Childrens
Clothing
Smart Shopping Ideas for a
Child
If you have one child or six, you know
how expensive childrens clothing can be, especially if it's
designer. Here are some shopping tips for affordable clothes
on a tight budget. Even if you have only one child, by the
time that child is two or three years old, you know that
children's clothing is going to be taking a big bite out of
your wallet, for many years to come. Young kids aren't
usually very particular about what they wear. Jeans and tees
are good for the rough and tumble play, but you need to have
a heck of a lot of them on hand – they're typically
good for an afternoon before requiring laundering.
They Get Their Clothes
Dirty!
Girls like pretty dresses, but ice
cream and grass stains don't know the difference between
sweatpants and sun dresses. If you've got two or three kids,
you start to feel you could put them through college for
less!
You also need to add into the cost of
buying children's clothing the laundry soap and stain
removers, plus the energy required for washing and drying.
While this is a necessary expense, it does add to the total
bill.
Buying at a Discount
So it's apparent that saving on
children's clothing costs is always a good thing. The
question becomes, how can you have nicely dressed kids
without going broke? Here we've got some answers.
With two or three kids, if they're
relatively close in age, the hand-me-down method can save
some money. However, kids too far apart in age poses a
couple of problems.
First, you've got to store the
clothing somewhere until child #2 grows into the size.
Second, children's clothing
manufacturers have their own form of planned obsolescence
built into their styling and details. That cute lace trimmed
dress Jane loved when she was 6, may be 'out of fashion' by
the time 3 year old Susan grows into it.
Sell or Trade the Outgrown
Outfits
There's a perfect solution to this
problem. When Jane outgrows that dress, take it and all the
other outgrown clothing to a children's consignment shop and
sell that batch of clothes. You'll generally get 40-50% of
the selling price, with a lower percentage for cash and a
higher return for an in-store credit.
This strategy can fund a significant
portion of your children's clothing budget. These
consignment shops are fairly picky about what they take, as
their reputation depends on a quality selection of kid's
clothes, so don't be disappointed if they won't take that
raft of faded tees – these make good dust rags, or doll
clothes!
Patched jeans and washable sneakers?
These can be included in your next garage sale. Better yet,
get together with other Moms in the neighborhood and build a
collection of all kid's clothing. Advertise your exclusively
all-children's clothing garage sale in the paper. You'll be
swamped with Moms from all over town and are guaranteed a
sellout by the end of the day.
Shop for Bargains
Socks and underwear? Buy at the
factory outlet stores. You can also find kid's clothes that
are adorable and priced at 50% off or more.
These days, making the most of your
children's clothing budget requires a little creativity, but
the effort pays well. Of course, there will always be a few
special clothing items you'll want to save, just for
sentimental reasons. And that's certainly OK too!
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