From time to time I get a few comments about; how big my kids’ wardrobe must be or how I must spend alot on their clothes. To be honest their little wardrobes are pretty small, and I probably don’t spend much more the the regular mom on their little clothes. We don’t really shop at any expensive stores or buy expensive brands, even though I would LOVE too! Boy would I love too!
I have a budget that I try my best to stick to, I wait until they need things (grown out of clothes, change of seasons or worn out with love) and then I buy. Writing this blog has helped me window shop enough, so when my kids need an item I usually already know where I want to get it or where a sale is.
A few things that I do that help keep me from buying every adorable item I see:
- Only buy things that I LOVE, and might wear myself or dress my husband in (but with a little more childlike fun and whimsy).
- It must have alot of versatility (if it’s a dress that will only be worn once, most likely I won’t be buying).
- Try to shop around deals and sales (buy whatever winter clothes you can at the end of the season even if it’s just mitts and a hat). An buy ahead if you can, if there is a great sale somewhere but they don’t have your kids current size, buy ahead (if their growth has slowed enough where you can predict).
- Only buy what you need (they are gonna grow out of stuff fast enough that you can shop again soon). I also have to say we have alot of really great gift givers, and stylish hand-me downers which has been amazing.
- If I fall in love with something that maybe costs more then I would usually spend, I find ways to style it to last (because let’s be honest as budget friendly as I try to be, I have my weak moments).
I thought it would be fun to share a few of my own personal tips about how I style items the kids own. Ways I style to get the most wear out of a clothing item I love (usually I just love it so much it always happens to find it’s way into several outfits) and get the last few wears as the kids grow out of it. I’m sure alot of you already do some of the things I might share, which means I’m not alone in extending the life out of little clothes. Maybe my tips might help some of you to pull out those packed away, much loved clothes you thought your kids had grown out of, or you mom’s to be hold onto those little clothes even longer.
My first ever Styled to Last post is about how I style our favorite kids’ skinny jeans to get those last few wears out of them… skinny jeans photo
Of course there are a ton of other things you can do, like chop them into cute cut-off shorts for summer, or other sewing friendly projects. I personally try to only, sew or create cut-offs out of pants when they have been worn out with love (knee holes from playing usually). Also these tips really only work if, your little one is growing out of the pants in length, if it’s in width there is not much you can do to extend their life (it’s not too comfy to wear pants that are too tight).
By far my most favorite skinny jeans for kids:
- for little boys are from H&M $12-$17 usually, they fit great and the denim is thick and durable.
- for little girls it’s GapKids, just keep an eye on the sales rack or the online sales and then they are EVEN better! I add in ‘fashion’ jeans from other places as well (little vida is having a sale right now)..when the price is right and I totally fall in love. I’m also dieing to try the skinny jeans from Mini Mioche.
I have a few more of these posts I’m working on and they will probably pop in now and again. Is there anything specific you have seen my kids wear that you are curious about how we style it? Or something you would like to see styled a bunch of ways?
PS. I forgot to add, I do love to buy vintage for the kids’ whenever I can also (but thrifting in Toronto, is bad!). So 3 ring circus, Salvage House, Liddle, Kyssa, and Kid Wonder are a few of the places I keep my eye on for great kids vintage.
I’ve been doing this with Kadyn for a couple years – such a great way to extend the life of pants!
This doesn’t really benefit me (being the mama of two boys) but I love how you add a little pink bow or ribbon to King’s clothes to make them girly for Harlow. Super cute!
I do that with my 4-year-old’s size 2 gap skinnies! They are now cuffed and it looks intentional 🙂
I love your perspective in the opening of this post. I don’t feel like I spend a lot of money on my little guy’s clothes but I am constantly told by friends and family that it seems like Noah has such a big wardrobe and that I must spend a fortune on him. That is so not the case! I buy practically everything on clearance and since I tend to buy better quality, it has great resale value at our local consignment shop. I can turn $200 worth of clothes into $80 after they’ve been worn year round. I just wish more people were in on that secret – they don’t have to buy polyester lounge suits for their toddler from Walmart just because they are cheap (clothes like that pill terribly and become ruined very easily). Gap, H&M, and Zara have great sales!
I completely agree — shop the sales, but buy quality!
Awesome post…your kiddies are too cute!
I totally do this!!! It helps that I have super-skinny babies and toddlers!
andrea
This is an awesome post. Although it seems like Sae has alot of clothes I am the same as you. I shop around sales and one thing I do differently is I stock up. If I can get them for an awesome price i buy big. It helps me shop less often when I know Sae has clothes at home. So I only rlally buy key pieces I cannot pass up like http://www.ae.com/77kids/browse/product.jsp?produ… alsoI learned that even though online sales are awesome for some reason in store you get such better deals. I saw a raincoat that was 40 bucks (on sale) online but I bought the same coat in the store for 14 bucks (talk about a steal)
One thing though do you recommend any brand for skinny jeans? Sae is a skinny mini finding jeans that fit is so hard!
BabyGap are so far my fav for little girls, they fit really great and are really durable. Also they are on the sales rack alot;).
It’s true! I like to check both instore and online. I have a great app called ShopCatch that lets me know of all the instore deals, which is a nice help!
This is an awesome post. Although it seems like Sae has alot of clothes I am the same as you. I shop around sales and one thing I do differently is I stock up. If I can get them for an awesome price i buy big. It helps me shop less often when I know Sae has clothes at home. So I only rlally buy key pieces I cannot pass up like http://www.ae.com/77kids/browse/product.jsp?produ… alsoI learned that even though online sales are awesome for some reason in store you get such better deals. I saw a raincoat that was 40 bucks (on sale) online but I bought the same coat in the store for 14 bucks (talk about a steal)
I hope you do more! Like you said alot of people might already do your tips, but some of us need reminding! Also it’s SUPER cute!!!
Oh thank you for the tips!! Helps to know super stylish kids like yours don’t have giant wardrobes. Your so creative!
Cool post – we need to pack lightly because we move around quite a bit and so I’m always unsure about how many clothes to keep for Mika. She always seems to have clothes that are too big for her (she’s tiny and isn’t growing very fast!) which I suppose is a pretty good thing right now! All of her ‘newborn’ leggings have now become little shorts…awesome!
Also – skinny jeans on toddlers look SO CUTE. 🙂
These are such great tips! With twin boys, we need to get as much bang for our buck as possible.
Love this post! Great tips 🙂
My almost 5 year old daughter is obsessed with skinny jeans, the only problem? She’s super tiny and skinny and even skinny jeans aren’t skinny on her. I can’t seem to find any that fit snug and slim like a skinny jean should. 🙁
Loved everything about this post!
I can’t believe I never thought about bridging the gap between my daughter’s ankle and a too-short jean cuff with tall socks! Such a good idea, I can’t wait to try it out!
Thank you so much for recommending my little shop for kids vintage!
As a long time follower of your blog I was thrilled to see this!
You are wonderful.
Much love,
Kyssa Vintage http://www.kyssa.etsy.com
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