Useful Info: How To Save Big On Clothes For The Entire Family

[wallacla]

This is a fabulous thread and even though my kids are all in college I'd like to add my 2 cents. We have 3 in various stages of further education now and they are all in different cities and schools. Something it took me the first one to learn on was all the "little" expenditures that come up when they go from the dorm to apt. (if that is how it goes) If you have children approaching college, start stocking up on small appliances like can openers, toasters, etc. It seems that almost every living situation mine have been in is different and in some place the Microwave is provided, some not, one of the dorms had a small refrigerator, others not. WE had seconds of dishes and silverware that we are still passing around but learned quickly to grab a spare can opener for example when we saw it. Sheets and towels, again, different in every situation depending on what size and where. Obviously you don't have a crystal ball, but it doesn't hurt to begin planning early to really save on what can really add up. We havent' had a move in w/e yet that we escaped a trip to Wally world, K Mart, or Target. The numbers of people there buying whatever the store put out and told them it was for a "dorm" was staggering. Fortunately our trips have been minimal and thanks to the K Mart and Target cards from earlier deals this year, we didn't pay anything
And since it was for DD this time, it was "cute stuff"
If you have kids in high school, now is the time to think about it!
Lisa

[MoJo]

Goodwill! Good clothes! Great prices!

The teenagers find unique and/or top brand clothes. I have no problem locating casual wear. Since Mr SpyinBryan lives in homemade tie-dye and ratty blue jeans, I can't really address men's clothing. Our only problem is the pre-teen; seems like there is a "clothing gap" between toddler clothing and adult clothing, especially for boys. My guess is that this age group wears out their clothes. I just drag him to Kohl's a couple of times a year for jeans and t-shirts.

Like shopping retail, probably more so, it's important to shop ahead.

[Jusk]

Originally Posted by *sparkles* These are great tips...but I have the worst luck with these things. I'm a big clothes clearance shopper...always have been. I live in WI where the seasons are VERY drastic so the clothes HAVE to match the season. Before my dd was born everyone said babies are usually bigger then the size on the clothes so I bought ahead of time (clearanced clothes) and was off a season because she was a runt (still is lol). So then I got pregnant with my second, a boy, and started buying those clearance clothes...and now they are a season off! My son is 4 mos old and is now wearing 6-9 mos clothes...most of his 6-9 mos clothes are for the fall....agh!!! The summer clothes are all going on clearance now and I have NO idea what to get for either of them. I've been getting 3Ts and 4Ts for my dd (who is still in a 2T) and I have been getting 12 mo & 18mo for my son....I'm buying double and spending more..... any suggestions???? (so some of the clothes I'm buying are used rather then just given away) thanks, michelle

I would say if you get stuck with stuff they don't wear....ebay it or consign it

[Jusk]

I am incredibly lucky when it comes to clothing for children. I live where we have 10 months of one season and 2 months of a slighter variation of the 10 month one ...( Florida).

My kids wear sandals 10 mos out of the year. DS never wore long pants or jeans to school the entire time between 4-8 grade. It didnt matter how cold it was...he wore shorts. But the lowest it ever was when he wore shorts to school was the mid 40's.......... The variation in our seasonal clothing is that they wear a sweatshirt when it gets cooler....but sometimes that sweatshirt is over a short sleeved tshirt.

I buy my kids clothes and they wear them out or grow out of them. We pass them on to friends or relatives and we receive some hand me downs from friends and relatives. I shop the clearance racks for basics and have just started letting them manage their back to school clothing budgets but they are in the 8th and 11th grade and I figure it's a good lesson for them.

When my kids were younger I always found the best value for price and quality was the off season clearance racks at the higher end Dept Stores. I bought a pair of denim shorts in a size 2T for DS when he was 12mos old. He wore them for 1.5 year over a diaper and then almost another year over underpants. DD wore the same shorts for about 2 years. I paid less than $3 for those shorts. They were used for almost 4 years and probably washed once or twice a week when they were in use. They held up great and I passed them on to another family that ended up with 3 boys that all used them!

My current situation is DS16....leveled out in growth....not hard on clothes...never asks for fads or anything special....I tend to buy classic pieces that will last.

DD13 (will be 14 in a few weeks)...has puberty induced growth pattern that is all over the board......nothing fits for longer than a couple of months. Seems to spill and stain on shirts alot......clothing that is available that she likes is made of inferior quality fabrics that seem to fade/shrink/pill easily.....We tend to buy more often, lesser quality, cheaper prices.......

Overall both budgets even out over the long run.

[MaryMary]

I've seen a lot of Macy's coupons, do not know if they'll continue to publish it since the competition (May stores) shrunk a lot. My problem with department store coupons sent to the cardholders is that they are only for a specific period of time, most of the better clearances occur outside of these periods. I'm not a cardholder, but was able to track these coupons through other shopping boards. At least this is situation in our area. Plus I tend to buy in smaller batches per store per day, $10-20 ea, not $100 per day, only because I'm not as lucky to find as many items I need.
One more point. If your kids wear clothes and shoes passed on from older sublings, do not shop Walmart. Quality is not great, to say the least, kids clothes fade and loose shape after 1-st few washes, shoes are very uncomfortable. With the technic described by HCM it is possible to find brand name quality items for much less then WM sells their ware.
I totally agree for every item we need we should shop ahead, anticipate the need. When we are looking for a specific item we were never able to find the right thing for the right price. So if you see the item you might need in the future offered at the bargain price, grab it now. Just remember to be flexible, if a particular tactik doesn't work (growth spurs, change of needs), be here to recognize it and adopt to a current situation. Shopping Salvation Army and consignment stores might be a solution, great quatity items, gently worn or even brand new can be found there.
Do whatever fits you, any style which suited your life and saves your money.

[MrsPinecone]

If you shop the outlet malls...

Check to see if they have coupon booklets or frequent-shopper clubs. The Prime Outlet mall in my area has an email mailing list that sends coupons and advance notice of special sales.

They also have a frequent-shopper coupon booklet that has great coupons in it-- 25% off any one item, $10 off $50 or more (which can be combined with other coupons AND used on sale items). They dropped off a HUGE bag of these booklets at DHs job, and no one was taking any! I got close to 40 of the booklets, and have used them to stock up on brand new baby items at the Carter's and Osh Kosh stores for less than I would pay at a consignment store or yard sale.

[MOM2SNOX]

Great advice and wonderful tips about stockpiling! I usually buy a size or two larger if my DS likes the style, expecially if it's on sale! That way he'll have extras when he grows into them!

[jonnysmomma]

Goodwill...consignment shops(i sell and recieve 60% store credit)...garage sales...hand me downs.....90% of Jonnys(and our!) clothing is used.

[enginerd]

My 8 yo DS gets a great deal of hand-me-downs from his 3 years older cousin - but not so many as before. In this age range they tend to wear out the clothing before they outgrow it much of the time. He still gets quite a few pairs of shorts, jeans, and pants but the shirts are pretty worn by the time he gets them. Probably 25% of his wardrobe is hand-me-downs and about 25% from garage sales. 90% of the clothing that I buy new for him either come from Target when they have their 75% off sales, Old Navy clearance or The Children's Place clearance. He doesn't like shirts with buttons so most of his wardrobe consists of jeans, cargo pants worn long or as shorts (love the zip-off ones - he has two pair that he is on his third year of wearing because they have a drawstring waist), denim shorts, t-shirts or short sleeve pullover shirts, and long sleeve pullover shirts (heavy t-shirt like material or thermal) or sweat shirts. I do recycle the jeans from his cousin that have worn out knees - I cut them into shorts and hem them. I have been happy with the quality of clothing from Target, Old Navy, and The Children's Place, but I only have one child for them to go through. They seem to hold up well, though.

[couponfanatic]

Great thread!
Don't forget Garage Sales.
Works best with small kids, and the earlier you start the better. Then no stigma arises. Go to the "better" neighborhoods. They usally have "street Sales" which puts them on a yearly cycle you can find in the paper. I'm lucky enough to have one of those near me. And one specific house w/ a kid one year older than mine. Always the best labels, in excellent condition- and max. of $1 per item. I show up ever year early the first day and clean them out. I get almost an entire summer wardrobe there. Once dh started to get "icky" about "used" clothes. Then I said: you get $XX for summer clothes. You can either get a whole wardrobe here, or go to the store and get 2 shirts and 2 shorts, and that's all you'll have for summer.
But yes, whent comes to stores, Hit Those Clearance Racks!