Bargain Shopping for Kids' Clothes

I'm always on the lookout for a good bargain for kids' clothing, and I have found a few ways that have really helped me to shop more affordably. First, let me say that all of this is just my opinion, so not everyone will agree with it. Also, there are probably a lot of ways to find bargains on kids' clothing, so this is not an exhaustive list.

Before I share how I shop for my kids' clothes, I want to mention that in order to save money on clothing, you also have to understand a couple of my philosophies:

1. Cheaper up front isn't always better down the road for resale value as well as how well clothing holds up and can be passed down to multiple children (as the case is with my two boys).

2. More is not the goal. Many children have so many clothes that the child can only wear each item a handful of times before it is outgrown; these kids have more clothing than my entire adult wardrobe. Ironically, most kids don't even care about what they are wearing, but as parents, we want them to look cute and well dressed. I guess we all want our children to look good, so that it reflects well on us. However, I think it will ultimately mean more to our kids if we invest our resources in items that last longer than clothing, like their college fund or savings accounts. My personal philosophy to save money is that I try to limit the quantity to around 8-10 pairs of pants, 20-25 shirts, a couple sweaters or dresses, 1 coat, and a couple pairs of shoes for boys (maybe around 4 -5 pairs for my daughter). That gives them several weeks before they have to wear the same thing again, but it doesn't require a lot of closet space to store. I try to shop only when clothes are needed for size changes or when seasons change; I never just "browse" (it will make you buy things you don't need). Boys, especially, usually don't care what they are wearing until they are older (mine don't care at all), so ask yourself if you are dressing your kids to please them or to please yourself. That's a tough one . . .

3. You will have to limit the "extras" and the accessories. I didn't have this issue at all until I had a girl. Now, I see where the budget can be destroyed. There are Gymboree hairbows to match every outfit in the store, there are belts, there are sunglasses in every color, there are socks that have a design to coordinate with each dress. I draw the line at spending my money on those items. I buy solid color Gymboree socks that can go with all the outfits. I buy solid color hairbows that aren't Gymboree that can match anything. I completely skip the hats, belts, ponchos, etc. (unless they came in a lot I won from Ebay, more on that below). My daughter rips all that stuff off anyway. It looks cute, and I might splurge on some special accessories for a professional photo session, but I can't afford them for daily life.

4. Everyone can't match. I, too, like the whole look of all the kids coordinating in "matching" shirts or outfits. I know lots of people who have all the children coordinated for most daily wear, and sometimes the entire family for Sundays. However, I can't afford to do this. I have found a good balance that I am happy with; I buy two "matching" outfits per year -- Christmas and Easter. I usually get the boys Christmas and Easter shirts on sale with Gymbucks at the end of the season and buy them in a larger size. Then, the boys wear them the following year. Obviously, buying matching clothing on sale requires some planning! I'm happy with a couple of matching outfits a year, and I know it is saving money over doing it more frequently.

5. You need to be open to buying things used, and that includes shoes and pajamas. I draw the line at undergarments, unless they are passed down from friends or relatives whom I know.

6. Have a set limit on what dollar amount you will routinely pay for items. I average out all my sales by the number of items to get a "price per item" amount. I routinely only pay $6 per shirt (new Gymboree) and $12 per pants (new Gymboree). Resale items average around $5 per item for name brands. I will pay more for a couple "specialty" items like a smocked dress for a photograph (I got one used on Ebay for $20). However, if you want to save money, you can't expect to spend hundreds of dollars on a single outfit on a regular basis.

CHOOSE BRANDS WISELY

When shopping for kids' clothing, I usually rely upon name brands that I like, that are stylish, and that hold up well to multiple children wearing them. I want my kids to look in fashion, just like everyone else! I don't really shop at Walmart or Target, even though some of their clothes are very cute. I buy a few sandals or casual clothes at Target from time to time, but that's about it. My reason is that they just don't wash and wear as well as Gymboree. All of Owen's clothing is passed down to Hudson since they are the same season. Most of the shorts and tee shirts I have bought at cheaper stores in brands such as Cherokee, Circo, Faded Glory, etc. become pilled, faded, or stitching tears before they can be passed down. After throwing away multiple items for this reason, I finally decided to pony up a bit more money on the front-end in order to pass clothing down to multiple children. Additionally, I resell almost all of the clothing that is in good shape after Hudson and Arden are done with it. Gymboree and other brands will get a much better resale price than cheaper store brands, so I recoup a lot of my money there.

I do have some favorite brands. These are my "tried and true" brands that wear well, are stylish, and the stores usually offer good sales and discounts. My first choice is Gymboree! Clothing is well made, cute, and the tee shirts are a softer, higher quality cotton. I have soaked most of the clothes many times in OxyClean for stains, and they can withstand it without much fading. I also like Children's Place, Old Navy, Polo, Tommy Hilfiger, and Baby Gap/Gap Kids. I would say that 85% of my children's clothing are those brands, but I never buy new or full price. How, do you ask? That is the next point.

SHOP CONSIGNMENT SALES

In order to buy clothing and save money, I limit the number of items each child owns, and I buy good brands in fewer items. However, I only buy consignment or on sale. There are large consignment sales in most major cities in fall and spring (usually September and February). In central Arkansas, the biggest ones are Duck Duck Goose and Rhea Lana. I sell around 100-150 items in each sale which allows me to shop early and get the first pick of the consignment clothing for the season. It's a lot of work, don't get me wrong! You have to label all the clothing, put it on hangers, drag it to check in which can take over an hour, and then you have to go back out to shop for 4-5 hours during the sale. At the last sale I just went to in September, I stood in line for 1 hour and 40 minutes to check out at the presale shopping event to buy some clothing! I still feel it's worth it when I leave with 7 pairs of shoes in Stride Rite, Robeez, and Nike brands that totaled under $40! Just realize that you will pay for some of the discounted price with your time. When selling my children's old items, I usually get back around $250 profit from the consignment sale which I put towards the cost of the items I bought.

As boys get older, it is harder to shop consignment. I have begun to see that with Owen who wears a size 7/8. Now, I can only find him 5-6 items at the consignment sales, which is not near enough to complete his wardrobe. That means that the younger kids will get mainly consignment items, and I will have to buy most of Owen's items on sale at local stores with the intent of passing them down to Hudson. There are always twice as many girl items at consignment sales, so you might be able to plan to spend more of your budget for the girls' clothing from used items.

GYMBUCKS and SALES

If you do shop at Gymboree, you need to work the system to get items affordably. I can't walk in and pay full price and get a tee shirt for $19.50 and a pair of pants for $28.50. One thing I do is only look at the clearance rack. This store has great sales, they rotate items frequently, and they mark down prices up to 75% off. I never buy full price, even if the item is "to die for" cute. I don't even look at the full-price racks! It take a lot of self-control, but I make myself shop in my price limits per item. I also shop using Gymbucks which is the famous Gymboree coupon system. If you shop at certain times, you can earn Gymbucks coupons to redeem later. Usually they are given for every $50 spent, you can earn a $25 coupon to redeem later. Then, during Gymbucks redemption, if you spend $50 you can redeem your $25 coupon, so everything is half off. The best part is that you can do this with sale/clearance items. When I shop on clearance and then apply Gymbucks, I usually average $6.00 per item. The key to success is to buy what your kids need (I often buy bigger sizes and put them back for the next season since those items are on clearance) and shop clearance items only. You won't save much just using Gymbucks on full price merchandise. You can also shop Gymbore online which helps me since I live 20-40 minutes away from the two store locations. Usually online inventory has a better selection of sale items than my local store, and I end up paying the same in shipping as I would have spent on gas to drive to the mall. Plus, you can't beat the convenience of shopping from home.

SHOP EBAY

Besides shopping consignment, using Gymbucks, or using other store clearance sales, I also use Ebay . . . a lot. This online auction format is not intimidating once you've done it a few times. I sell some of my better items on Ebay instead of selling them in consignment, since the consignment sales take a 30% cut of your profit. I also look regularly for Gymboree clothing, especially for older boys, as I have lucked out on some lots for Owen of 25 items for $75 (average of $3 /item!). Most sellers are reputable, and they have a feedback score listed. I only bid if the score is 99% positive or higher. I also ask if items are from a smoke-free home, which is important for leather goods/shoes. It is hard to find shoes at consignment sales, especially for boys. Ebay is a place where I look for shoes. Owen is wearing a pair of gently used Merrell shoes right now that I won for $13 (including shipping)! They are great! I buy all my Robeez used on Ebay and then resell them. I found some consignment shoes for Arden at the Rhea Lana sale, but then I got a few other ones she needed on Ebay. Stride Rite, Merrell, Ecco, Nike, Born, and Robeez are all brands of shoes that I have bought used on Ebay. I also found Arden's custom made crib bedding, lampshade, and child chair slipcover in an auction on Ebay last year. It was in immaculate condition, and I saved 70% over what it would have cost to buy fabric and hire someone to sew all the pieces. Then, I was able to locate the same fabric through fabric wholesale outlets and make additional items to complete her nursery.

Hopefully, some of these tips will work for you. It still takes discipline to walk past a cute kids' outfit and choose not to buy it because your child doesn't really need it. However, it will pay off when you are routinely saving money on their clothing and can fund a vacation or college fund instead. I think my kids always look cute, and they get compliments on their clothing. But I smile because I know that the sweater was $4, the pants $3, and the Robeez were $8 . . . but she looks like a million bucks!