Hellobee

I’ve mentioned before that I’m frugal. I shop clearance sales like a sport and often buy my kiddos’ clothes at the resale shop, especially baby and toddler clothes. I’ve developed an eye for the different fit and style of the brands we buy. Here’s my quick list of affordable brands and how they hold up.

Carters – I love their baby and toddler clothes. However, their sizes appear to run small. My daughter is on the tall side, and our little guy is still on the smaller side. I’ve learned to buy both my kiddos the next size up from what I would purchase at another store, and this seems to help.  Their clothing is more expensive, but they run a 50% off store-wide sale every few months, and that’s when I purchase clothes for next season.

H&M –  I love their toddler and girls’ dresses. They’re affordable, fit well, super cute, and hold-up to playing outside and many washes. These dresses have lasted a few years, and were still in great condition for me to resell or pass on to a friend. As for baby clothes, they don’t always seem practical. I bought cute drawstring sweatpants for my little guy, and they were too big and falling off while he was learning to walk. Other pants were too tight, so this is bit more hit and miss. However, some of their onesies are adorable and hold-up well.

Old Navy –  Their clothes hold-up well. I usually spend money to buy toddler jeans, and sweatshirts here. The jeans have the elastic waist which is great for sizing the pants to your kids when they are on the small side.  However, their toddler section seems to imitate adult clothing styles which is not my style. I like more fun and crazy designs, so I skip their t-shirts and onesies and buy those at another store

BeBe has outgrown the toddler section in the last year, and I’m not having much luck with the older girl clothing section. The smallest girls sizes, 4/5, have the same design as the pre-teens clothes, and I’m not into the attitude sayings on clothes for five year olds. The cut also works better on a preteen than a five-year-old. However, their jeans and leggings still work well.

Children’s Place –  The sizing seems accurate, but they don’t seem to hold up as well for me as other brands, particularly the footed pajamas. The pajamas felt scratchy and looked pilly after only a few washes. I do like their baby and toddler dress clothes though, and because they are only worn a few times they hold up well. Same for the dress shoes.

Gymboree  – This brand is more expensive, but their clothes are super cute, geared towards little kids’ fashion, and hold-up well. Like most kindergartners, BeBe likes hearts and unicorns, and I can find that kind of style here. I try to buy a few sweaters here because they are really warm and don’t fade. As a bonus I can resell the clothes, especially winter items, because they don’t show much wear from the season.

Cat and Jack – Target carries the Cat and Jack brand, and I love their jeans for little girls. They offer slip-on jeggings, which is great if your kiddo has trouble snapping buttons for the potty, or boot cut fit with the inside adjustable button straps. Their shirts have worked great for school clothes too.

Toddler Shoes – We had to make sure our little guy was in a sturdy shoe to help his left- foot turn out correct. Stride Rites and Carter’s boots (when in season) helped tremendously. They’re more expensive but worth the cost. We’ve moved on to OshKosh; they’re more affordable and work well too.

Girl’s Shoes – We bought BeBe Sketchers’ tennis shoes at the beginning of the school year, and they fell apart in a month. We then switched to Nikes and had much better luck. I’m sticking with this brand for school shoes. Nikes are more expensive, but I can usually buy them on sale.

.  .  .  .  .

Which clothing brands do you love for your little ones?