How much to dress a six year old girl?

michaels

Following a change in circumstances I decided I really need to work out where money goes - in Martin's budget spreadsheet I had down £200 per month for kids clothes (for DDs 6 and 5 and DS2) but that comes to a frightening 2400pa and I'm not sure that the DW actually keeps to that - every next sale she seems to come back with £300+ of 'bargains' so here is my list for DD1 - does it sound reasonable? Most prices are sale prices and from Sainsburys TU / Next or M&S with some Matalan and Primark, nothing expensive.

School uniform:
Shoes x 2 - £15 x 2
Socks x 10 £10
Tights x 10 £20
PE Shorts £3
PE t-shirt x 2 £3 x 2
Plimsoles - £3
skirts x 2 - £8 x 2
pinnafore x 2 - £12 x 2
school polo x 5 - £8 x 5 - logo so rip off
school sweatshirt x 3 - £9 x 3 - logo so rip off
Summer dress x 3 - £5 x 3
winter coat - £15
summer coat - £15
Vest x 10 - £1 x 10
thermal vest x 10 - £2 x 10

Sub total £254

Other clothes
Wellies - £5
Boots - £20
Sandals - £15
Swimming costume x 2 - £5 x 2
t-shirts x 5 - £4 x 5
long sleeve Ts x 5 - £5 x 5
Blouses x 5 - £6 x 5
leggings x 5 - £5 x 5
Trousers/Jeans x 5 - £8 x 5
Fleece - £10
Cardi / sweater / sweatshirt x 10 - £8 x 10
dresses x 8 - £12 x 8
Socks x 20 pairs - £1 x 20
Tights x 5 - £2 x 5
Coat x 1 - £20
Pants x 30 - £1 x 30

Sub total £432

Grand total £684

And no doubt I have missed some things as this is just off the top of my head.

Does this sound reasonable?

POPPYOSCAR

The actual prices are reasonable but if you need to cut down then all these items are not essential.

Why would one child need 20 pairs of socks and pants?

I only had 3 school blouses/shirts and washed midweek.

Make do with 1 swimming costume.

The bottom line is if you can't afford to buy so many cut down on the quantity you do buy.

balletshoes

that looks very reasonable for most things, allows for growing through the year etc - only thing I'd say is, my DD goes through more than 2 pairs of school shoes in a year, even if only one pair is because of outgrowing them. Same with plimsoles/trainers, any footwear basically is unlikely to last a year at age 5 or 6, because she's growing.

Oh, and you forgot nighties/PJs.

rachbc

wow - thats a lot of clothes! But yes if thats over the year and half is summer and half winter that sounds about right to me.

Cannot imagine spending £300 a month on kids clothes - I spent £35 last month and that was a lot for me cos both kids grew out of jeans at the same time!

mamashaz

I agree with Poppyoscar. Your prices are fine but there are way too many clothes there!

Why does she need thermal vests as well as vests for example?

If you wash every day/every other day you could cut right down on the quantities.

Also our school runs a second hand uniform stall - perhaps yours does too?

gizmo111

I used to spend about £300 in March/April for summer and then school unifrom about £150 inc shoes & Coat in August and then again about £300 in Sept/Oct for Winter stuff. Xmas they used to get a new outfit for parties, xmas day etc.
Very rare did I buy through the year - little one had some hand me downs but not many
2 girls - now 15 and 17 but things don't seem to have gone up much in kids clothes.

£200 is a lot a month if you are trying to cut down - you could half that and still have a generous wardrobe.

lostinrates

Michaels I don't have twenty pairs of socks and tights! (not in regular circulation anyway!). She has a lot of clothes, uniform and non uniform. She only wears non uniform stuff all day two days a week...she must be growing out of it before she gets to wear a lot of it! The only saving grace is that the younger girl can wear lots of it, but yes, you are right....FAR too many clothes! 10 cardi/jumpers? eight dresses...for the two days a week she's not in uniform? A party dress and a couple of day dresses should be manageable, particularly with five pairs of trousers and five pairs of leggings to choose from.....!! (seriously, this is a lot bigger than my day to day wardrobe)

And OMG, MORE socks on her mufti list too!? oh dear....michaels, you are setting yurself up for lots of trouble when your girls hit teenage shopping at this rate!

One thing to note though, is there aren't nighties/pjs on your list that I could see. two or three of those should be there and a dressing gown!


I also think 30 pairs of pants is crazy.....I mean, they can't wait that long before needing washing, it would be yucky, 14 pairs is AMPLE, for winter. especially when the five of you must make for regular washing loads!

tanith

30 pairs of pants and 10 sweatshirts/cardies :eek: I agree with the others prices are reasonalbe but I reckon you could cut most of those quantities in half and still have plenty.. how many different clothes does one child need mainly just for weekends and holidays the rest of the time they are in school uniform and only need a t-shirt and leggings for evenings..

JodyBPM

I think that is WAY too many clothes too! For school age children, they only need a few out of school outfits as they are in uniform most of the time. Perhaps more shorts/t-shirts in the summer holidays. I don't reckon I spend more than about £400 a year on BOTH my children's clothes combined, including school and leisure wear. And the majority of that will be their school shoes & trainers!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

michaels wrote: »

School uniform:
Shoes x 2 - £15 x 2 I'd only get one pair at a time, but get more expensive - feet aren't replaceable
Socks x 10 £10 Can get multipacks of school socks for nearer £3
Tights x 10 £20 Don't need that many - 5 maximum
PE Shorts £3 OK - but you can get them for less if the school allows the ones that are a silky nylon (about £1.50 in sports shops)
PE t-shirt x 2 £3 x 2 Just wash it, but most are £3 for 2 shirts anyway
Plimsoles - £3 OK
skirts x 2 - £8 x 2 OK
pinnafore x 2 - £12 x 2 OK
school polo x 5 - £8 x 5 - logo so rip off Just you wait until she's at senior school...
school sweatshirt x 3 - £9 x 3 - logo so rip off Probably get away with 2
Summer dress x 3 - £5 x 3 Probably get away with 2 again
winter coat - £15 Fine
summer coat - £15 Are you sure she needs one with all the fleeces, sweatshirts, jumpers and Polo shirts?
Vest x 10 - £1 x 10 Seems a bit dear
thermal vest x 10 - £2 x 10 Does she attend school in the Arctic? Not needed, just wear normal vest and she'll be fine

Sub total £254

Other clothes
Wellies - £5
Boots - £20 You're spending more on a fancy pair of boots than on the school shoes she's going to wear everyday.
Sandals - £15
Swimming costume x 2 - £5 x 2
t-shirts x 5 - £4 x 5 Try Primark and they should be cheaper
long sleeve Ts x 5 - £5 x 5
Blouses x 5 - £6 x 5 Think you might be overdoing the need for tops for 2 days of the week
leggings x 5 - £5 x 5
Trousers/Jeans x 5 - £8 x 5 3 pairs is more realistic
Fleece - £10
Cardi / sweater / sweatshirt x 10 - £8 x 10 Don't need £80 of knitwear to shrink in the wash. 3 - 5 would be OK
dresses x 8 - £12 x 8 4 dresses are plenty
Socks x 20 pairs - £1 x 20 Get double sets and you can easily halve the number bought
Tights x 5 - £2 x 5
Coat x 1 - £20
Pants x 30 - £1 x 30 That's more drawers than IKEA

Sub total £432

Grand total £684

And no doubt I have missed some things as this is just off the top of my head.

Does this sound reasonable?

OK, looking at this, it appears that your DD wears clean uniform everyday, but not because she changes and you wash it, but because there is a linen bin stacked full of clothes waiting to fill your weekends. when it comes to school uniform, it's easy enough to rotate and have one on the child, one in the wardrobe and one in the wash.

Especially as it appears that she gets changed once she's at home into a full fresh set of clothes - but during the week, she doesn't really need fancy blouses and the like, she just needs a pair of leggings/jeans and a T-shirt, won't need a jumper every day, and a change of socks. Does she only ever wear shoes or does she wear trainers at all?

This is a huge volume of clothing that she is likely to grow out of before you know it, and is probably making a lot of unnecessary work in keeping her room clean and doing washing.


If money's tight, I suggest 3 skirts, 2 pinafores, 2 jumpers and as many shirts as the budget stretches to. Plus 7 pairs of identical school socks (thus allowing for losses or destroying them by taking shoes off) and 3 pairs of tights, allowing for the replacements when she inevitably falls on her knees and puts holes through them. A good pair of shoes. One coat, one set of PE kit, 7 vest/knicker combinations. She's getting nearer the age where she is more likely to grow out of a pair of shoes in under a year - it could well change to 2 pairs a year in the next 12 -18 months.

For out of school, 2 pairs jeans, 3 sets leggings, 2 dresses. 4 T shirts, 2 long sleeved T shirts. 3 - 4 jumpers/cardies. 1 special outfit. Pair of boots (I know what it's like with girls), 2 pairs of shoes/trainers, 1 pair sandals. 1 coat. 7 pairs socks. 2 pairs tights (after all, there are only 2 dresses and it is horrible wearing tights under trousers).

Then 2 sets of PJs, 2 swimming costumes and 2 sets of hat, scarf & gloves (reserving the right to get cheap 50p magic gloves, as the odds are one from each pair will go missing), plus a summer hat.


You don't need all of these things in advance, and there will be things that are ruined and outgrown over the course of the year. By keeping the budget lower, you have more leeway later on when you realise that something has to be replaced.

Theoretically, this should also all fit into a smaller space than previously, thus giving DD more space for toys and you more money for activities!

Alikay

I agree, way too many clothes: How much drawer space do you have in your house?
In most cases when a spare is nice to have but not vital, most mums use last years as a back-up (like PE shirts, swimsuits etc). With the logo-ed school stuff we manage with 2 of each and either last year's or a plain one from Asda for emergencies. I think you've underestimated on the cost of school shoes though: We pay about £35-£40 a pair (for a 5 year old) for Clarks, and Startrite are even more expensive.