Name Brand Kids...
By twoey68
@twoey68 (13627)
United States
May 14, 2008 8:08am CST
A friend of mine has two daughters and a son on the way. The daughters are 2 ½ and 1 ½ years old. They are growing like weeds. She buys them top line high dollar outfits constantly. They wear it once or twice and then it’s too small. She dresses them in kind of specific colors…one wears only pastels and the other wears only bold colors. So when they outgrow their clothes she tosses them aside and buys new rather than pass them down. She’s already started buying expensive name brand clothes for the boy and chances are that for the first month or two he’ll be spending most of his time in sleepers…name brand sleepers but still sleepers.
I think she’s being wasteful and should wait until they are old enough that the clothes will last them more than a few weeks at best. I’d think that a parent would want to get as much use as possible out of a $50-60 outfit for a baby. I know she’ll do whatever she wants but it just got me to wondering.
Do you buy your kids name brand top of the line clothes? Would you buy them for a baby when they grow so fast? Do you think it’s wasteful or do you think it’s a good idea? What’s the most you’ve spent on a child’s outfit?
**AT PEACE WITHIN**
~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~
16 people like this
44 responses
@tyc415 (5706)
• United States
14 May 08
My children are grown now but I never bought them name brand clothes unless it was after they got older and not growing as fast and even then they were not bought unless they were on the sale rack. When they were young they lived on hand me downs and also garage sale clothes. We found so many clothes that were just like new at garage sales.
1 person likes this
@nancyrowina (3850)
•
14 May 08
It's a shame if she's not even passing them on, she could probably get some of her money back selling them on Ebay if they are brand name baby clothes. I don't have kids yet but I know I wouldn't want to spend a lot of money on baby clothes because they do grow out of them so fast.
1 person likes this
@cyberfluf (4996)
• Netherlands
8 Jul 08
I surely wouldn't buy them just brand outfits, I don't feel that's a good thing to do as you will spoil kids. Not passing clothing down seems like a waste of good clothing too; there are allways kids you can pass you clothing allong to and brand clothing should stay good for longer time so it's a pity someone's throwing it away. Or just put it in a bag for poor countries or something like that if you are determined about getting rid of it, or perhaps a thrift store that sends out there profit to a good cause.
$50-$60 seems ridiculously much for a baby outfit, they outgrow it in months!
I can imagine buying one or two great outfits that are a bit more expensive that you are planning to keep even when your child grows up so that you can later show them: look, these were your first pants! (or something like that).
Doesn't have to be brand, just something cute and/or first thing they wore.
My mom used to sew clothing for me herself, this saved a lot of money, it was allways exactly the right size for me and I could pic my own colours and designs. If you know how to sew this can be a huge saver and it gives you a lot more to choose from also.
@lovespecialangel (3632)
• United States
18 May 08
I never believed in buying name brand expensive clothes for my kids while they were young. I've waited until they are old enough to be able to wear them for a while. There's no point in spending all that money on clothes they won't wear but once or twice, when she could be spending that money on something the kids could really use. Or putting it into a college fund for them.
@winterose (39887)
• Canada
18 May 08
my son had a mixture of both but I preferred top of the line because they lasted much longer than the cheep clothes that stretch in the wash etc. When my son was through with his cloths I gave them away and that was after 2 to three years wear and tear from him. I always but he clothes bigger than he needed so that he had a chance to grow into them.
@newzealtralian (3930)
• Australia
8 Jul 08
I want her income! Man, some people just don't get that kids are destructive and are going to do their best to destroy those clothes!
I believe that buying the cheaper brands, I don't feel so bad when my girls make a mess of them. I know I'd be pretty peeved if they got a stain on the clothes they have now, but even more so if I had paid a fortune for a top brand outfit!
@cripfemme (7698)
• United States
17 May 08
As a kid I was never into the whole 'brand' thing, even when I was older. And even if I was into it, my mom wouldn't have bought it for me anyway so there's no point in wanting it. When I have kids, which I don't now, I'll expect them to shop wherever is cheapest within reason, of course. Some cheap clothes don't last as long as well made clothes. And of course if there is a special thing they want they can maybe get it for a birthday or Christmas present, or help save up the money for it.
Of course, with the age group we are discussing, the whole name brand thing gets a little ridiculous. Have you ever been inside of a Baby Gap? I have, when my cousin was having a baby. I don't spend that much on my own clothes, and I'm a grownup!
@KrisNY (7590)
• United States
17 May 08
Wow--- what a waste :( I could see if she was passing them down-- a bit more than just wearing them for the time period that they wear them- Although 2.5 years old would wear them a bit longer than a few times each.
My daughter is 11 and she wears name brand items- I have no problem buying her them- as she isn't growing like a weed. But when she was that young- no I didn't spend the most I could on clothes---
@Angelwhispers (8978)
• United States
16 May 08
Twoey right now we have 5 little ones all under the age of 6, we do not buy brand names per say but good quality clothing so that it can be cleaned, and handed down. What purchases we make we make them decent ones. one pair of , shoes or jeans will get a lot of wear and tear. I did the same with my boys growing up. If they insisted on a pair of 100.00 sneakers they knew they had to come up with the the 75.00 that I could not pay on their own by doing odd jobs for people. It was good for them and gave them some sense of the value of money.
@youdontsay (3497)
• United States
18 May 08
Personally, I think it is wasteful to buy anything that costs more just because of the brand. I understand buying quality or a higher price. But how durable does a onesy have to be? Infants outgrow things so quickly that paying more for any reason seems wasteful to me. But, then, I'm especially frugal.
My son-in-law is a slave to brand names. I don't get it. At least he shops for bargains to get his brand named goods. But really, it isn't that important that a toddler wear brand named baby clothes, is it?
I'm appalled at the price of baby things, even off-brands. I don't know how anyone affords to have kids these days.
@carolscash (9491)
• United States
17 May 08
That is a waste of money and I can't believe that anyone would do that. However, I guess if you can afford to do it then it is okay. I never could manage to do that as we never had the money that I could waste like that. I hope that she keeps up the habit as they get older they will want the name brands.
@alexsis (2149)
• United States
18 May 08
I have a 2 year old daughter and I have never bought high price brand name clothes for her. I think it is just a waste. Babies and kids only wear those outfits once or twice since they grow so much. But I don't have the money to buy high price clothes and if I did I would. Non name brand clothes last just as long and some of the quality is just as good. The most I've spent on my daughter outfit was about $15 and that was a Christmas dress from walmart that she wore once. She should donate those clothes, thats what I do because there is a lot of kids out there who needs clothing and other things.
@carmelanirel (20942)
• United States
17 May 08
I think it is a waste..Maybe once in a while, like for special occasions and even then I use it again for another child..I try to get as much as I can for as little money possible..
@AJ1952Chats (2331)
• Anderson, Indiana
15 May 08
It seems as if there would be more important things to buy when you have babies and small children, but, if your friend wants to buy her kids very nice clothing, that's not all that bad -- however, the simply tossing them afterwards instead of passing them on to other children is. That seems like a kind of status symbol thing to do to me -- like she's trying to say that she's so rich that she can afford to buy the most expensive clothing for her kids and then get more as her kids outgrow the outfits while simply throwing out the outfits that they outgrew.
Sounds as if she's insecure and trying to prove something.
@jewel76 (2305)
• Canada
15 May 08
My cousin used to be the same with her two daughters, but she does have a lot of money. But still, i think it's ridiculous to constantly buy those designer or brand names clothes for young children and/or babies, they grow so fast! and it gives the habit of having those fancy brand name clothes. My little cousin, when she was 10 yrs old, was freaking out cuz i shopped at Walmart! I said, why, don't you shop at Walmart? She said no way, i only shop at Mexx, Jacob and Guess!! A 10 yrs old!! As for myself, of course, if i have it as a gift, i'll be thrilled, cuz it'll be like his only brand name/designer piece of clothing, but for what i buy, i shop Walmart, Zellers and other family stores.
@MNRFOLEY (472)
• Brisbane, Australia
15 May 08
It is nice to buy your kids top of the line brand clothes. It creates and develops their sense of syle at an early age.i do buy my 2 year old daughter top of the line brand clothes every now and then i love to dress her up. but you dont have to buy the more expensive brands everytime you shop. you can buy the cheaper but quality pieces to be more practical afterall its how you mix and match that really counts.
@cinderella2007 (2662)
•
15 May 08
I think brand named clothing should be put on hold until the child is about 8 years old as they will know how to respect and look after their clothes!! It is a shame that she isnt passing the clothes down to the younger child. I wouldnt buy named items for a baby, nice clothes yes but not named ones!! I think she is wasting her money on clothing but then its her money and she will do what she wants with it. I can understand that she probably wants her children to look nice but they dont have to be in named clothes to look nice!!
I dont have any children yet but the only named thing that my child would get is probably something related to Arsenal as my boyfriend and his family are big fans!!
@hcpoirot (1562)
• Indonesia
15 May 08
Each parents had their own perception. For me, buying branding clothes for toddlers werw waste cause they can only wear them for a short period. But others might wanted to give the best for their children. So its up to them as long they can afford to do that.
@phoenix25 (1541)
• United States
15 May 08
I always knew that I would not be the kind of mom that would keep her 1 year old in new Nikes. I just think kids grow too fast to justify buying them name brand stuff. Plus, they are really too young to even notice those labels. The only people that notice them is other people, so I guess you could put them in name-brand stuff to impress other people, but I think that's pretty shallow. The only name-brand stuff I will occasionally buy for my son is shoes from either Old Navy or Converse. I couldn't imagine trying to dress my "grows-like-a-weed" son in 60 dollar outfits. I would be broke in a year. My son wears hand-me-downs and clothes that family gives him. Actually, I rarely have to buy clothing for him except for shoes.
