I've never found much at Goodwill for my young kids, but I shop at Once Upon a Child almost exclusively for DS. Sometimes I'll get him some Target stuff if it's on sale. DD gets 95% of her clothes from her older cousins, it's amazing.
PS - I also think it's funny that they think thrift stores are full of old nasty cast offs. I'm not saying there isn't junk there, for sure there is. But I'll happy pay $8 for my BNWT Michael Kors dress pants (and that isn't a fluke, I get fabulous stuff all the time, I'm picky about what I buy).
Post by stephogirl on Nov 20, 2014 13:32:19 GMT -5
All the time. My DS1 is 9 and is starting to, shall we say, be less than enthused with used clothing so I am starting to mix in more new pieces for his wardrobe.
Yes, but now that my daughter is 13, she wants to buy new clothes. Gift cards are a popular birthday/Christmas gift for her. My son is 14, doesn't care what he wears, and he still gets thrift store clothes.
To be totally honest, I get 90% or more of my own clothes there, too. My H likes to buy new clothes for himself, though.
I've bought from OUAC a few times - I don't like the selection the thrift stores around me offer. L's clothes are mainly hand-me-downs and Carter's sales, though, and that's really because the closest OUAC to me is over in NJ, so not a short run.
No. I've never found anything better quality or more inexpensive than I can get at Old Navy or gap on sale. Maybe my local consignment store is doing it wrong.
I feel the same way. It's not that great, and it's not that cheap either!
If it was, I'd buy it.
I'm lucky I get hand me downs from my SIL who loves Hanna, Peek, Mini Boden, etc. Not only does my 6 year old wear them, my baby will be able to as well. She overbuys so much at least a quarter of the stuff still has tags on it, or was maybe worn once.
No. I feel like the deals aren't that great around here.
This. The nice consignment stores are priced ridiculously. I am not paying $10 for a gymboree shirt of indeterminate origin when I can get one new from the store for $12 to $14 dollars with sales and coupon (which is how I shop). Nothing is under $10. I may be able to find cheaper stuff at goodwill, but that would mean having to brave goodwill which is way too unorganized and chaotic for me. I am a bargain shopper but I have to draw a line somewhere!
no. i mean, i go to this high end store near me to look but i almost never find anything i like.
i don't see a point for me personally. i can get amazing deals for new clothes. plus, my kid grows super slowly so even the early sizes lasted her forever.
Post by electricmayhem on Nov 20, 2014 13:40:12 GMT -5
All of DS's jeans and shorts are from Once Upon a Child. Their Gap / ON / Crazy 8 / Gymboree stuff is $3-$4 a pair, and I rarely see anything there that isn't in like-new condition. Between that and points for buying / consigning, they have great deals. It's also a good place to pick up backup clothes for daycare.
OK I went over and read that thread. I never had name brand clothes growing up. It wasn't in our budget, and I think it's OK for kids to understand that there are spending limits, and the difference between need and want. As posters in that thread point out though, maybe my consignment sale experience is different because I live in a fairly wealthy area?
I never had Guess jeans, or a real hypercolor shirt (SHUT UP. They were highly coveted in middle school) and I was never made fun of for my clothes. I honestly don't think that my son, in his consignment clothes, looks any different than the other kids he plays with.
I'm rolling my eyes a bit at people insisting that all kids wearing hand me downs or used clothing must be teased mercilessly.
I think there is a big difference between now and when we were kids. If I thought of second hand clothes back then, I'd think of worn, holey, ill fitting stuff from Goodwill (NO clue why though). But now, you can get great quality brands second hand for a fraction of the price. It's a huge market that just wasn't realized yet "way back when" IMO.
Also, I know when I was growing up, there weren't really stores like Old Navy or Target with cute cheap clothes. We had Kmart or the mall. So clothes were more expensive relatively speaking.
My only idea for that is, maybe people gave their "good hand me downs" to family/friends and their bad stuff to Goodwill. Now, people sell anything they can.
Also buying thrift back in the day is WAY different than now. We treat clothing as more disposable, so there is more excess, plus the ease of internet shopping etc. I easily find brand new name brand stuff every single time I go to a consignment shop.
I have zero memories of that happening when I was a kid.
I try, but for the most part, no. Our thrift stores are overpriced and our Goodwill is a mess to try and sort through. Ditto the PPs on Goodwill sorting by color and not size (why!?!). I can usually get better condition clothes at Carter's on sale and with a coupon.
Ps I bought erin a cute fall sweater at a thrift store last week. And you're not gonna believe this... but it already had her name in it. Which made we wonder if it was already hers, we lost it and now I was re-buying it. Wtf
Post by emoflamingo on Nov 20, 2014 14:01:12 GMT -5
I think, from personal experience, thrift stores and their reputation have changed a ton since I was a kid. Of course, I had K-Mart clothes when school started because my mom put things on layaway since that was more cost effective for her and 4 kids than thrifting since she was a SAHM and helped my dad run a trucking business. I have thrifted for about 15 years (since before I graduated high school) but even when I was in high school, it wasn't "cool" to do. I obviously gave no shits about what was cool and wore my thrift store t-shirts every day.
Post by lolobeth802 on Nov 20, 2014 14:14:37 GMT -5
Yep! Most of Noah's clothing comes from thrift stores or Target. Honestly, the styles don't really date as fast with boys, so I tend to find tons of good stuff at the thrift stores.
I buy most of my kids' clothes at yard sales and kids' secondhand stores. I went to Gymboree and almost had a heart attack at the sight of $25 jeans for my 3 year-old. My best yard sale find was an entire table of brand new stuff for $10 for all. There must have been 15 pieces.
My mom and MIL buy the boys new stuff so they aren't too deprived.
Post by textbookcase on Nov 20, 2014 14:17:42 GMT -5
We only have one goodwill in the next town over, and they usually don't have very good options for clothes. When I'm in larger cities I buy things for them at thrift stores all the time! I also buy used clothing online and take hand me downs.