Jump to content

At what age did you start buying good clothing for your kids?


Recommended Posts

REI has some good deals right now for online only outlet buys, however even though it's 70% off the original $$ I don't want to buy good stuff just to see them grow out of this stuff in 3 months.

 

Monster is 12.5+, Roxette is 14.5.

 

147072?size=260

Columbia

Irrigon Trail Mid Outdry Extreme Hiking Shoes - Men's

$35.73 $120.00*Save $84.27 (70%)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

With ours, it is (and has always been) situation dependent. When they were little,  we bought inexpensive clothes and shoes. As they got a little older, we bought good running shoes because the PE program at their school had a running program so we looked for something with good cushion and support. We also didn't let them wear flip flops to school. (I understand why some parents do this, so I'm not judging). As far as "good clothing," do you mean something made well, or something that all the other kids are wearing? We had ours earn money for anything that was beyond basic jeans and shirts. By that I mean, we might pay for Academy store brand shorts, but if they wanted Nike, Asics, etc then they had to pay for it. Ours haven't been too sensitive about what they wear other than following a trend or two. We have tried to pass along useful information about what makes something worth the money that is spent on it and not get too hooked on 'brands' and hopefully that will aid them when they are out working and paying for their own clothes, etc.

If they are 12 and 14, then there is probably still some size changes in the future. Not as much for females, but our family are late bloomers, and my oldest (female) grew to over 5'5 the summer before 8th grade and kept growing taller into high school.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Once they stop or slow growing I became more quality focused.  With shoes for me it was more about fit than a particular style.  If they were going to be running in the shoes I bit the bullet and got them either a perfect fit, or slightly larger.

For me I think it's the same thing I think of now for my wife, myself or my grown kids.  What fits? Each designer, shoe company, etc., all use slightly different sizing models. Thus the size that is a perfect fit in one brand is too narrow, thin or large in another.  I drifted more towards name brands for consistency in size rather than branding.  Though I was biting off Uggs for my girls way too soon,  I knew the younger one would get some wear out of the brand shit, and that worked out OK. Once the kids slowed down their growth I would show them that we could buy this item brand new, or but it slightly used on Ebay and get a great deal.  I did this for specialized things like track spikes, that were hard to find anyhow.  Most kids might get a season out of a set of $120 track spikes.  I could buy the same spikes for $27 with barely any use a year later.

Ultimately you have to use your own judgement.  But my girls love brand name and quality, but as young adults they really love getting that quality for little as possible.  REI grage sales, Ebay, Craigslist. The secret is to know what brands fit them best.  When it came to fitness I was willing to buy stuff knowing it was going to  be out of size in 3 months, as quality fit was important to me when they were playing soccer.  My main thing was I will NEVER let you get what you want by whining.  I would also make them contribute towards items I thought were excessive but they thought they would "die" without.  

Once they became really brand conscious they would go to Goodwill and thrift stores as well, and took pride in finding amazing deals.  They both ended up working at REI, as much for the discounts as they cool job. REI garage sales are again a great way to snag cheap stuff if you are willing to wake up and get there early for the best deals.  Hell I think you are a good parent if you teach your kids quality and how to get what they want for less.

 

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

timely, about 20 minutes ago i bought some stuff from the REI outlet sale for our 8yo. 

 

i love browsing the clearance racks at nordstrom, dick's, academy, anywhere really.  you can find quality clothes/shoes for real cheap, less than $10.  i'm also on slickdeals quite often and there's a lot of good stuff that pops up there on a weekly basis. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like someone up post said.... When they stopped growing which is about the time they fly the coop.  Then it's not so much about the length, it's the waist.  LOL!  

I know today's youth get a lot of grief and just like my generation (Gen X) some  of it is well deserved.  But thankfully they are not all clothing  brand conscience like my generation which makes clothing more budget friendly.  Back in the day,  most of us dudes had to have a few Polo shirts and we didn't have a Polo outlet to buy them at.  You either found one second hand or paid for it at Foleys (now Macy's) or Dillards at full price at their Polo store.   There is a reason H&M and Old Navy are popular stores.  

On a related note... You all should try Amazon Prime Wardrobe and their private brand of clothing.   I was skeptical, but you can get some good quality shorts and chino style pants which fit good and their button down shirts are not too bad either and $20-$25 per item.   Target also has some pretty nice threads too.  

One thing I would advise anyone who has a kid (or yourself)  who like Under Armor stuff and you are within a reasonable distance of San Marcos, go the Under Armour  and you can load up on good stuff vs what you would get for the same bucks at Academy or Dick's.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

REI has some good deals right now for online only outlet buys, however even though it's 70% off the original $$ I don't want to buy good stuff just to see them grow out of this stuff in 3 months.

 

Monster is 12.5+, Roxette is 14.5.

 

147072?size=260

Columbia

Irrigon Trail Mid Outdry Extreme Hiking Shoes - Men's

$35.73 $120.00*Save $84.27 (70%)

Youre giving your kids those for back to school shoes? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Jerry Callo said:

I give my kids $250-300 in August to buy clothes, shoes, etc.  They can spend it at American Eagle, JC Pennys, or Goodwill - I don't care.  They tend to be much more frugal with their budget.

This is smart too. the sooner you can teach them to make smart choices and that money is not unlimited, the better adults they will become.  Otherwise they may end up like... Cooter Brown's wife...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

My kids each had a dozen pairs of $70+ shoes at age 3. My wife doesn’t give a fuck about money.

It's Feltman Brothers clothes and stuff with my wife. I can understand a nice dress for Christmas or Easter or something, but yeah we don't need several of them. Luckily my clearance rack shopping at the end of the season training is starting to change her habits little by little.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Luckily my clearance rack shopping at the end of the season training is starting to change her habits little by little.

Sometimes that works.  Sometimes they just buy twice as much.

 

I'll be dealing with the clothes issue soon.  We've gotten a ton of hand-me-downs, and then most their new shit i get from Walmart.  But I know kids start to notice brands and shit as they get older.  

To answer the original question, we find stuff on rei clearance frequently.  We will spend a little more if it's something all three of the kids can eventually use.  Like hiking boots they might use 3 or 5 times a year won't really wear out.

Thosee $35 boots seems like a good deal.  I'm pretty sure you could get some boots at Walmart for like $25 and they wouldn't be half as quality.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Go to steepandcheap.com > menu > bargain bins > 60% Off or More or 80% Off or More > Sort > % Off

Then filter for kids clothes or whatever. Do it in the off season and buy whatever size you think they will be. Doesn't always work for infants because they could grow really fast or slow, but for toddlers up through the onset of puberty it should be pretty easy to guess what size they need.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Comedy routine I recall (but not the comedian):

"Yeah, I come from a really small town & we were pretty much the poors.  So small, when it's the new school year @ the end of summer, I'd come in & a kid would say "Hey, I know that shirt.   That was my brother's & mom gave it to Goodwill last week.  There's the hole where he got caught on the chain link fence."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...