School Clothes... OUCH!

Laura_A

New member
OK, I haven't pressed "checkout" yet cuz I just don't know. OMG! I just did the school clothes shopping for my girls online at Old Navy and Children's Place. Everything was on sale and my total is STILL $600ish. :blink: This does include a couple pairs of shoes each and new panties & socks but JEEZE. My girls are 6 1/2 & 8 and they are starting to be selective about what they wear. If it costs this much now... I'm going to have to sell my soul to shop for them when they're tweens. AAAAHHH!
 
I bought mine from Gymboree online since I live in the sticks, and for the two of them it was $300 bucks, WITHOUT shoes....which I have to go do this week, 2 pairs each. Ack!
 
I usually start the end of June - picking up things here and there but wasn't able to this year. It really bites. I've picked up some things for my dd but haven't started on the boys yet. they start school on the 25th. figure I can get them enough for the first week and then shop over labor day weekend for some more.
 
What sucks for me is that the PX never really has anything decent for DD1... plus, she doesn't want to wear the same things all the other kids on base are wearing. lol AND, we can't really shop in the German stores because the exchange rate is horrible. About $1.60 for 1 euro... eeek! They have super cute clothes here too so it's frustrating.

Oh well, they should be good to go for most of the school year, now to break it to DH. Can I go hide?
 
Ugh we are starting like a few days before school this year because well we are broke broke for now LOL But I am seriously dreading it! We spent 400 bucks on Lily last year for kindergarten! I am out of control! I am really excited but also really apprehensive. I hope I find some good sales!
 
I've already spent $750, and I'm not near done - AND $200 of it was at the resale shop, so you can imagine what all I got for THAT.

Not only do I still need more clothes, but I haven't gotten SHOES!
 
$600...yikes!! So that is what I have to look forward to huh? LOL I'm not quite in the same boat...YET. My oldest will be 7 this weekend and my youngest is 3. I just started picking her up a few things but planned on taking her next week and make a girls day out, out of it. I hope your hubby doesn't freak too badly. *fingers crossed* :)
 
I just spent last weekend weeding through the boys' clothes. Luckily for me, since it's still so friggin' hot here, they'll continue to wear shorts until almost Thanksgiving, so we're good to go in the shorts department. I'll pick up new blue jeans for the boys later this fall. I hate to get them jeans now when they won't wear them AND they have the potential to outgrow them, KWIM? All they need are a few school shirts and new shoes (ugh!). My oldest has started asking for "name brand" shoes (like Puma)...but with 2 boys to buy shoes for, who go through shoes about every 3 - 4 months, I can't see spending $40 - $50/pair times 2.
 
Though it's SUPER fun to shop for girls... this is when I think boys wouldn't be so bad. LOL Jeans, cool t-shirts and a couple pairs of good shoes and you're good to go. lol
 
I'm in denial that I have to go school shopping... LOL! Actually, I've just been too busy to think about it, but I told DH that I need to go through the kids clothes this week and figure out what they need so that I can get a move on it.

My 4 year old is a VERY picky dresser and I won't buy anything without his approval anymore. He has so many cute clothes that he just refuses to wear... it's crazy!
 
My daughter is only three, but she totally needs a whole new wardrobe.... which really means about 10 outfits, I figure, of fall stuff that will last through the winter, to which I can add more later as sales come up. Plus a jacket, maybe a warm puffy vest, shoes, etc. Lucky for my the Superstore here in Canada has a gorgeous line of kids clothes (Joe) and I have more than $500 in points saved up that I can spend there because my credit card is with them. :) I have decided I'll spend $200 of it on regular groceries, and then spend that at Old Navy, etc. and then another $100 or so at the Superstore for each of my kids. My girl is sooo not picky (she'll wear just about anything I put her in!) and well, my 9 month old never complains. :)

I like free money. :)
 
I'm putting off shopping for school clothes. They'll be in shorts and tees until well into September and I set aside some 'good' shirts at the end of school in June specifically for school now. Both of them still fit in their pants from last year & they both fit in DS1's long sleeved shirts. They got new shoes last month. I'm really hoping to put it off until mid September & then buy things in small amounts over a couple of months.
 
I feel ya Laura!
I think if I add loosly in my head my total for B2S clothes and supplies...its a whopping $800.00. I'm glad this time only rolls around once a year, and I'm even more glad that I worked this extra job over the Summer...
I only have TWO in school, I can't imagine how much it would be for more...
 
I haven't even started yet....and we get cool/cold whether early here in the Northeast....so they won't be in shorts much longer. I think my son is pretty set....I got a ton of jeans and khakis for him at the end of the spring season last year and he still fits them. He'll need some shirts and whatnot. My daughter, however, is growing like a weed. She will need all new pants and tops PLUS shoes. Let's not even talk about outerwear. UGH.

I only buy at Gymboree when things are on sale. Children's Place seems pretty reasonable. The Gap is ridiculous....but I usually break down and get a couple things there. I love their zipped hoodies and I usually get one for my son every year.

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Susan
 
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Ouch! Thankfully dd has to wear uniforms and I can find them pretty cheap so not to bad on the clothes here! Now if I could just get rid if the tuition cost I would be sitting pretty!
 
I am a super cheap Mom ... they each get one or two new outfits for school, plus new shoes (indoor and outdoor), new backpacks & lunch bags ... and that is it, besides their school supplies. Otherwise, I would be soooo broke!!! I can't imagine what it will be like when all four of them are in school, right now I only have three in full time.
Thankfully, my grandmother just bought them each two new outfits last week, my Mom bought them a few as well, and so did the ILs, so I may not actually have to do outfits right away. Whooo Hoooo !! (especially since I haven't done their supplies yet, but we don't start until the 2nd).
 
I'm lucky that our kiddos go to church camp at the first of summer so my mom shops for that -- then those clothes are only church or special event clothes until school starts! :) I really only need to get a few things -- but they start Thursday and we are broke right now. So hopefully Monday they will have their new things! :)
 
I haven't even started yet....and we get cool/cold whether early here in the Northeast....so they won't be in shorts much longer. I think my son is pretty set....I got a ton of jeans and khakis for him at the end of the spring season last year and he still fits them. He'll need some shirts and whatnot. My daughter, however, is growing like a weed. She will need all new pants and tops PLUS shoes. Let's not even talk about outerwear. UGH.

I only buy at Gymboree when things are on sale. Children's Place seems pretty reasonable. The Gap is ridiculous....but I usually break down and get a couple things there. I love their zipped hoodies and I usually get one for my son every year.

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Susan

I so love the zipped hoodies...My boys still get one every fall too...and have since they were wee ones...I seem to always gravitate toward the orange ones...lol
 
I'm so a sales shopper. Fortunately, it stays warm here, so we wear "out of season" clothes until November. I just put in an order for 20 things at Children's Place for $60 shipped, including a pair of shoes. Yay me! Now that their growing has slowed a little, I can also start buying things to put away for next year so it won't hurt too badly.
 
I'm so a sales shopper. Fortunately, it stays warm here, so we wear "out of season" clothes until November. I just put in an order for 20 things at Children's Place for $60 shipped, including a pair of shoes. Yay me! Now that their growing has slowed a little, I can also start buying things to put away for next year so it won't hurt too badly.
I do this too...always have!
Although with the big boys its getting harder since they are once again growing like weeds.
Naughty, sassy, know it all weeds.
 
Its just getting harder the older they get! When Cameron was younger, I could predict his next size and buy him clothes on clearance the season before. But now he's just growing so rapidly that I can't do that anymore! We bought him BTS clothes a few weeks ago at Children's Place and most everything was on sale and it still cost over $200. Not too bad considering the amount of clothes we got him (mostly jeans and long-sleeved shirts plus a backpack) but it still puts a dent in the wallet.
Oh! And giving hand-me-downs to his little brother is getting harder the older Cam gets because he's wearing out his clothes so much faster! Half of his clothes are too worn out for me to bother letting Connor wear.
Ugh. Boys. lol
 
That is a plus of having two of the same gender in a row. My 3 year old is pretty much set in the clothing department with hand me downs from my 6 year old. :thumbup: And lucky for her I was a crazy shopper when her sister was little so she has TONS of cute stuff that looks brand new. :o And since it'll be warm here through September, Corbin will be wearing her summer stuff until it cools off.

We did buy them each a new outfit for the first day of school and Corbin got new shoes for everyday and for gym. I also picked up some new things for them on sale at Gymbo while we were on vacation last week. :thumbup: Our big hit won't come until later in the fall. Then it will get bad.
 
I lucked out last week at Dillard's, I got a total of 8 outfits (4 for each girl) for about $113! They had quite a bit on clearance, including Hannah Montana & HSM shirts for like $4. This was all shorts, shirts, leggings and stuff since it will probably be warm enough for that stuff until well into October if not later here. We'll shop for jeans & cold weather clothes later on that way they won't outgrow them before it's cold enough to wear them! My Mom said she'd help out with that too & buy them a few outfits each when the time comes. I still need to get them new shoes, right now they are mostly wearing sandals & Old Navy flip flops but they do need new tennis shoes.

Kyle's only 15 months but we really don't have any winter stuff that he'll still be able to fit into when it gets cold. I doubt any of the stuff from last year will be even close to fitting since he's now wearing 24 mo/2T stuff! I'm gonna have to start watching for good deals on stuff for him!
 
OMG I haven't read all the response (just the first page) but I must be THE MEANEST mother on earth!! My kids wear what I buy them....no questions asked!! If you want something different get a job and buy it yourself!!!

Now I do not make my kids wear ugly clothes, or dirty clothes or ripped clothes...but by god Walmart jeans are just fine and you will wear them or you will go to school naked!!!

Also I hit my Goodwill store every week and I find almost brand spanking new clothes at like $2 bucks a pop!!! I can get my oldest (she's 10) Old Navy, Gap, Lei ect...jeans for $1.99 and if it has the special tag of the wee on it I get them for a buck!!! About a month ago I found her 2 Old Navy shirts and 3 JC Penny sweaters (with tags) for $1.00 a piece!!

I see no sense in spending $100's of dollars on clothes that they will wear for 4 or 5 months. The only exception was when the girls were younger I could recycle them (from about birth to age 4).....but my 2 girls are build so different now that it just does not work (my 10 year old is tall and muscular and is in a 14/16. My 6 year old is TINY and petite and can still wear a 4T). I do buy a few more "pricier" things for the boys since they are 3 years old and 6 months and at that age it's easy to recycle the clothes...but this is probably the last year for hand me downs for them since my 3 year old is starting to "wear clothes out".

Now you can all read my response to your kids and tell them to thank their lucky stars I'm not their momma!!! :D :D :D
 
One thing I did this year that I normally would NEVER do is recycle the backpacks. Last year they each got a new one from Children's Place and they're really good quality, so they still in perfect condition. Plus, they're going to a new school this year, so non of the other kids will know the difference. ROFL!
 
I guess I'm lucky that my 6.5 yo DD doesn't really care what she wears as long as it's comfortable.....and she's been growing fairly slowly so she can still wear most of the long-sleeve tops and long pants she wore in the spring. I've never really done BTS shopping for her in past years (other than school supplies) so she doesn't know about other kids getting new outfits for BTS so she's fine with wearing what she already has. I always keep an eye out for clearance racks and out-of-season sales so I gradually pick up clothes for her throughout the year that way.

On the other hand, school supplies buying has kept me busy this summer. For some reason, every store I went to for several weeks didn't have any of the marble composition notebooks (DD needs 5 of them) until I finally lucked out this past Saturday and found them on sale at Staples for 25 cents each!! :thumbup: And then another item on the supply list is "supply box" I have no clue how big of a supply box they want - pencil box size, shoebox size, or larger?:confused: Guess I'll be sending a note to school on the 1st day asking for more clarification on that supply box.

Helen
 
I would be in big trouble if we didn't live near a Children's Place Outlet. I go in with my 15%-20% off coupon, and make out like a bandit. Most things are $2-$4 a piece! Their website has a decent selection, too. 80% or more of my girls' clothes come from TCP. I also shop at Kohls, and Target (on the sale racks). Once or twice a year, I may splurge on Gymboree, but only if it on sale & I have Gym Bucks. I also buy their clothes off season, and a bit bigger, so they can get more wear out of them.

Corinne's backpack is from TCP, this is her 3rd year with it. It is very sturdy, so I just throw it in the wash and it cleans up well!
 
And then another item on the supply list is "supply box" I have no clue how big of a supply box they want - pencil box size, shoebox size, or larger?:confused: Guess I'll be sending a note to school on the 1st day asking for more clarification on that supply box.

Helen

They usually mean a pencil sized box. They have these in the school section at Target (and probably walmart). They are roughly sized 12"x5"x2".

HTHs!
 
Oh man, we're going school shopping tomorrow. Open house is thurs, so we have to take all her supplies then.

We haven't bought anything at all yet. So we'll be buying a backpack, supplies, shoes, etc. As for clothes, she does get to pick out a special outfit for the first day. But other than that, we don't do a lot in the way of clothes yet. It won't get cool here til at least mid-Oct, so she'll still wear shorts. I *will* get her some capris tomorrow, but she can mix them with the tops she already has. I'll buy jeans later this fall.

I'm hoping to walk away at just a couple hundred. We'll see.
 
It's still hot here too, so we just got new shoes (no flip-flops at school!) and they'll wear their summer stuff til it cools off enough to wear/buy other clothes. My DD did get a new top the other day at Target while we were buying school supplies, but my son is happy wearing any old t-shirts and shorts (and since he trashes his clothes anyway, there's no point in buying him fancier stuff!).
 
my mil bought the kids some when she was here so all i've spent is 100 or so on supplies and i had to spend some at ON the other day with the 40% off sale so i've spent like 200 or so and it was killing me. LOL!! i hate spending $$, i've come to find.
 
I only spent $100 on Chloe. She'll get more throughout the year as she needs them. Like jeans; I only bought her one pair, cause it's still warm and she won't wear them right away anyway. So i just bought her some cute tshirts, skirts and shorts. I'll worry about fall/winter clothes later. I got her 3 pair of shoes, but they were not much. I found a pair of Sketcher look alikes at WalMart for $5 another pair of slip ons there for $8 and she picked out a pair of pink ballet flats at Target for $8. She's okay for now. I wish I could have gotten her more but we just didn't have the money. I don't know what we'll do when the other two are in school too!
 
Elizabeth, I'm with you. My brother and I wore stuff from Walmart and Target all through high school and still do now. My aunt bought the fancier stuff for my cousins when they were younger and she still has to do it now. I think it's crazy. Abby & JJ wear what I buy, and she'll be doing that next year when she goes to school. She's very excited about supply shopping, so that will probably be the one area where she gets to spend daddy's money. LOL
 
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