Clothes - Do you buy ahead of yourselves

[Princess Fiona]

Just wondering as i was speaking to my friend the other day and i said i had bought some clothes for Lu in the sale for next winter and she looked at me if i was MAD!!

Am i the only person who does this? Obviously i don't know the exact size she'll be but as she'll be 2 i can take a good guess that she be either 18-24, age 2 or thereabouts.

She's always had clothes ahead of her size as we had so much bought when she was born and infact 3 or 4 of the outfits she has in age 2 were bought for her 1st Xmas by family members, stuff she's had for Easter has been bought in 18-24 months and theres no way that'll fit her any time soon unless she has a MASSIVE growth spurt and gains 10lb pretty quickly :shock:

So do you just buy as you go, or do you see things and think ahead. I can't afford to just get to a certain season when she's grown out of stuff and just buy a whole new wardrobe for her so this is my way of grabbing bargains.

[Hello Kitty]

No, Katy I do exactly the same as you. I have just got all of Grace's 12-18 month clothes out to sort them although she hasn't quite grown into the jeans/trousers yet. I will soon start buying the next size up in readiness for the winter. I just love buying her stuff and enjoy doing it in advance. Plus if there is a sale it makes sense.

[noo noo]

I have stuff for Iona up to about age 5!!!! From charity shops, ebay or hand me downs mostly. I sometimes buy stuff ahead in the sales too. If you have the room to store it and its a bargain I think it makes absolute sense!

[Princess Fiona]

So i'm not a complete loon then!! Maybe its having a girl thing :teehee: she has a little boy!!

[Adelelee]

Yep I have always bought ahead, she has a huge trunk under her cot filled with stuff, I need to start buying 18-24 month now, she has loads of 12-18 mth. It makes sense to me when I see something I really love or if its a bargain.

Also as you say Katy there is not way I could afford to just go out and buy a whole wardrobe in one go:no:

[shining star]

I never buy in advance....well, not a few seasons in advance anyway. For holidays I did get summer stuff a couple of months beforehand, but otherwise its always just as I go along. I am allergic to sales anyway, as I can't handle the mess, and all the people :eek:

[spritzer]

I buy a bit in advance, especially if I really like something. Xander has the cutest little furry coat from George and I would be so sad when he grows out of it - IF I HADN'T BOUGHT THE AGE 2-3 ONE AS WELL:oops: So, I know come October and he needs a coat again I've got the fluff lined up and waiting.

He exists on hand me downs and sale items - I virtually NEVER buy anything for him that is full price - I'm far too tight:oops:

[August Girl]

I do! The clothes Del is wearing now I bought while I was pg and I got some stuff for her next winter in the sales. Then I just top up with things to go with them at the time. It can be quite difficult to guess how big they will be but at least you also avoid the 'Ooh my daughter has that top' convo with people :laff:

Also I have to get bright and stripey things when i see them!

[donna-j]

I've got a boy and I buy ahead. Mr T is 8 months and I've got things in 18-24 months in the loft.

I've done the buying two things Spritzer, well sort of. We got a lovely wee outfit as a pressie from Next. It was 3-6 months. I bought T the 9-12 months one in the sale, so now he gets to wear it all over again. Plus Mum bought him a cute denim snowsuit from Tesco and he grew out of it, so I bought the next one up (again in the sale).

[RosyLee]

Me too! I bought a winter coat for Ben in the M&S sale and have some other sale bargains in 2 - 3 sizes. I particularly like buying things from places that I ordinarily wouldn't pay full price, like Boden. You'd be daft not to! (IMHO :-) )

[Amethyst]

I always buy things ahead in the sales we save a lot of money that way.

Amethyst x:smile: :smile:

[Violet]

No hardly ever, not unless I saw a really great bargain. Like SS, I'm not really a fan of sales so I hardly ever look.

We had loads of stuff bought in advance last year as my mum and nan went a bit mental getting any cute thing they saw.It was very generous of them but also a bit of a pain as she ended up with loads of stuff that didn't match or quite suit the weather at the time it fitted her.
I think it's so hard to judge what size the will be. I like to go and get a load of stuff in one go then buy bits and bobs as she needs it.

I'm also a bit superstitious about it, wouldn't feel right buying things for when she is 2 or 3.

[Abbie]

I'm not a fan of sales either, I can't be doing with the jumble sale approach that some shops seem to take to sales.

I usually stock up on things that can be worn all seasons like jeans, t-shirts and stuff whenever I'm anywhere like Asda or Tesco, then when the weather warms up I'll buy shorts, summer dresses and the like, or in the winter I'll buy jumpers, etc

I've found that in places like Adams they've had all their summer clothes in stock since about March so by the time you actually need to buy any of it they've reduced it all anyway.

[sparkliness]

I buy just about all Molly's clothes in advance, in sales. It's not so bad now that there's potentially a year's wear out of things, but I very rarely paid full price for anything that was going to last 3 months and be stained with butternut squash anyway.

[*Fallen Angel*]

I buy ahead too. Will go mad in the sales this summer for our holiday at Xmas!

[katkinn]

mmm yes and no.

Yes from Gap as I know it fits her really well and it is very expensive to buy whole wardrobes full price. And yes from Boden.

I do also buy things from H&M for THAT season at the beginning of the season (ie got all her summer stuff in Feb) if I see a range that I really like, as they sell out really quickly and change their ranges like normal people change their knickers (nothing worse than having skirts with no matching tops or tights!!! :no: )

But that's as far ahead as I get.

She's got some things for next winter but not many.

Reason I don't is that (and I've learnt the hard way :doh: ) is that I buy ahead but then see loads of things that I like come the appropriate season and she ends up with oodles and oodles of clothes (last winter and this spring being utter cases in point :doh: )

STEP AWAY FROM THE CLOTHES KAT!!!!! :tongue:

[ChelseaHarvey]

I do well did, since i was pregnant i had stuff that alfie could wear at 9 months, when he was 3 months i had stuff that he could wear at a year

Now though in his wardrobe he has 18-24 month stuff, im not ahead now except one shirt for when he is 2-3 years old..

[cheeky_biscuit]

:shock: We've stopped doing this.
Her growth/size/shape is weird. She's in 6-9 trousers ATm which she was in last year. They were ok last year as she wasn't walking, now they're the only thing the right length. I have got stuff I bought ahead, that she just hasn't worn :no: because the season is wrong and she STILL hasnt grown into it.
So, no point for us. It's a case of "Oh she hasn't got any t-shirts for holiday" so off we toddle and spend £40 on her in one go & stock up. Luckily we get stuff from my brother as his LO is about 7months older than Em, so that helps a lot. And she doesn't just suddenly not have anything, like her cords, she can wear them now & was wearing them in January IYSWIM. Her cropped trousers are 6-9 that she had last summer

[Princess Fiona]

I understand that its difficult to measure what size they're going to be at different seasons etc but so far i've managed to use more or less everything thats been given to me or that i've bought in sales.

I don't go in purposley looking for stuff and i'm not a big fan of "jumble" sales either, i always get trodd on :shock: :rolleyes: but if i see a sale rail and there is no one about i just can't help myself. I even bought her a pair of jeans this afternoon in Sainsbury's reduced from £11 to £2.50 in age 18-24 months.

The only time i've had to stock up on stuff is when ppl have given me say a pair of trousers and no matching top so i've had to get something to go with it. She is currently between 9-12 months and 12-18 depending where its from and i'm currently moving her out of her winter wardrobe into her spring/summer. When she came out of her 6-9 month stuff last year she was quite chunky and the very few 9-12 month things i had didn't fit her for very long because she had a broad back, a big sticky out belly and huge legs, so within a few weeks i just started buying 12-18 month stuff. As the months have gone by her 12-18 winter stuff has gotten baggier and baggier on her but rather than spend out on 9-12 stuff that probably won't last her i've just kept with the 12-18 stuff thats a bit baggy. ALL her clothes have ALWAYS been too long in the sleeves/legs but she's going to get that ALL her life as we're a family of extremly small ppl (me being 5ft and DH 5ft 6, she ain't never gonna be tall!) so i just roll them up.

I don't think i could be doing with spending a WHOLE afternoon solely looking for clothes for Lu and spending out £X on clothes all in one go. I have enough space that i can keep the clothes stored away ready to use when the season/size is right so i think i'll carry on.

Its getting easier now there is less space between the sizes, as hopefully as she gets bigger things will be lasting a year rather than 3 months, 6 months etc.

[Superkat]

I have to confess to hitting the next sales at 6.30am and spening rather alot of money! :o although i have sometimes forgotten about some of the things i had and hes hasnt got much wear out of them.

Then it comes to the new season and i see all the lovely newthings and HAVE to buy him some nice new stuff!

I have to agree with katkinn

[quote]STEP AWAY FROM THE CLOTHES KAT!!!!! [quote]

[sunshine]

I havent bought so much recently as DD is now in 12-18 months clothes and I'm hoping they will last her for a while. Most of the sales stuff I buy is from Next or Boden and I buy special hings whereas her staples are from Asda or Tesco so generally cheap anyway.

I've got a chest of drawers for DDs stuff- top drawer is little things, socks, bibs,shoes etc, the next drawer down is current stuff, the one under is things she's still a bit small for and the final drawer is for things that are way too big. Every once in a while I look through her big drawers andmove the clothes up as neccesary, and I put the small stuff into a box to be stored in the loft. That way, nothing gets missed and I can see if I need anything else.