Hand-me-downs and other stuff

Caterina

Hand me downs are a great way to recycle and so they are ~GREEN~ how could I not like them? hehehehehe

I have always had stuff from my sister in Italy for my kids, from her son who is nearly 2 years older, and it was always fantastic quality stuff, virtualy new, branded. When she was still married they were very well off as a family, so my kids would get this wonderful stuff, use it and then when they grew out of it I passed it on. My nephew's clothes, ski jackets and boots have been passed three or four times along!

If I need something I always try to buy 2nd hand before looking for new. Unfortunately it does not work like this with the rest of my family, they might go to TK MAxx or the sales but they tend to go for new (husband included - but then he is a bit like a teenager himself - doh!).

I have a friend (same size as me) who buys a lot of stuff at sales and jumbles and also new, she is relatively well off and no dependents, and every now and then she does a clearout, and gives me everything she is chucking. As a result I haven't needed to buy any clothes or shoes for a long time, thanks to her. In return I help her with her computer sometimes, and occasionally invite her to dinner out for a treat, but really she doesn't expect a return, she is just generous like that.

In the same way I always try to pass things on that I have no use for, or give them to charity shops or jumble sales if I cannot find anyone who can use them.

It makes good economic sense but it also helps foster a sense of community, if today I pass a couple of pans that I don't need to a young couple starting a home together, they might in the future pass some of their baby clothes to someone who needs them, who then might pass on their old chair to someone in the community who could need it etc, and it goes round.

Hand me downs, anytime!

Caterina

nearlyrich

Hand me downs were definitely a big help to my mum when we were children, I can't really remember getting new clothes but I can remember getting bags of stuff off my older cousins. I have always passed on my childrens clothes to friends and family with younger children. If there wasn't anyone suitable I sent them to the charity shop.:)

SnowyOwl_2

In my house we used to wait and pray for our well off/spoilt cousins to send a bag of hand me downs. They seemed to have v.good quality stuff, and had quite a high turnover as well, so things were as good as new. I remember some of the dresses I had as a child, my favs were second hand but I loved them as they were so nice! It really didn't occur to me that they were second hand, they were gifts.

My mother used to spirit away my old stuff, don't know where it went - definitely not in the bin, nor to cousins etc as I don't remember ever seeing any of them in our disappeared garments. I think they must have gone to charity shops as my mother would never have thrown away anything that still had some wear in it. I am the same - charity shops get anything that I am bored with or replacing but which is still OK.

Austin_Allegro

I had an American friend at primary school who was a lot bigger than me, and I used to get all his cast offs of really 'cool' American clothes. However...I also got regularly given really spacky stuff from some relations who were much older - flared trousers etc (this was in the early 80s when it was social death to wear such things). In the end my mum quietly donated them to charity shops!

I also remember school uniform exchanges - PTAs would organise jumble sales consisting only of school uniform, PE kits, cricket bats, hockey sticks etc etc.

Do schools still do this - I bet they don't...

Lillibet_2

When I was at primary school (1980-86?) my mum ran the school uniform shop for the PTA, open twice a week, parents could re-sell out grown uniform with a percentage of the sale price going towards the school or donate it with the total of the sale price going towards the school. I seem to remember shirts were re-sold at 50p each, skirts & trousers at 85p each, PE kit for 50p. It also sold name tags & new ties & school logo bobble hats (which no-one but I wore and then only under threat of death from my mum) & one mum ran a mini-business out of it making the girls summer red & white checked dresses to order. At the time I used to die of embrassesment as my mum was the "second hand lady" but now I can really appreciate the economics of it.
I assume that now most parents don't have the time, let alone the inclination or economic where-with-all (current company excluded of course!) to arrange such a venture to eveyones mutal benefit?

tiff

We have a really well supported and active PTA but I doubt very much if anyone would support a second hand uniform sale, sadly.

Austin_Allegro

Uniforms were quite expensive in my schooldays - a blazer cost about £30 in 1983, which was a hell of a lot. I imagine the cheap uniforms available from Tescos etc mean that second hand uniforms are not required much nowadays.

That said, from what I've heard, many parents nowadays do seem obsessed with showing off material wealth, with 4x4s, exotic holidays etc - far more so than they were when I was at school - and the thought of buying second hand ANYTHING for little 'Jake' or 'Hermione' would fill them with horror!

culpepper

when mine were at primary(about 9 years ago) they had uniform sales every term.
I always bought as much as I could there.
The last time I was given loads of stuff too as the mum who ran it said nobody wanted anything that wasnt 100% perfect. I didnt care as my son was at the absently chewing sweatshirt cuff stage and had already ruined 2 new jumpers.
He could go through trouser knees in about a month too.
When they left that school (we've homeschooled ever since)they used the uniform as play clothes.
My mother never went to uniform sales when we were kids (I wish she had) but bought us some very odd stuff from jumble sales to wear at school (I can remember holey socks that she bought for pennies and then darned ) my poor brother who was very tall looked like a tramp in his too small clothes:(

one-non-blonde

In the village where I used to stay this concept is taken to extremes and items circulate among families literally for decades. I've often heard conversations along the lines of Mrs X discovering that Mrs Y has a set of rickety bunkbeds that Mrs X put out for the binmen in 1972 but unbeknown to her were salvaged by Mrs Z and have since passed through families A, B and C! Clothes circulate freely as well and you can often follow the life of something particularly noticeable through at least half a dozen familes then back again as hardly any of my friends throw anything away.

My kids don't get hand-me-downs from my family as all but one of the cousins are younger than my two and the one that's older has a same-sex sibling to pass things to. All my son's clothes get passed to nephews and everything else in reasonable condition goes to a charity shop or if a major label and immaculate sometimes sold on Ebay. I also buy my sister's cast off mobiles when she upgrades and other stuff gets passed among us like old TVs, etc. Recently I swept up and bagged all the grotty red chips from the front garden of my new home and carted them down to my dad to use in the foundations of a wall he was building... guess that counts as a hand-me-down too!

I'd gladly buy second-hand uniforms but not sure whether the school does this and I know our own are usually too tatty before they're outgrown. When we moved schools last summer I gave all our sweatshirts and poloshirts to a friend although as they were the same colour I'd half hoped to persuade my kids to still wear them at the new school but they weren't to be convinced! Skirts and trousers usually come from charity shops. I find the cost of uniforms shocking even with the really basic uniform all schools seem to have these days, I've no idea how my parents afforded to kit us all out in blazers, shirts and ties, etc! :eek:

My daughter will soon be 10 and she knows that most of her clothes come from charity shops but understands the financial and ethical reasons for this so is ok with it... though how many more years I'll get away with it I don't know!

Lillibet_2

I never minded my stuff being second hand/comming from charity shops as long as my friends didn't know about it. My mum eventually got wise & took me to out of town charity shops & we were both happy!