Where do you get your kids clothes?

[safielstar]

Well, we finally reached the point where we're running out of the clothing sizes gifted to us from the baby shower, Christmas etc. and DD's ready to go into 12 month clothes, so I figured it's time to start shopping.

Anyone have any tips for outfitting babies and toddlers without breaking the bank? Can we get new clothes for a decent price or do we have to go used? Any particular store that I should gear towards? Garage sales? Consignment stores? Any outlet stores worth shopping at? Any legendary sales paired with coupons that people recommend?

We've used a lot of Carters clothes with DD so far, and I've found some good deals at Winners from time to time. Most of our friends have boys and the ones with girls already gave away their old clothes, so no hand-me-downs there unfortunately

[Minou]

It's kind of a panicky feeling when you realize that you're going to have to buy a new size at the beginning of a season and pay full price! WhenI realized my 18 month old DS#1 needed size 3 clothes for fall when he was almost 18 months old, I didn't know what to do! After that experience, I started stocking up on clothing in the next couple of sizes up when I found them for a great price and storing them in bins in his closet.

Watch Gymboree online/in stores for summer clearout for next year's clothes. It's the big red balloon sale right now, so you may be able to dig through boxes for some deals -- you may even find fall/winter stuff. Ask the staff to scan the tags, as some items will be lower than the marked price. If you have/can buy Gymbucks, you can really save money at Gymbuck redemption in July. I get some of my best deals there by watching the sales, and the quality is fabulous. Last year, I bought a pile of t-shirts and shorts for my son for $3.50 each.

Sears should be having 40%-50% off clearance coming up within the next two weeks, so it's a good chance to pick up some stuff there, too... last year, I was still finding plenty of things that would be appropriate for fall/winter as well. Some pyjamas go down to $5 a pair at these sales. Always need lots of pyjamas to keep up with nightime diaper leaks as they get older.

If you feel you can estimate shoe size for winter (maybe a size or two up from right now, depending how fast your daughter grows), buy boots either at a garage sale for $1 or at Sears when they have 50% off clearance -- they have good brands like Sorel really marked down. You may want to buy rainboots in bigger sizes as well, as it's hard to buy a pair for less than $15 in the spring.

Garage sales are definitely great... they tend to wind down in July/August but pick up significantly in September. If you can, go to community-wide garage sales in young areas. Rule of thumb is $1 per item for clothing, aside from really special or expensive items like fancy dresses and jackets. You could check Kijiji for lots of kids' stuff, but it's not something I've done much. I also haven't had great luck at mom to mom sales, as people tend to really mark things up to make up for the cost of their table rental. Sometimes thrift stores have sale days, though lately I've done just as well with clothes on clearance. Check out Toys R Us in their clothing section, as they often have good deals on sets in mid-July.

If your Zellers is still in operation, July normally sees some days with 40-50% off clearance items.

The Bay sometimes still has winterwear and snowsuits in spring/summer (It takes them that long to drastically discount them), so you may be able to pick something up when clearance goes on 50% off. A couple of years ago, I bought DS an entire London Fog snowsuit for $21.00. Next spring, check out the snowsuits at Please Mum if they're still around. Bought parkas for $7.50 each this year.

I'm not a big fan of The Children's Place, but at some point, they clear stuff out for $4.99 or less -- and you can print a coupon.

Buy socks when they're $1.00 a pair or less. I actually really liked the Old Navy socks with the grippy bottoms when DS 1 was learning to walk and run.

Superstore has lots of clearance, but it takes a long time for the prices to really drop.

If you're going to the US this summer, K-mart tends to have absolutely amazing clearance deals on kids' clothes and sets. The WonderKids line is good quality, though my experience has only been with the boys' stuff. It was all $2-$3 an item or set in August. Target can sometimes have some good clearance stuff as well.

[GeorgiaK]

With my DS, I have found that the styles at Old Navy are great. I only shop online clearance when there is an additional 30% off offered. They have no shipping when you have an order of $50 BEFORE the discount is applied! I usually buy 2-3 seasons ahead and 2-3 sizes ahead.

I like the Children's Place and Joe Fresh at Maxi, but it is pricey so I only shop liquidation sales with a coupon.

As well, try garage sales and Kijiji. I have found and sold great pieces there.

[i_forget]

I am personally a big fan of Bonnie Togs. They carry OshKosh, Woodland, Tangerine....

I have found that their prices are comparable to Walmart, cheaper when they have sales and the quality of the clothes is fantastic.

I always buy a size larger, and found that their clothes last a long time. This year I did not have to buy any summer clothes because the ones that I bought last year are still going strong. My kids are tough on clothes too. I am a believer in let the kids play, I have a washing machine.

I do buy the odd thing from a thrift store, but I hate going through the racks and then not finding anything. I also do a bit of sewing (which I would do more of if I had the time, nothing better than homemade jammies).

Walmart clothes are crap. Someone bought my son a t-shirt from there and there were little rips in it after the first trip through the washing machine...and I have been closing them up ever since. The George brand is not too bad, but that is all I will spend my money on there.

I find Gymboree and A childrens place very over priced and their clearance racks are always sad so I do not go in there too often.

Costco has good quality kids clothes, but not a lot of choice.

Sears is okay too, but again over priced.

I do not shop at Zellers, the stores are always a mess, and the floors hurt my feet and back.

[Minou]

I agree about Old Navy -- I really like their boys' clothes, and they do sometimes have great sales/coupons. Last April, they had a great clearance sale online where I got boys' jeans for $2.49 and girls' pants and jeans for $1.49. Stocked up for DS and his cousins! Bought a boy's hoodie there for $2.49 in the spring. I actually think the kids' clothes (boys' anyway) are better made than the adult styles.

I second i_forget's assessment of Walmart clothes. Yuck. We were given a set when DS 1 was about a year old, and the screen printing on the front of the shirt was actually stuck together where it had been folded over on itself in the gift bag. It actually took some effort to get it apart! Not the kind of thing that's very durable! (I did buy lots of hats and Hot Paws mitts when they went on for $1, though!)

You may want to glance at Giant Tiger occasionally, too... while most stuff is Walmart quality or worse, they sometimes get some closeout stuff from other companies. A couple of years ago, I bought my son MiniWear brand sets (a brand sold at Babies R Us) that had a button up summer shirt over a screen-printed muscle shirt along with a pair of shorts for just under $10. This spring, they had Winnipeg Jets long-sleeved kids' shirts for $3 each, and I noticed that they had a lot of good-quality Kodiak brand boys' clothing for some really decent prices. I also bought a bigger pair of rubber boots there for $3 a few weeks ago. They carry one of the Carters lines as well.

As for Gymboree, I used to think they were incredibly expensive, until I learned how to shop there. I normally place large orders online when there are great clearance deals and I have a coupon. When $26.50 shorts work out to $3.50, and you can get a pile of different styles, I don't think I could do much better anywhere else. They have very cute and well-made clothes. About a month and a half ago, I had lots of success at the store. I even went back a couple of weeks later and found more great deals.

http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/295456-...heaven-canada/

The nice thing about Gymboree is that they're excellent as second-hand clothes because of their durability. Two years ago, I bought a lot of about 50 mostly Gymboree items secondhand in size 3 for DS on e-bay, and even with shipping and duty added on, the items didn't cost more than $2 each. Gorgeous clothes, and even though he got so much wear out of them over the course of two years, they'll still be perfect for his younger brother.

[safielstar]

Thanks for your input everyone

DD's growth is a little spastic right now, she was in 6 month clothes for only a month before going to 9 month, she's been in the 9 month clothes for almost three months now but ready to move to 12 month. She's still in size one for shoes, so super tiny feet. It's not so bad now that she's home with me, she hangs out in a sleeper or a onesie most of the time weather depending, but she starts daycare in the fall, so she's going to need a lot more actual outfits, plus a snowsuit, boots, and regular shoes. I'm assuming she'll be in 18 month clothes by the time she starts daycare at 11 months. Hopefully I won't go buy all 18 month clothes for her and she moves to 24 month/2T by that point ^^;

We avoid Walmart clothes for DD because we noticed the poor quality, they started to get holes in them after the first washing, plus the zippers would break. It's weird because DH and I buy Walmart clothes for ourselves and never had an issue but for some reason their kids clothes just suck.

We love Bonnie Togs, and if we're lucky we can find Carter's outfit sets at Costco for super cheap (plus we love Costco's Pekkle sleepers).

I hadn't thought about Old Navy (haven't shopped there for myself in years), I'll try them out next time I'm at the mall.

I love Gymboree's clothes but they're so expensive normally I've never actually bought anything from them, but thanks to your tips I might luck out with their clearance/sale stuff I'm a Gymboree rewards member and on their mailing lists, so do the coupons normally get sent right to your inbox? I never really paid attention when I got their emails...

[RMurp007]

I dressed my three kids strictly from garage sales. You can't beat the $1 at item prices for Brand Name clothes.

[juniperjune]

I dressed my three kids strictly from garage sales. You can't beat the $1 at item prices for Brand Name clothes.

I agree! I stocked up from one lady's garage sale for the next sizes, size 12 months, 4 yrs, 5 yrs and 6 years for my 2 boys. At $1 a piece, and they were good brand name clothing, you can't beat it!

[Minou]

You usually have to look for the Gymboree coupons in magazines like Parents magazine, but they do sometimes send out a coupon code by email. (For some reason, Gymboree coupons are very hard to come by this month!) It's really good when you can use 20% off during 30% sales on clearance-priced items. I normally order online because of the faster price cuts and larger selection, but it's good if you can do a large order/order with someone to help minimize the effects of shipping and duty. I've noticed that Gymboree girls' clothing seems to run small, while the boys' styles run large.

Boy, that boot size will be tricky if your DD has tiny feet -- she'll be walking, but in pre-walk sizes. My guy is about a month younger than your DD, and he's already in about a size 4 shoe. I bought a pair of new-looking size 5 boots at a garage sale for $1 and a pair of size 6 Sorels at Sears on clearance, as there's a strong possibility that he'll need both sizes over the course of the winter. Unfortunately, the winter that his brother was walking, he was wearing sizes 7 and 8. DS 2 is 7 months, and for the last two months or so, he's been wearing 24 month clothing. Thank goodness I already have most of the clothes he needs from his older brother!

Don't forget to pick up some extras of things for daycare. I remember feeling like I was spending a fortune on extras for DS 1 to start daycare. They often want extra pants, tops, socks, and a hoodie or sweater, as well as a blankie and stuffed animal to leave at daycare. Some want a bottle of infant Tylenol and diaper rash cream. Some ask for a playpen fitted sheet. Good to get some of the clothing extras at garage sales, as they'll most likely be used very rarely. They don't need to be pretty!

[Craiger]

We buy from the sale section at Old Navy online (only on 30% discount promos though), that is when I buy things that our daughters currently fit.
We also buy a lot from Bonnie Togs, we quite often shop at the end of the season for the next season. The great thing with Bonnie Togs is that as long as the tags are on and you have your receipt you can return them at any time (even 6 months later).
I also bought snowsuits last fall at Walmart for $9.00 each. I know with 3 girls they will get worn at some point and if not then it was only $9.00...

[Abby5]

I love Value Village and Goodwill. I stock up on half off Fridays. Sally Ann has $1 kids sales too

[Zonny]

I'm a big Kijiji fan. Usually you can get a big sack of clothes that were outgrown rather than worn out, for very little cash.

I got some shorts for my DS the other day at Zellers - we were about to go on vacation and realized we didn't have much for him that still fit, so I made a quick run. He's six, and the size 6 shorts were marked down to $5 or so, then at the register I learned there was an additional amount off, we paid $3.50 a pair. The store was about to close, otherwise I would have gone back and got more!

[Reidsdairy]

I normally buy clothes for our twins at Walmart and Old Navy (when 30% off clearance). Visited Buffalo recently, got some good clearance deals at the Walmart & Target there. Cartars outlet had some cheap clothes too during their clearance event. They outgrow their clothes so quickly and don't go out except weekends so we definitely don't like to spend too much $.

[Jina]

Walmart has great sales and clearance, especially on t-shirts, shorts, pants. I stock up during that time for up to age 4 (DS is 2).
I was lucky the other day when I decided to check out Gymboree. They were doing 30% off everything in the store, including items already discounted 70%. I got clothes at round $2-$4 each, great for my nieces and nephew's birthdays and for Christmas (I buy Christmas all year long and avoid the last minute shopping )

I recently went shopping at an outlet in the US and the clothes at Carter's were really cheap! There was coupon on the website that you could print $20 off any item, 1 per person per day. I had my parents use 1 each for me, then DH, DS and I. Paid a 3-piece outfit for $6.

[sweetmomma]

I love TAG! Decent price, good quality, and Canadian!

Although the above posters seem to dislike Giant Tiger I tend to like them.

I also love H&M but rarely shop there unless I have a discount of some sort. I really like the fact the children's sizes go by age and find them a bit bigger fitting and last longer.

Sears I look to for something specific or different brands I may not find else where.

Usually every season I go to Bonnie Toggs and stock up on a few items. Their prices are reasonable and cute clothes.

Walmart I rarely shop here for clothes unless it's accessories of some sort or under garment type things. Occassionally I will buy the odd tshirt or what not but it's usually something my boys can wear for "play" and not long lasting wear.

Most of all, I love Winners! It's a hit or miss for me with boys but you can always find a tonne of girls items. If you live near one that is renovating most of these stores have awesome clearance!

I must be weird. I disagree with brands are better quality than non brands. After all, I buy things more for their look and durability than anything else. Most of the companies clothing are made in the same countries so I can't justify by that. Since my 3 yr old DS passes his clothing down to his 19 month old brother I prefer new(or super gently used)so it lasts both children.