warm jacket). Still haven't bought boots, shoes or snowpants. His winter jacket and such fit from last year.

Now, I went to Target (pants, $4 each) and Walmart ($3-3.50 per item) and the Carter's outlet for jammies ($15 per set but I know they'll last until he outgrows them and they fit and are comfy, proven winners for us) and TJMaxx for the jacket items (~$17 each).

I spent $250. WTF? I've never done it all in one day before.

And I know boots, shoes and snowpants will probably be $150+.

Um, did I say WTF yet?

[ChetMC]

Did Good

I think you did well. I buy clearance and stash it away for the following year, and I think that's the only way you could have done much better.

You can get Carter's PJs for $5 a pair, but that's out of season. I paid $17 for DS's winter coat at Gymboree, and that was end of season clearance.

You can usually get 20% off coupons for Carter's and Osh Kosh. You need to spend $50 to use them though. We have four kids though, so I can usually find $50 worth of stuff.

If you have a Children's Place Outlet I often get $5 shoes and boots there.

I love the $4 pants and shirts at Target. I find that they hold us really well.

[Hey Mama!]

I'm not really sure. I buy from clearance and garage sale/consignment sales throughout the year. I also sell clothing in a huge consignment sale twice a year so I usually break even with what I buy and sell. I buy in a size range, right now it's girls 6-12. If it doesn't fit one of my girls I usually sell it unless I really want to keep it for someone to grow into. The only thing I'm going to have to pay regular price for this fall is tennis shoes for youngest daughter, and boots for the older two.

[sanguine_speed]

I hear ya! I feel jealous of the thrift store deals or free hand-me-downs that I hear about so often on MDC.
I have had almost nothing given to me for the kids as my kids are the oldest of our peers, and our thrift stores and consignments stores have high prices; often higher than the sale prices for the same items at the retail store where I don't have to spend hours and drive out of my way to dig through thrift racks.

We spend a significant amount of money on clothing for the kids upfront, but try and choose items with good warranties and with good hand-me-down potential. I buy higher-quality in the first place to pass down, especially now with three girls. I'd rather pay twice the price and buy the snowsuit once for three kids than buy the same cheap snowsuit three times. The same holds for regular clothes too. My experience is that it's the holding up to laundering that is the difference between lower-quality items and higher-quality-but-more-expensive items.

[StephandOwen]

How many pants, shirts and pj's did you buy him? Did he need that many? I have to admit, I too never buy it all at once because I hate the shock of that! LOL! DS is set in his ways on what he will wear so I only look for those items now (plain white shirts- short sleeve in spring/summer and long sleeve with a short sleeve under in fall/winter, athletic pants and shorts, certain type of boxers). So I look for them on clearance and buy for the next season.

The plain white shirts hardly ever go on sale but I get them for $3.50 each at Target (for short sleeve, long sleeve is $4.50 I think). The pants and shorts I always get on clearance. I can usually get them for $1-4 each, depending on brand and such.

Winter coats I usually skip a size (so last year I bought a size 8 which fit him last year, will fit him this year and *might* even fit him the year after, depending on his growth). I buy on clearance so I can get a nice warm coat (I try to get one with the zip-out fleece liner so it does double duty as a light jacket) for less than $20.

Pj's are my downfall though. The only ones he'll wear are long sleeve and long pants ones like this from Disney. They so rarely actually make it to clearance that I usually have to suck it up and buy them for way more than I like to (sometimes they do 2 for $20).

Anyway, over the course of a year I usually buy 20 white shirts (10 short sleeve, 10 long sleeve), 7-10 pairs of shorts, 7-10 pairs of pants, 10-12 pairs of pj's and 3 pairs of shoes. Total cost over a year is about $350.

If I had a girl that number would be way higher

[Drummer's Wife]

$400 doesn't seem that bad (since it includes boots and such), but I am not very frugal when it comes to clothes for my kids (I love Boden and Janie & Jack).

It helps for me that I have four kids (3 boys and 1 girl), so as long as I buy clothes that hold up and wash well, they can be passed down.

I hear you, though. Between backpacks, new shoes, jackets, and clothes for the new school year, it adds ip really quick!

[happyhats]

I too am one of those mamas that buy ahead, so I don't have a real price. I PROBABLY haven't spent more than fifty dollars a season, or less. And she has a pretty big wardrobe. Of course, now we've discovered dd has wide width feet so shoes are much more pricey to come by. And she hit a growth spurt recently so a lot of clothes aren't going to be worn at all (we're putting them in my family's yard sale this Saturday). There are a few things I've had to buy new-for some reason I haven't been able to find plain colored t shirts for the life of me, for example.

[p.s]

eh... ChristyMarie, you're the one with the $10k frig right? So your budget can afford it; a few hundred for a whole season's worth of clothings is not bad. Now you don't have to spend anymore time thinking.. shopping... or planning. It's all done. Good job!

[34me]

I think you did ok. When my boys were younger I could go pretty inexpensive but like others, I would often pay more for things that would last. His poor brother has only gotten a smattering of T-shirts in the last three years because he gets the hand me downs from his brother and all his brothers' friends.

Now that the oldest is 14 he gets giftcards for all gift giving occasions as he wants the labels I'm not willing to pay for so I have my buget and he covers the overages.

And my 16 yo dd HATES to shop. So not fair.

[zebra15]

DS is 9 so its a bit different.... I buy as he needs it since sizes change so much. When he was little I would buy ahead and just store it. Something I always kept in mind was the items and how soon he was going to wear them. Like its August now....how soon will he wear winter clothes??

[holidaymama]

I think you did alright to be honest, and like others have said...buy quality once, then you can pass it down. My little guy gets all hand me downs...except for his sweet grandma who buys him new clothes once in awhile.

I agree and was just going to post a discussion...do people's thrift/consignment stores even carry sizes after toddlers? I NEVER find any Or, like you said, I would do better shopping clearance racks.

So, that is what I mostly do. At the end of this spring, I went into gap and found their jeans for my 8 year old for less than $10 a piece! I can't find jeans that price at Target! And I like Gap jeans, they do hold up...hopefully even through an 8 year old!

So now I have the expensive part done, and once it's actually winter here (October-November: Texas) we will find shirts.

As far as Winter coats for us, it truly isn't cold enough until January, so I have been asking my parents to buy the boys coats for Xmas But my little guy again just get's the hand me down of a nice Columbia or LL Bean coat!

[caiesmommy]

My budget is as very little as I can go! I use freecycle, hand-me-downs, discounts and sales. And I NEVER buy anything that I can't get A LOT of use out of. So for ds, basic shirts/jeans/tees and hoodies. For dd-tights(they can be long to start then as she grows get shorter and they still look good), basic shirts, no fluffy pointless dresses, warm tights so summer stuff can last a little longer, nice hoodies/cardigans in basic colors

I am lucky and get hand-me-downs from dh's cousin. And I get things off of freecycle. This year I have a snowsuit for both kids that I got off of freecycle.

Ds's birthday is in a week and since he is starting school people have bought him back to school clothes for his birthday. My aunt and I found sneakers on sale 5 bucks a pair so she bought ds 2 pairs for his bday. Which was wicked b/c we were really thinking that would cause some major damage in the fall shopping budget

The only things dc will need *I THINK* are boots, hats, mitts, scarves. Which I will buy at work. I work at H&M part-time and we get 25% discount on all items including sale..so I'll just wait until the last of something gets thrown on the discount rack then I'll swoop in and buy it

AND since I'm in Canada when friends travel to the states I have them p/up for dc. My best friend got both dc a pair of converse each and that only cost 10 bucks a pair where here it would be closer to 40 a pair!

[ChristyMarie]

Hey, leave my fridge out of this!

I can't buy too far in advance. Tried that a couple of times but he seems to change shape as he grows and I wound up with a bunch of stuff that never fit. In the past 2 years he's gone from bottoms fitting from ONLY Children's Place, then ONLY Wal-mart and now ONLY Target.

I did buy a lot but I usually keep one extra outfit in my car and one extra outfit at school. Then a few things will get stained and the child goes through pajamas like nothing. I am constantly washing pajamas but he uses them as his home play clothes too. I bought:

8 pants
11 shirts
9 pajama sets

I'm thinking his boots might fit from last year, at least for the first part of the winter as I bought them at the end of Feb. Oh yes, he grew through a size in the middle of winter last year.

As a bonus, he has super wide feet which means I can only buy shoes at Nordstrom and sometimes Stride Rite.

Glad to hear everyone's in the same boat. With the way boys treat clothing I just hate to spend a ton on it. DH freaked when I bought a ton of used newborn clothing. Then he saw what happened to the clothes and how quickly they were outgrown. We were very lucky with used the first 2 years with buying used baby clothes.

[SubliminalDarkness]

It works out to about $300 for DS1 and about $150 for DS2. DS2 gets some new clothes to supplement what we have leftover from DS1. Sometimes sizes don't hit the season right or stuff was worn out/stained. My mom used to buy DS1 a lot of clothes, but they're not a quality I really think stands the test of time. So what I buy is more specific.

Everything I buy comes from Gymboree, occasionally supplemented by something from Gap. We take advantage of sales and Gymbucks deals. I'll buy one kids' clothing and then use the Gymbucks from that to buy the others'. This way, DS1's clothing will hold up well enough to still be in good shape for DS2.

I do find that the "better" quality clothing washes up better, especially when it comes to staining. I have had the worst luck with staining in Target and Wal-mart clothes(some Macy's and Kohl's stuff, too, but that's hit or miss with brands).

[Ruthiegirl]

I think that sounds about right. I buy a lot second hand and make use of hand-me-downs and I still spend about that much. My kids do a ton of sports as well and there are additional costs for gear.

Lands End overstocks are great for discounted clothes. I buy a lot of stuff at the end of the season for 2 out of 3 of my kids. They have been true to size and easy to fit. My middle son is different -- he has been quite heavy for the past couple of years, but has been stretching up and has gone through a number of pant sizes lately. Seems like I am always buying him pants.

We live where winter can be quite cold and summers are very, very hot. Spring is wet and fall is cool. We play outside every day for hours, so we need rain gear, winter gear, summer clothes, pants, sweaters, etc, etc, etc. I spend more on clothes, but I feel that lots of time outside is essential for our well being.

[iowaorganic]

good question. I used to be so good at garage sales- now I think my oldest 2 are just too big for the good stuff. I am planning on budgeting about $150 for DD, $75 for DS1, and maybe $50 for DS2- oh and maybe $50 for the new kid. They all wear what handmedowns are around- but honestly they have been looking so ratty lately- I can't wait to introduce some new stuff. Oh- but that budget includes nice new tennis shoes for all but the new kid.

But can I share my hottest deal? JCP sends out $10 off a $10 purchase coupons maybe 5-6 times/year. Last night I bought DD a plain pair of jeans and a cute jersey tunic and it ended up costing $2.55 with tax. Hottest deal ever.

[marisa724]

It's true, there's not a lot of good secondhand for older kids. Just looking at my own DS1's stuff, I can understand - I've stored all his old clothes that were in good shape, and for size 2 I have four bins... for size 3 there's only two small ones. There just wasn't as much that was still in good shape once he was done with them!

I have the most frugal system of all -- I had a second little boy, LOL! Talk about stretching the clothing budget -- I had to buy very little for DS2 thanks to the stuff in the attic. So that's one thing to think about if you're thinking about more kids down the road - whatever you spend now is truly an investment in the future!

Because I'm looking for things to last, I do like to shop at places like Gymboree and the Gap rather than Target when I can, since these clothes seem to last longer and come cleaner in the wash. I don't ever pay full price, though -- I buy things like jeans in current and larger sizes when it's a good deal (last month Gymbo had their box sale and I got jeans in 8 Slim for only $6.99 -- slim sizes are hard to find!).

Gymboree also has their Gymbucks program - at certain times of year (like right now) you can buy $50 worth of stuff and get a $25-off-50 coupon to use later (for 2 weeks at the end of September, this time). They also have regular 20% off coupons, which can be used to earn Gymbucks (but not with Gymbucks). So normally I will go and shop the sale racks for mostly "seasonless" items (pants, jeans, long cotton shirts), use my coupon and spend just about $50 -- then I can go pick out another $50 from the sale rack the following month, and only spend $25.

I have a Gap credit card and I get free shipping and "rewards certificates" after spending a certain amount. I combine those with a coupon code online and grab awesome deals on those long john style jammies. About a month ago they had summer jammies on sale, and I bought a size up for my toddler (he'll wear them now and next year) -- four pairs for just about $30.

Land's End overstocks is also great, nice quality clothes and a lifetime guarantee. Great customer service. Again, you want to check in every couple of weeks, pay attention to their email coupons, and see what kind of deals you can come up with.

Do you have a Kohl's near you? Get on their mailing list! I actually get $10 off $10 coupons in the mail for them several times a year, and they have a large selection of kids' clothes -- combine it with one of their "3 for 10" t-shirt sales and you'd really make out! (Though I admit that lately I've been using my Kohl's coupons to replace some of my own baby-stained wardrobe!)

I know that packing away clothes doesn't work for every kid, but the nice thing about buying cheap, shopping "good" stores and leaving the tags on is that you can get your money back by selling what you don't wind up using - either at consignment stores or online (I belong to a Livejournal community that's good for this).

And thanks to packing away bigger sizes, my DS1 is pretty much set for school to start next month... and I can concentrate my budget on getting him some new sneakers. Of course he's aware of what's "cool" now and has his heart set on crazy light up sneakers for $55.... of course with a coupon I can probably get that down to about $43....

[Alyantavid]

I think that sounds about right.

We just bought ds1's school clothes and spent $120ish. He still needs shoes and boots too. But his coats and sweatshirts from last year still fit so we won't need to buy those.

I avoid clothes from Old Navy and Target anymore because they just don't last. I have a younger son that gets as much as possible from his brother so I need them to hold up a bit. Plus my kids are hard on clothes.

[RollerCoasterMama]

I'm with Steph---if I had a girl the clothes budget would be much higher!!!

We lead a pretty jeans and t-shirt kind of life, so don't need a whole lot of clothes and he grows so quickly that I don't have too much in any size. I try to upsize whenever possible. For example...we seem to have bypassed 4T entirely over the summer and I just got 5Ts for jeans for this fall. Shirts I usually go a size big. The coat and snowpants still fit from last year I think/hope. I got them on clearance at Sears a couple of years ago--such a good price, I got a couple of sizes!

We are lucky to have inheritted a hand-me-down wardrobe. But a lot of it isn't really my taste. It does have some basics in each size though and pjs so I'm really grateful for that! I don't think I've ever bought new pjs. If there aren't enough in the hand-me-down box, I head over to Once Upon A Child and get any they have that are in decent shape and no characters in the next 2 sizes. There usually aren't too many but I do it once or twice a year and get 4 or 5 for the price of one new pj set at the store.

I just supplemented for the fall and got 3 pants and 5 shirts. Plus new Converse a few weeks ago. I think we should be good through the holidays anyway! Typically, I spend about $200 on his clothes a year including shoes (which he seems to outgrow every 4 months!), outdoor gear, coats, etc. I don't skimp on the shoes and boots. I use the hand-me-downs and consignment stores for some things, and shop sales. It's not too bad really. Some of what I get is for pleasure and I acknowledge that. In a pinch I could cut that budget in half or more.

[busymama77]

I'm on a mission this weekend to start stocking up for DS#1. There is a church kids consignment sale that I'm going to with my Mom to see what they have. I also hit local consignment stores closer to the time when he'll actually need the clothes and I shop around on ebay and diaperswappers.com for deals.

Last year, I bought 8 pairs of pants, 10 shirts, and a couple of hoodies from a local consignment store for $80. Shoes, I buy those new, typically and look for sales or my Mom buys them. We like the stride rite brand, so I hunt for those on ebay or wait till they have a good sale.