One of the most common questions on instagram/Facebook/Twitter when we share a photo isn’t “what paint color is that?” or “who makes that lamp?” – it’s “where did you get that shirt/dress/skirt?” – and they’re not talking about me (or John)… they’re talking about Clara. Yes, there have been a bunch of requests for a post about how we score deals/save money in the kid clothing department along with where we get her clothes. So whoop, here it is. And thanks to all of those aforementioned instagram photos that we’ve shared, we have a whole bunch of shots to use throughout this rundown.
Admittedly it’s kinda weird to analyze your kid’s clothing in so much detail (she’s two! we just buy things we think are cute and try to save money when we can) but I realized when I was writing this up that we’ve actually learned a decent amount over the last two years of dressing a tiny person. And there are definitely things we wish we had known in the beginning, which would have saved us money and time – so maybe they’ll help someone else out there. So without further ado, the story of Clara’s clothes, as told by our instagram feed…
Most of Clara’s clothing comes from these four places:
- Hand me downs from her sweet cousin Elsa (or the three year old who lives next door)
- Old Navy (usually on the clearance rack or purchased with a coupon)
- Target (always on the clearance rack)
- H&M (they have the cutest stuff, especially summery dresses)
Of course she also occasionally gets things as gifts or we get gift cards to a place like The Gap for our birthdays (and spend the money in their kids department instead of on ourselves). And we’ve also ducked into other stores from time to time, like the Carter’s Outlet near John’s parents’ beach house. But I’d definitely say the majority of her stuff comes from the four sources above. Like the dress in the picture above (from the clearance rack at Target) for example.
It was actually a birthday gift for her from John’s sister Emily, but we love that she knows one of our favorite Clara-clothing spots (I think it was around $6). It’s a size 2T, which should last Clara at least a year (we can add jeggings underneath to carry it into colder temps or to cover things up if it gets shorter as she grows). And it might seem obvious, but we’ve finally realized that dresses are often the most bang for our buck in the clothing department since they’re just one piece (so instead of finding a cheap t-shirt for $4 with cheap shorts for $4, that dress is an entire outfit for $6).
Here is a dress from H&M, which was $12. Initially I thought that was expensive (I’m cheap, so I like things in the single digits – anything over ten makes me flinch, haha) but Clara has worn the heck out of it. Probably at least once a week for the entire summer so far. So by the end of its life I’d guess the cost per wear will probably be around fifty cents. And if we hand it down to a future kiddo it could be even less.
Unlike a Beverly Hills housewife, Clara wears her outfits a whole bunch of times. You might see her petting goats in something one week…
… and playing with Barbies in the same outfit a week or two later.
This is a clearance skirt from The Gap and a white top from Old Navy. I think this outfit total was around $7 ($4 for the skirt and $3 for the top). Basically the top + bottom equation with her is usually: colorful blousey top + basic jeggings/dark jeans OR colorful skirt or pink/yellow jeans + basic top (like this white ruffled tank top). Something sort of classic with something else that’s bright and fun. That way it’s not too boring or too crazy, it’s a little bit of each. And when it comes to trying to “make” outfits from random items that she has in her drawers like a pair of jeggings or a cute t-shirt, I can now make pairings pretty much on autopilot with that general equation. So as weird as it is to have a “Clara clothing formula” it saves us time (and money spent on things that wouldn’t fit in as easily). And she seems to really like her clothes (last night while going to visit her grandparents she said she couldn’t wait to show them her “pretty pretty dress”).
Another great example of that equation would be one of my favorite Clara outfits ever. See how the basic printed t-shirt (featuring a Burger lookalike from the J Crew Outlet) + a girly ruffled soft pink skirt (a hand-me-down from the girl next door) can add up to something playful and sweet at the same time? Especially when paired with a RAD tattoo. Haha.
Another example of this would be one of my favorite shirts (from Old Navy for around $8), which you can see in this picture. It’s blousy and flowy and Clara LOVES it. Everything from the big sleeves with the scalloped trim on the bottom to the colorful flowers float her boat. So we pair it with basic jeggings or jeans most of the time. Just because it’s an easy foolproof outfit. And it keeps me from having to buy more specific bottoms that “match” it (ex: purple pants, orange capris) since we have enough classic items like jeans/jeggings in our drawers that already work with it.
Here’s yet another example of girly/bold/patterned bottoms with something basic on top. This is an outfit I found at the Carter Outlets in Delaware when we stopped there over Memorial Day. I think it was under $10 total for both pieces (total) and Clara has easily worn this at least eight times since then.
When it comes down to numbers, Clara usually has 10-12 “good outfits” in rotation, which is just a number that seems to work well for us since we do laundry once a week and she has some other “messy outfits” that we’ll put her in before doing anything crazy like painting or running around in the mud. So it’s not like she changes clothes three times a day and needs 30 good dresses and pants and tops. I’d say 95% of the time, she wears one outfit all day long. So since 10-12 outfits isn’t really that many, we try not to go for quantity, but for quality. Not by spending a ton of money on the item itself (goodness knows kids get things dirty and grow out of things all the time) but by trying to stay “focused” on things that work well for us (especially Clara) – so she doesn’t end up with dresser stuffed full of mismatched deals with no real pairings or purpose.
We didn’t always follow this technique. When she was smaller we used to go for quantity, so if Old Navy was having a t-shirt sale I’d get three for eight bucks instead of one dress for eight bucks on the sale rack. But as Clara grew we realized that a bunch of clothes that you don’t love (and that you didn’t necessarily buy as an “outfit”) aren’t as easy to use or love as trying to keep your focus and only buying things that you’ll end up reaching for them again and again. One easy question I ask myself before I buy something for her is “will this be something I put in our ‘favorite outfits’ drawer, or will it end up in the middle drawer with a bunch of on-sale mismatched items that she never wears?”
This is a tee we got on clearance from Old Navy with a red skirt from The Gap that Clara got as a gift… wait for it… over a year ago.
So another one of our learned-along-the-way tips would be to ignore the size on the labels when it comes to retiring items of clothing and just go by how they fit. This skirt actually says 12 months in the label, but it still fits her comfortably (and although it’s a little short it has built-in bloomers for toddler modesty, haha). So instead of just stashing it in the tupperware bins in our attic (where we store all of the clothes she has outgrown – more on that here) I’m cool with her wearing it as long as it comfortably fits. We’ve gotten at least one “bonus year” of wear from it already, so I’m psyched. Saves us from buying another one until she truly outgrows it.
Here’s the opposite application of that last tip. If something is too big, you’ll get more wear out of it by figuring out how to get your kiddo into it sooner if at all possible (two summers of use from a dress instead of one = added value). So when I slipped this $8 Target dress onto Clara and it was way too big (the straps were so stretchy the neckline slipped down below her chest), I tried turning it so one of the arm straps went around her neck like a halter. The other strap got tucked into the elastic back of the dress, which doesn’t seem to bother Clara at all, and now she can wear this dress now, and hopefully next year too with her arms where they’re meant to go.
This is another dress from H&M (it was $11). It’s hard to tell from this photo, but it has a pretty eyelet detail on the bottom and it’s a soft blue seersucker material. One thing to notice from the picture is that Clara has a favorite pair of shoes, and it’s her pink Crocs. So those are what she wears 95% of the time.
It has saved us a ton of money to recognize that the girl has a favorite pair of shoes (we used to buy her a bunch of different kinds and she always requested the same ones, to the point that she’d outgrow perfectly pristine shoes without ever wearing them since she favors her Crocs so much). But now we’ve realized that they’re her shoe of choice and we’re ok with pairing them with almost any outfit. Sure, navy shoes might be cuter with this blue dress, but pink crocs send out that “these are the shoes I like” vibe, which we’re cool with.
This dress is from Old Navy. It was $6 on clearance and after stacking additional coupons on top it was $4 at the register. Woot. I always keep Old Navy coupons in a little file folder in my purse (more on that here) so I basically never buy anything there without using a coupon since they pop up in the mail all the time.
In general our theory on dressing Clara is that we want her to be comfortable and cute. We could always spend more, and definitely could spend less, but after two years we think the $6-12 per outfit range is the sweet spot for us. We’ve also finally figured out the stores we like and how things fit her (ex: 3T jeans and PJs at Old Navy fit her like a dream, 2T dresses are better for her from almost everywhere, etc). This is helpful because it saves us money and time (had we invested in three more pairs of 2T pjs without knowing that 3T fits her better, she would have outgrown them faster and we’d be back at the store buying more).
This outfit is all Old Navy. The top was $4 and the jeggings were 2/$7 (so it was $3.50 for this pair). I’d say Clara’s “summer uniform” has been sundresses and the occasional skirt and top, but for the spring, fall, and winter, jeggings and dark denim jeans (along with a few pairs of colorful jeans – in pink & yellow) have been awesome.
And in case you’re wondering, Clara totally goes shopping with us. Her favorite spot ever = the fake family at the front of our Old Navy. She literally runs towards them and says “I see the children and the dog!” and even lifts up the girl’s shirt to look for her belly button.
This is one of my favorite instagram photos ever, and Clara’s wearing a hand-me-down shirt from the girl who lives next door. I thought the checkers on her shirt looked so cute with John’s checked shirt while they were lying in bed, and I’m so glad I grabbed this shot. Makes me melt. And even though you can’t see the rest of this outfit, since Clara’s hair has yet to grow in and she sometimes gets mistaken for a boy, her pink crocs help to add some girl power. Not because we’re weird about gender stuff and covering her in pink, just because we like to throw strangers a bone so they don’t blush profusely after calling her a boy. And Clara actually says “pink and yellow” when you ask her what her favorite colors are. So those definitely get worked in a fair amount when it comes to her clothes.
So that ends our little Clara clothing rundown. I hope our weird analysis of why/what we buy and how many we get/how much we spend somehow helped folks out there who were wondering! What are your favorite kid clothing stores? Do you have any money-saving tips? Or do you have a magic number of “good outfits” that carry you through the week without making you feel overwhelmed (or making your drawers feel overstuffed)?
Psst – I’m obsessed with this beach house. How pretty is it?! Thanks to the sweet reader who suggested the link. I’ve had the page open for days.
Melissa Sharp says
I think you’ll discover, sadly, that as Clara grows you will find less items on clearance. The little sizes are plentiful… but around 3T and up the pickings start getting slim on the markdown racks. Dressing babies and young toddlers is easy and cheap.
Ariana says
I have two young boys, but I’ve always noticed how cute and put-together Clara looks! I love the simple solid tops with patterned skirts and all of the dresses.
Ana says
Love her outfits.
Not sure if anyone’s mentioned it, but if you don’t hand down or consign Clara’s un-used shoes, consider donating them to a children’s shelter. My mom volunteers at one and new/gently worn kids’ shoes are often one of their greatest needs (along with clothes). Very few people think to donate shoes. Ever since I heard that, I’ve tried to spread the word among friends with children for anything their kids outgrow without wearing out. :)
rachel says
Sundresses are more versatile than winter material dresses too because you can pop a long sleeve shirt, cardigan, and leggings on with a sundress but winter materials are way too hot for summer! The shoe part was good. Better one good quality pair of shoes every day than 5 pairs that scuff up and don’t get worn!
Mary says
I think Barbie needs some deals on clothes :)
paula says
I have twin girls who turned two in June, so I’m right there with you on the clothes shopping and feeling like I’ve finally kind of got it figured out!
I would say our clothes come from Old Navy, consignment, Target, and lately we’re loving Crazy 8. Sometimes I’m “with it” and make the big consignment sales in town.
I’m sure you know this, but Richmond has a great kid’s consignment store called Once Upon A Child. We live in Charlottesville, but whenever we are in Richmond we stop by.
I don’t know about Clara, but our girls are tall and skinny. So often if their pants fit in length, they don’t fit in the waist. We buy these things called Dapper Snappers that snap onto the belt loops of pants (and we have clips for when the pants don’t have loops). They basically cinch the waist so it fits. They have helped us stretch the life of pants too.
And yes to the leggings trick to stretch out the season of a dress!
Also, our girls have lived in Crocs all summer and they have been fantastic! Ours are called chameleons and they change in the sun from pink to purple!
Great post! I always love to see what Clara is wearing. :)
Kai @ Hello, happy face :) says
With our twin boys, we found that rompers are THE BEST. It’s like a dress for boys – shirt and shorts in one!
Now that they’re really starting to be boys and not just babies (and are growing slower), I think I need to stock up on jeans and tees. Basics is definitely the way to go.
Another tip for everyone – We’re a part of a multiples group here in Northern Virginia and have a semi-annual consignment sale. Even those who aren’t members are allowed to shop and the clothes are CHEAP. Like $.50-$4 range for all sorts of outfits and they’re almost always in ‘new’ condition. It’s where we buy almost all of our boys’ clothes. Here’s the link for our local group: http://nvpom.com/ but you should definitely check for one in your area, they’re in almost ever state/county!
Amy says
You taught me a new word today, jeggings! While I was reading this post, I thought, “Certainly, they mean leggings.” But Wikipedia then told me otherwise!
Tahlia says
Cute, but I think I’m the opposite to most of the posts above – this makes me so glad I have a boy!! I love the simplicity of boys clothes, e.g. shorts and a t-shirt, they can play and not worry about wearing a dress.
Kathy says
Ohh! The Beach House — You were LOVING those egg chairs, weren’t you?
Georgia says
When my kids were really little, I’d watch the catalogues of stores I really liked (like hanna andersson, mini boden,gymboree etc) and when things were really really reduced…it does happen sometimes, I’d get what i liked, even if it was 2 or 3 sizes bigger. My daughter had a pile of clothes that were her “grow into clothes”, and she’d try them on periodically until she could convince me that they fitted. She wore some outfits like that for years with rolled up sleeves to begin with, or a top as a dress to begin with, becoming a top 3 years later. Of course, I bought plenty of clothes from old navy, children’s place (although their collections are very hit and miss), walmart etc, but once again, if I saw something lI liked that was cheap, I’d get it even if it was too big. Saved a bunch of money that way, and a lot of her clothes got passed on to her 3 younger girl cousins. With my boys (3 of them), we had a lot of hand me downs, although the principles were the same.
Theresa Rivers says
J&S- I have been wondering, for a long time now, HOW on earth do you keep your house organized with a toddler?
Before my daughter was mobile, my house was very neat and tidy. Even a misplaced book annoyed me. Now however, there is never anything where it belongs. How do you keep Clara from grabbing the things on your coffee table, and all the shoes out of the cute shoe holder you have? Not to mention things like the cute dealy-o in your fireplace, or even just the throw pillows. I have just been stressing lately because my daughter constantly helps herself to our house (meaning that nothing is EVER where it should be) and it is so discouraging. Please, tell me your tips!!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh our house is just a mess all the time! Haha. I’m half kidding, but it’s definitely covered with her toys everywhere! We keep baskets for her stuff in the office, the living room, and her bedroom so she likes to dump those out and play with that stuff along with her play kitchen and her dollhouse, but when it comes to playing with our shoes and our pillows we just encourage her to play with the toys in her baskets or we’ll go to the table and play with Play Doh or markers with her to “redirect her” from playing with our things. Over time it really seems to work! When she walks up to our desk and grabs for something we just remind her it’s not for her and show her all the things in her basket that are for her. But we definitely have toy piles in each room that we toss back into those three baskets every night before bed. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Theresa Rivers says
That does help! I will just be on the hunt now for a few more baskets/containers to put in more rooms of our house.
Oh- I also found a couple sun tea things like the one on your mantel (found mine at Goodwill). One I am actually using for tea, and the other (much smaller, yellow etching on glass that says “juice” about a million times in cute fonts) I put my coffee beans in. Just thought I would lsay thanks for the inspiration!
Kathryn says
For the record, I’m an adult with no children and *I’m* furiously taking notes here too! I didn’t get the I-love-to-go-shopping gene and definitely got the thrifty gene. Consequently I’m generally beyond daunted by any attempt to straighten out my falling-apart wardrobe. Let me tell you, breaking it down like a formula works for me. Strategizing FTW!
Vega says
Clara is so beautiful in this photos! (and always, of course). Her clothes are jolly and colourful… when I have children I want clothes like this…<3<3<3
Arati says
This is great advice for people of any age and gender….
Can’t tell you the number of women I know who have tons of clothing and only ever wear 10%…!!!
Andrea says
Hello, this may seem an odd question but what percentage of Clara’s clothes are pink? I have an 11 month old baby and every time I dress her in a non-pink outfit, she is mistaken for a boy. Other than price, how do you choose which colour of an item to buy?
Thanks and have a great weekend!
YoungHouseLove says
I think it helps that nearly every outfit she wears has a dash of pink thanks to the pink crocs. We definitely have our fair share of blue/navy and other not-pink colors when things are a skirt or dress (since I figure the shape is more of an “I’m a girl” clue). I do try when she’s just in jeans or jeggings to have a girly blousy top on, so even if it’s not pink it usually has ruffles, scalloped sleeves, floral print, etc (some girlish detail) – just like you said, to tip off folks so she doesn’t get mistaken for a boy :)
xo,
s
Andrea says
I don’t know if anyone has said this yet, but there is a Crocs outlet in Delaware at the outlets. That’s where we get my 4 kids Crocs. They are usually really cheap. They are usually last year’s styles, but we don’t care!
YoungHouseLove says
Great to know!
-John
lesli devito says
Great post and great advice! Our daughter lived in the Gap clearance rack and her cousins hand me downs. we also had as awesome consignment place…thing often with tags on still! I also did great on ebay. xo
Melissa says
Hey Sherry and John,
This is off the topic of kids clothes but….
Do you have any tips (or could even do a post ;) ) on how to mix and match patterns. For example… your couches have such awesome throw pillows and all go together yet are different. I just cant seem to get it right in my own house. I go to buy a throw pillow to throw in the mix and it just doesn’t look right! Help a sista out :)
YoungHouseLove says
It’s all trial and error for me! I basically just toss things together and see what looks good and if it’s too crazy I keep it separated (sometimes just with a solid object breaking things up, like a white duvet). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Chelsea says
Do you guys ever buy Clara’s clothing at thrift shops? Most of them have really cute clothes that are generally in good condition (sometimes even new) for pretty cheap. I’m sure you already know this though, as you are the queen of good finds! ;)
YoungHouseLove says
I oddly haven’t had much thrift luck with clothes but I’m probably looking in the wrong places! Haha. Folks have given me local tips so I’m planning to check out some other spots!
xo,
s
Tara Young says
When you start potty training in earnest you need this: http://www.amazon.com/Bemis-583slow-OOO-Next-Potty/dp/B005CAD3AC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345903091&sr=8-1&keywords=bemis+potty+seat
It’s one of the best kid-related things we’ve bought and it makes things so much easier than dealing with a potty seat ring that you have to put on/take off the toilet and store somewhere. Streamlined, clutter-free, and easy!
YoungHouseLove says
Love that! Thanks for the link!
xo
s
tsmith says
I would always scout the clearance section for clothes for next season. I scored numerous items for $1-$3! I found, that for the price, Walmart had clothes that held up really well. Some of my daughter’s favorite dresses were $5 from Walmart. She would wear them as soon as they were washed. She continued to wear them as play dresses around the house once they were too small. That was money well spent! PJ’s, I tend to buy a size up, so I can get another year out of them. I got a lot of use out of leggings. When they got to short, we called them capris and paired them with too short dresses. Jackets I buy from the clearance rack and a couple sizes too big. Here in Az, we don’t use jackets very long, so I hope to get a couple years out of them! I just roll up the sleeves a little. Now, that my daughter is older (and more fashion opinionated), it is getting harder to find clothes that she likes. I have learned that no matter how cute I think it is, if she doesn’t like it, she won’t wear it! So, I would rather pay full price for something she will wear multiple times than a clearance price for something that hangs in the closet. I do a little happy dance when we find something on the clearance rack, that she likes!
I have a little boy who can’t wear jeans (or PJ’s, for that matter) for more that three months! He wears the knees out from all of his crawling around! The boy loves his jeans and boots!
Raj @ Pink Chai Style says
I’ve been stalking your blog for my decor high daily for so long but have never commented, but I actually have an idea for you today (finally!)
When those super cute skirts get a little short on Clara or the weather gets colder you can pair them with the fun $6 shorts from H&M, just cut the bloomers out. I do it for my daughter all the time and she loves twirling in them and mixing the prints!
I’ve also cut summer tank tops that were really fun in half and sewed them onto the front of plain and inexpensive long sleeve shirts from Target. I know you are getting crafty with your sewing machine so maybe you might be able to up-cycle this fall!
Thanks for sharing – you guys rock!
YoungHouseLove says
Such a cute idea!
xo,
s
Julia says
I didn’t read through all the comments, so I’m not sure if anyone else mentioned this, but buy out of season. I usually go to Carter’s, Oshkosh, and Children’s Place etc outlets at the end of summer and winter and buy that season’s clothes for next year. I’m getting ready to make a trip soon to buy clothes for next summer. That way they are all clearance, and usually dirt cheap!
The only thing about that is it usually works for kids at least a year old, once you know how fast they will grow :) My daughter is one and I feel like I can just now start to buy for next year. I’ve been doing this for my 5 year old son for years and I’ve saved so much money!
Andrea says
Thanks for the tips! Our baby girl will be turning one in a week and we’re still figuring out what works best for her. Clara always looks so trendy — love it! Perhaps this was already asked, but do you buy her clothes “ahead” a season? Our little girl is a peanut and I’m finding it hard to get good deals without totally guessing on future sizing… and I don’t want to waste money if something doesn’t end up fitting!
PS – Beach house = AMAZING. Pinned the heck of out it :-)
YoungHouseLove says
I generally don’t like to buy too far ahead (ex: I will but 3T things once she’s 2, and occasionally something in a size 4 just if I’m in love with it and it’s a great deal). I thought it was really hard to project if she’d be in warm or cool clothes at certain sizes, but now that it’s a wider size for a longer time (ex: 2T which usually covers the whole year instead of 18-24 months) it’s less scary, although I still hedge my bets by not going too far ahead at all. I think it helps since I don’t buy a bunch of jeggings for when she’s 4 now (because who knows if she’ll be so into dresses and won’t even wear them by then, etc). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Moriah H says
Love this post on girly clothes. I have 2 boys, so dressing them is definitely not as fun! However, my favorite picture is the one of the naked barbie in the wagon. A post on clothes and Ms. Barbie must have left hers at home!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, oh yes! Barbie is always naked around here!
xo,
s
Heather says
I love the tips! I also use a facebook page for moms in my area and I buy and sell gently used kids clothing, toys, books, etc on there. It has been a great money saver! Also, when I needed a new coffee table (my three year old broke our previous one)and I scored a solid wood one for $40 on another local buy and sell facebook page! I am in the process of painting it right now!
YoungHouseLove says
That’s awesome! Love all the tips everyone.
xo,
s
Kirsten says
Just wanted to pop in and say that yours is the first blog I ever subscribed to and I enjoy reading it every day (or at least every update!). You always have such great, reasonable, easy tips. My boys are long past the toddler phase (mid-teens to almost 20) but you’ve given new parents great ideas. I always liked to buy things on sale too – they wear it for such a short time! Look forward to your book and I wish you continued success – you deserve it!
Glenda says
I buy clothes for next year at the seasonal clearances this year… they will be wearing neon-colored summer clothes next year — the fashion this year. Neither of the kids worry about that aspect of clothing yet, and hopefully they’ll never worry about that – or they may find themselves naked :)
Heather D says
I love all her cute little dresses. Sadly our girls is just not into em. She is all about shorts and jeans :) I really like that a lot of her 2T-3T dresses fit as shirts now though.
Our girl also is obsessed with the Old Navy family too. She even kissed the pet dog one day. Glad to know shes not the only one who peeks under their clothes. LOL!
Windylou says
thrift shops! Kids clothes are typically $1 – $2 per piece and there are many high quality brands to be found. Shopping a few stores regularly nets the best buys because you can find the markdown schedule. When I still shopped for small kids clothes I often found sales at $0.25 – $0.50 per piece.
We don’t have littles in the house, so clothes shopping can be astronomical for tweens. I picked up 3 pr of Aeropastale jeans for my 8th grader for $12 that looked brand new.
Chitra Maharani S says
I thought that the Tybee Beach House was very you, Sherry. :) I love this post on Clara’s outfits, by the way – I think that your clothes-shopping ideas would be very helpful for non-toddlers too haha.
Elizabeth says
Someone may have already made this suggestion, but we are huge fans of Zulilly. They often have adorable dresses for under $15.
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for all the tips everyone! This is such fun kid-clothes chit-chat.
xo,
s
Amanda K says
sherry, i’m a little shocked that clara doesn’t have a closet full of black shirts. :)
i have a boy and the dress tip just doesn’t work for boys. (so far) we’ve relied on gifts from grandparents and hand-me-downs from friends.
Megan says
I really loved this! I have a 19 month old boy and it’s like “shirt,pants,jumper” every day, so it’s super easy to pick an outfit. But I had our daughter 5 weeks ago and I seriously have no idea what little girls even wear. Thanks to you guys she isn’t going to look like a boy or some crazy bag lady :)
Karen says
The problem for me is that Target stuff just doesn’t hold up to multiple washings. Maybe my kiddo is just harder on stuff? She’s almost 4. We are expecting our second -also a girl, thank goodness for our budget – & looking back through bins of things I’ve kept, the Target stuff just gets tossed as it’s faded or worn. The better brands are the ones that I’ve kept!
I am a careful budget shopper and do a lot of purchasing at places like Once Upon a Child or a Just Between Friends sale (big consignment sale held at the fair grounds a couple of times a year)…I am always amazed at the things I can find still with tags or looking almost brand new! Never buy full price!!! :)
Nora says
Totally unrelated to this post, but I saw this etsy shop and thought it might be your jam, wheelhouse, thing, etc. http://www.etsy.com/shop/berkleyillustration
YoungHouseLove says
Obsessed!!
xo,
s
Destiny says
There is just no way that anyone who takes more than a quick glance could think Clara is a boy. She’s the cutest GIRL!
Emily E says
I get the whole next year’s worth of clothes at yard sales during the summer. I go with a friend most saturdays in the summer, and pick up clothes for 25-50 cents a piece. I’m really picky about what I get, and can usually find some good brand name stuff. My 2-year old loves her pink crocs too, by the way. And she can put them on herself!
Kara says
I generally buy clothes on Craigslist! I wind up spending maybe 25-50c per item of clothing, and it’s usually brand name stuff with minimal wear.
If there’s something special i’m looking for I will hit up Target (a Yo Gabba Gabba tee, for example, or a special occasion outfit). CLEARANCE is my favorite word and i’ll get next year’s winter jammies at end-of-season clearance in the spring.
My son’s 3 and is now choosy about what he wears, but buying bulk lots on Craigslist gives him plenty to pick from and allows for frequent changes of heart. He eschewed polo shirts for a while, so i just pushed them to the side in the closet and now he’s back on board the polo train. :)
Krissy says
I love that you’re talking about Clara’s clothes and Barbie is nude in every appearance! Haha.
When my sisters’ kids were still really little, we figured out that it helps to buy clothes that are on clearance for the size they will be the following year… Then they’re super-cheap and you’re prepared. Once they got bigger and didn’t grow at quite an expected rate, it didn’t really work out anymore…
Julie says
Target and Old Navy, for the win! We have some great consignment shops around here too. One tip that has never failed me is to buy ahead, when you don’t necessarily need it, but will thank your lucky stars months down the road that you did. I also firmly believe in buying off-season. It’s somewhat of a gamble on sizing, but I’ve found some of my greatest finds this way. Swimsuits for $3 bought in Sept, shirts for 97-cents when the inventory gets rotated – I get a rush!
Charlotta says
Although I haven’t got any children of my own (yet?) I can still remember the tricks my mother used when me and my brother were small. Since my mother used to work for the swedish brand Polarn O. Pyret (http://www.polarnopyret.com/), we wore a lot of striped clothing, and they make a lot of gender enutral clothes so my brother could inherit a lot of it.
I loved dresses as a girl, and mom could by sample clothing quite cheap, and they weren’t always in the right size. With strap dresses you can simply tie the straps in a knot to shorten them, or fold them over and sew some small stitches to keep it in place. If the straps are very long, you could cut them in the middle and just tie them. You can also switch them out for longer ones if they’re too short, and use the dress as a tunic (if it still fits in other parts, that is).
There are lots of stuff you could do if you want to keep things working, but most of the ideas I get right now involves sewing (and I know some people are intimidated by that :)) for example: adding a ruffle at the bottom of a skirt/ dress to lenghten it, cut of sleeves and legs to make tees and shorts if arms and legs grow faster than the rest, making a tuck (on the inside of a dress), parallel to the hem to take away excess length (looks like a ruffle from the outside and it’s easy to lengthen it by letting the tuck down). adding ruffles at the bottom of t-shirts and tank tops…
Charlotta says
Oh, and this blog, for example, have lots of tutorials on easy sewing and remaking of clothing… there are a lot of them out there! http://www.madebylex.com/746-2
YoungHouseLove says
Love all the tips and links everyone! Thanks for sharing!
xo
s
Anna Sebok says
I wish it was that easy to pick out clothes for myself!! Did I mention how unbelievably grown up Clara is looking these days? Having followed your blog for over a year, it’s crazy to see how much she has grown.
I know you did a post on your closet situation a while back, but would you consider talking about your style and how you work with the budget you have to create such a clean set of basics with some pops of fun?
YoungHouseLove says
Aw that’s sweet of you to think my mom-uniform is worthy of a post. Haha. I’ll have to think about if I have enough tips to make a writeup worth reading :)
xo,
s
Nicky Tennent says
Another trick when the straps on dresses are too long is to unstitch the straps at the back of the dress and cross them over – makes the dress sit higher and is easy to reverse later. I’ve also often come across clothes that are marked down because the straps have been stitched wrong (ie should have been crossed to begin with) and the top/dress sits super low. Hope that helps!
nora says
I use my toddler daughter’s dresses from last summer as shirts this year – totally works and saved me some $$$ Another great spot is the Children’s Place – great coupons and they’re really good about price adjustments, too.
Megan says
Richmond has one of the ABSOLUTE BEST kids second hand stores in the entire world. I actually mae a point of coming down to shop there from D a couple of times a year – doesn’t hurt that my brothers restaurant (Carytown Burgers and Fries) is two blocks away.
It is called Clover – on Cary Street – and has great clothes at amazing prices. Check it out!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes I love that place! My friend Leslie is the founder (also of Clementine across the street). I also LOVE Carytown Burger & Fries!
xo,
s
Rebecca @ the lil house that could says
I have a 3 month old son who is extremely spoiled by our family and has a closet stocked with Baby Gap clothes (and they’re adorable, I’m not complaining!) but I did just get some awesome sale items at The Children’s Place for my niece, like a shirt for $1.50 that was on sale + I used a coupon. She’s about Clara’s age and I was impressed with the amount of cute in there! I also scored an end of season bathing suit for my son for next year for about $2. I often feel like there should be an Extreme Couponers: Trendy Baby Clothes Edition :)
Meredith says
Cute outfits! I get most of our 14 month old’s clothes from Old Navy and Carters too. I made the mistake of getting her several dresses before she could walk but was still crawling – didn’t work well! It turns out it is hard for little ones to crawl with a dress on. Lesson learned!