I have a friend that could go into any thrift store in the world and within an hour put together a few awesome outfits. She had a talent for it, but I didn’t. I would see used clothes and that was it. I have another friend that whenever she was in a thrift store would go through the purses and most times would find money. That took patience, which I don’t have much of. This same purse searching friend could, also, find many treasures among the riff raft, like designer purses in fairly good condition. I will admit I am jealous of these two women, but chalked it up to them having the patience and talent that I just simply did not have. So, I just used thrift stores as a way to clean out my house of clutter and focused more on my bargain shopping abilities. They are not as keen as others, but I get better with each passing sale.
Then I had kids and discovered consignment shops. It was like I walked into a store that was built just for me. The store took care of weeding out the trash and I simply had to just pick and choose which little treasures that were waiting for me. I didn’t know there were people out there that thought used kids clothes were gross, but I guess there are some. As far as I am concerned, kids clothes are probably on the bottom of the gross scale when it comes to used items. Mainly, because they tend to grow fast and use things less. Sure they are messy and don’t care much for using a napkin, but that is more of a concern as they get older. And as I said, the good consignment shops don’t take anything but gently used items. Infant clothes are the easiest items to find in near new condition at a good price. A very close second are special occasion clothes. Why should I buy brand new when someone has taken care of that for me?
Then I hit a snag. The consignment shops I relied on so much changed after hurricane Katrina. I stopped in one day a few months after the storm to shop for my then not born son. Many of the regular stores had not opened, yet, due to damage or no inventory, but the consignment shops were overflowing. They, also, seized their moment and hiked up prices. I started skipping them when I found a pair of Children’s Place jeans for $10. Hell, at a good sale I could get them new for that price or lower, if I had a coupon, and there still was the Internet. That is when my love affair with consignment shops waned, then they started to close around me.
The lesson when shopping for kids’ clothes is knowing the market. Most of the well known stores (Gymboree, GAP, Old Navy) have sales that run in cycles. Also, you need to know how your child grows, which could take some time. I can say with confidence that my kids are small and can wear clothes much longer than your average kid, which makes it a lot easier to spend a little extra if I find something I truly love. (Yes, I know I said ”I truly love”, because at this stage of the game my kids have a small say in what they wear. Amber is getting more say, but I have ultimate veto power.) Since economic times have changed and our income has changed, dramatically, I have gone with the motto “buy only on sale”. It is easier during these times, because the stores are feeling the squeeze, also. That doesn’t mean I still don’t have to fight a bit. Maybe it is just my area, but if there is a sale at Gymboree you better get your elbow and knee pads on, because there is going to be wall to wall mothers shopping for their little darlings. And since the stores have lowered prices even more than in the past, you might have to fight a little harder for that cute little top. The Internet is your friends during these big sales. I have discovered that I can find more choices of sizes and styles online then in the store. I use both the brick and mortar store and Internet to my advantage. The Internet was great during the great Black Friday Gymboree sale, especially to snag one of the highly coveted $14 winter coats.
I have learned to not only shop only on sale, but to mix in a few Target pieces. I don’t do Walmart, because I don’t like their choices or quality, but we do love our Target. Target use to be my go to place for play clothes, but they have had some really great choices for special occasion dresses that don’t break the bank. I don’t feel so anxious if Amber is running and rolling around trying to find Easter eggs if her dress only cost $20 and not $60. And unless you resell your kids’ clothes, another thing I am not good at, I would suggest you let your kids, especially your daughters, wear their special occassion clothes whenever they want to. Amber has several frilly dresses hanging in her closet that she knows she can play dress up, wear to church or out to eat if she so chooses. Long gone are the days where I am waiting with baby wipe in my hand to make sure to catch some wayward pasta sauce from dripping onto her brand new dress. I have simply decided that life is too short to worry about every little stain and what is the point of a pretty dress if you only get to wear it once and your mother is constantly harassing you not to get it dirty. I am a little more careful with the clothes the kids more often, because I would rather people not think my washer is broken. Another great source for clothes are the discount stores like, TJMaxx or Marshall’s. Rarely do I find things for myself, but I can find tons of things for the kids. You can even find name brands in these stores, as well. I have kept the 2 Plum Pudding dresses I found at TJMaxx for Amber. If this next baby is a girl she will get the pleasure of wearing these dresses often.
I have the same mentality with shoes. When Amber was a baby, it was nothing but Stride Rite, then I realized that those $50 dress shoes were only worn a couple of times before she out grew them. So my guideline is to buy the better quality, sometimes more expensive, shoes for the kids daily use and search the Target or Payless aisles for shoes they may wear only a few times before they grow out of them. I have, also, learned to look at some of the department stores, like, JC Penney’s, for Stride Rite brands. They are usually cheaper. And if I find myself near a Stride Rite outlet store I stock up. It is well worth it to stock up on the next size up shoes for the kids at half the price of the regular store. I am not above buying used shoes for the kids, but I rarely find really good ones.
I will admit I started out buying the high end clothes for my daughter and it took some time to learn there was a better way and while I might have lost my love affair with consignment shops I am not above them or thrift stores. There are a couple of stores I have had my eye on, but haven’t had the time to go, yet. I am hoping that as soon as I find out the sex of the baby cooking, right now, I will be heading there, because there is no need for her/him to sleep in brand new footie pajamas, which saves money for much cuter outfits down the road. And yes, I do have look through my high end catalogs and developed long wish lists in my mind, but I have come to learn that they have sales too. If I can just wait a little longer, I might just get that little treasure I had my eye on for half the price.
[...] to some good news. Remember when I said that you can still dress your children in style while on a budgetand the best place to do that was at the consignment shop? Well, it is not the only place. I did [...]