Do your toddler's clothes ever match?

[dislocator3972]

People have given me lots of clothes for my DD. I REALLY appreciate it. I love that I've bought her very few clothes and that my friends get to see their clothes worn again.

But none of them match. We have LOTS of pants and LOTS of shirts, but they just don't match each other. She looks like a little homeless ragamuffin almost every day. Well, that's not totally true, we do have a few outfits that are cute and we wear those out of the house, but in the house she looks pretty silly.

Do your kids look like mine? Do you care?

[samstress]

there's a difference between not matching and being disheveled. btw, i doubt she looks like a "homeless ragamuffin". i don't mind dd not matching, but i'd rather she not look unkempt.

i tend to buy dd things that will go together or things that i know she can wear with something she already has, however, she's gotten in the habit of choosing her own outfits and i'm happy to let her do it. they're often mismatched, but honestly, the couple times she's been complimented on how she looks is when she's wearing one of her mismatched choices. i think people realize she probably chose it herself and they think it's cute.

so to answer your questions -- yes, she does (sometimes) and no, i don't care.

oh, and at home, anything goes. she looks silly (and so do dh and myself).

[Drummer's Wife]

Mine match b/c I specifically buy coordinating pieces - like, I always try to make a complete outfit when shopping or ordering online. If I love a shirt, I'll get pants to go specifically with it.

What about buying jeans and khakis for the shirts that don't look nice with something you already have? Or solid colored shirts that go with pants that you own. Or, if it doesn't bother you, then don't worry about it - especially since you said you have a lot of clothing as it is.

I really don't think outsiders notice or care most of the time. Like, people at the grocery store probably aren't thinking anything at all if your toddler doesn't match. If they do, they probably just assume she dressed herself.

[Norasmomma]

Most of the time, but at home I really could care less. DS looks pretty cute and almost all his clothes are found second hand.

[wombato]

I want to see pictures!

I have a similar feeling (17 month old son). Also, I try to get by on as few clothes as possible, so I find myself out of clothes all the time, or re-wearing, or ripping shirts off so we won't get food on them and can wear them again!

I also got friends and family to buy a bit big, so we went through a period where things were a bit baggy, but I don't care enough for things to look perfectly cute and be outgrown faster.

Ok, so it's probably easier to feel like getting away with this with a little boy. I'm going to chime in here in conjunction with Drummer's Wife. It may help if you get a few neutral colored and plain pieces (from the consignment shop, if necessary), and pass on a few gifted items you like least to someone else.

I've also found that people either don't notice or hardly remember what your child has worn. Doing nothing about the situation is fine too

Dye it all black! That would probably get you more funny looks than your current situation.

[waiting2bemommy]

I have that problem too because most of our stuff is hand me downs or thrift store finds.

I buy plain jeans, or jeans with small logos that will match most of what ds and dd have. for example ds has a pair of us polo jeans. the us polo logo is in red. so then when I go thrift store shopping I only buy red shirts. That way he matches.

shoes I do the same. ds has black sneakers and tan boots and black dress shoes. that pretty much covers it.

with dd I put leggings or tights under her dresses. she has a pair ofpink and white sneakers which matches 90% of her clothes. then she has some white shoes and some brown boots for everything else.

hair accessories can also pull the outfit together....if she has on a blue shirt and purple pants I will style her hair with hair clips of both colors...it makes it look like less of an accident.

in the house I don't care much about what they're wearing. ds often runs around in various states of undress so I consider it a success if he has clothes on, period. forge what they look like!

[wombato]

Originally Posted by waiting2bemommy

in the house I don't care much about what they're wearing. ds often runs around in various states of undress so I consider it a success if he has clothes on, period. forge what they look like!

I agree. Mine wears very little around the house.

[lach]

I find it easier to buy and store and chose clothes when I already have them arranged by outfit. I hang both kids clothes by outfit, so in the morning I just have to grab one hanger. It's really not me being super neat or organized... I really just find it the easiest way to keep the number of clothes they have down and to be able to find things! It also seems to cut down on arguing over clothes, because I don't think it's occurred to DD that the outfits are negotiable (and it definitely hasn't occurred to DS). I grab two outfits in the morning that are appropriate for the weather and what we're doing that day, ask her which one she wants to wear, and that's that.

When I buy new clothes for them, I buy a whole outfit at a time. When it's hand-me-downs, I either try to create an outfit out of what I have, or I go and buy something to complete the outfit. I try to keep about 7 outfits a season, and if I find they have more than that I pass on extra clothes.

[dislocator3972]

I'm so impressed that other mamas have organized systems for outfits and planned buying. lol, I have a drawer for shirts and another for pants. Done.

Can your kids move comfortably with jeans on? DD seems to be trapped whenever she wears jeans. Is it just because she's wearing cloth diapers?

[Chamomile Girl]

My kid wears jeans all the time and he is in cloth diapers. I size up though and get the ones that have the elastic thingies for adjustibility (and I get them all at Goodwill).

My kid usually looks pretty styling IMO, but this is because I don't buy clothes with characters or logos. So its pretty easy to toss on a tie-dye onsie with some jeans and a sweater. Honestly I dress him about the same way I dress me.

Oh, and I am in a big clothing dyeing phase right now...so I go to Goodwill and look for white stuff that I can decorate myself. He has lots of batiked, tye-dyed, and re-colored clothes right now. The down side is when he outgrows that stuff I get really sad .

[physmom]

We have clothes that actually match but DD never does... She dresses herself...(well, at least picks out the outfits).

[crunchy_mommy]

Yes, DS almost always matches... Maybe because boy clothes tend to be more neutral? All the hand-me-downs we get end up being jeans, khakis, solid corduroys, etc. so that pretty much goes with anything. His shirts are all different -- some with animals on them, some soild, some striped or plaid... He only has one pair of everyday shoes (dark blue) so sometimes they aren't as coordinated... though he does have 'church shoes' that usually match his nicer outfits for Sundays...

Around the house, though, he just wears whatever. Last night he wore light green cotton striped pants and a red motorcycle shirt, it's a horrendous combo, but he was only going to bed so who cares? And often he has just a shirt & a diaper or just the diaper.

I anticipate some weirder combos once he shows interest in picking out his own clothes (well he sometimes picks out the shirt & I pick matching pants or vice versa, he doesn't really care to pick out the whole outfit).

[SpuglyRoo]

I have the same problem, and though I try to make sure that they are wearing the matchiest outfits when we go out, but if they aren't it's no big deal. People will think they look adorable no matter what. I specifically remember some of the outfits I put together when I was a kid and feel bad for my mother for needing to be seen in public with me. She just let it slide as long as I was clean, and that is pretty much how I do it now myself. I only care if we are going somewhere special. (Or occasionally I'll look at a photo I took of an adorable moment and then get distracted by a stain or ridiculous outfit but then I just laugh it off because it is a true reflection of how we run here, not quite put together but trying and loving life regardless.)

By the way, I never realized how many shades of PINK little girls clothes come in, and none of them match! lol, oh well, hand-me-downs and pass-it-arounds are just too sensible to pass up, especially when they outgrow things so fast.

[mamazee]

Sometimes but I don't really worry about it. Not a big deal to me.

[ChetMC]

Our Kids

Our boys match because there is a general shortage of second hand boy clothing - especially if you feel compelled to weed out anything with Spiderman or Monster Trucks on it. I buy their clothes... jeans, khakis, stripes and solids that all coordinate with each other.

Our girls matched as toddlers because they wore dresses.

[just_lily]

For the most part DD matches.... unless DH is the one to get her dressed. He just doesn't understand that there are different shades of pink, and they don't all go together... so if it is pink he will put her in it and she will come out with some really clashy outfits.

I am fortunate enough to have a lot of hand-me-downs as well, but we seem to do a long of jeans, and jean skirts. That makes things easier. She doesn't have a lot of fully coordinated outfits and that is ok with me. For the most part I don't think it matters what toddlers wear (and you can end up with some really strange combinations when they start having opinions of their own!) but if it bugs you, I would pick up a few pairs of jeans and plain coloured shirts to round out her wardrobe. The second hand stores around me always have tonnes of jeans.

[~Amy~]

Mine matches most of the time. I buy pants that match with basically any shirt and try to stay away from pants in colors that won't match easily.

[JFTB1177]

LMAO!
At home, my kids look like little orphans because I could care less what they are wearing at home! If we go out somewhere, I make them look nice. Basically I keep 3-5 *nice* outfits, and the rest are onsies, t-shirts, sweatpants, etc. I mean who CARES what little ones look like at home??

[Drummer's Wife]

Originally Posted by lach

I find it easier to buy and store and chose clothes when I already have them arranged by outfit.

same here. It's helpful for me to see what all they really have, and it's helpful for mornings - especially when it is one of DH days to get the kids ready for school. I used to have a rack for one kid's pants, and another for his shirts, but then I realized it was a pain to find coordinating pieces every day. Now I just hang them as sets, and we pretty much stick to keeping those together as outfits.

[texmati]

nope. Only if we are going for pictures or somewhere other than grandmas (which is very, very, very rarely).

I have been given about 20 of plaid shorts in all sorts of colors. Totally unpractical! Up until recently when the weather turned, ds would most likely not be wearing pants at all aroudn the house. But maybe that has to go the way of baby talk now that he's over a year.