Parents of toddler's make clothes last longer

Poppy9

My DD is almost 12 and until recently was still wearing her age 9 jeans (bought when she was 8) as turn up 3/4 jeans. The style was loose fit when bought but she loved them so much that when they the turn up jeans became fashionable she wore them like that. It was me who said they were too old now for her still to be wearing so she asked if we could cut them down into shorts like we always do with her old jeans. When she was younger I always bought her clothes a bit big so she would hopefully get 2 years of wear out of them. She has always been a skinny thing so T shirts that were a bit loose one year would still look ok next year. I did find that it only really worked best with better quality clothing from Next as I found they didn't shrink. I also used to buy loads of basics and winter coats in Next sale in the size she would need for the next year and M&S used to sell off their school dress for a couple of pounds at the end of summer so I would buy for next year. Even now when her clothes have to fit, I still won't buy them 'just fitting' I want to know she will get a good few months wear out of them. Also for girls nighties are a cost effective option as you can buy years too big and they will last.

As her clothes are more 'high fashion' now they come from George's teen range which I think is fantastic quality at brilliant prices. She also likes surfy clothes which are very expensive so I go to the end of sales. Today in the surf shop I bought her a last season Roxy summer t-shirt dress from £45 down to £10 and a beach dress down to £5 from £25. Last week I bought her some white 3/4 CAT trousers for £15 (originally £38), Oxbow t-shirt £8 (originally £22) and an O'neill jersey jacket which she is wearing now but will take her into summer for £25 (originally £55). Surfy clothes also resell well on Ebay as I think many parents are reluctant to pay the high prices. I hope to get back what I paid for some of her clothes.

ailuro2

dd is eight now and has been wearing her 'too wees' as 'playclothes' every day after school since she started school. Before that she wore her too wees to nursery.

This way she knows she will always have nice clothes that are still in good condition for wearing out at the weekend, parties etc.:D

I only recently passed on her shorts that were 3-4 yrs! They were very generously sized, methinks.

She is still wearing her 2 year old schoolshirts some days, I'm amazed but they do still fit.

Carmina_Piranha_3

poppy i got a lovely hoodie from tk maxx last week for my son, it's a fab green colour. probably a couple of seasons old but he doesn't care, he just loves saltrock clothes. they don't fit my toddler though, they are too narrow. the hoodie was £12.99 reduced from £40.

sorry if this is off topic but i think if kids are into labels then buying a branded hoodie or coat means they wear it all the time so i have told him he can have a branded coat and hoodies (from ebay or tk maxx) but the rest of his clothes come second hand or from supermarkets, he's happy with that.

i threw away his swimshorts this week because they've gone saggy, as they do. they were passed on by his cousin who doesn't swim much. this is a ten year old boy in age 4 swimtrunks! but if they are hardly worn then they are still in good condition and have lots more wear in them. i thought when i threw them away that perhaps i ought to be concerned that he's so much skinnier than everyone else, instead of pleased about the moneysaving!!

littlelibrarylass

i used the vest extenders for both my children as we used cloth nappies and the popper vests often didn't fit over the nappies after a few months.
LLL

Rebob

My son is 9 and I have alway bought him a size or two larger. Sometimes they need a tuck in the waist and then I turn up the trousers too. I have also been known to add turnups in a contrasting fabric when they have finally got too short.

I have also added a length of broderie anglaise to the hem of dresses for my friend.