Scouting discounts for your little one

Dear YOU + ME*,

My daughter recently turned one and it's time for me to actually buy her some clothes. For the first year of her life, we were able to live off all the wonderful baby gifts she received from family and friends, as well as the abundance of onesies I stocked up on before she was born (everyone told me babies live in onesies and I took that advice pretty seriously). Kids seem to need a lot of clothes, but they're constantly growing. I'd like my daughter to be well dressed, but I'm not willing (or able) to break the bank doing it. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
A.

Dear A.,

Congratulations on making it through the first year of your little one's life--we think you deserve a party or a present just as much as she does!

Buying clothes for babies and young children can often feel ridiculous. You have to cover their little bodies with something, but they grow so darn fast. The temptation is to fill their little drawers with the cheapest clothing you can find since they're going to ruin it or outgrow it so quickly. Fight the temptation and buy at least some quality clothing for your daughter. Really, it's worth it.

Being the first grandchild on both sides, Claire has been gifted more than her fair share of adorable outfits, many of them of much better quality than what I would have gotten for her. It seemed silly to leave them sitting in her closet waiting for a special occasion, so I actually dressed Claire in her good clothes for everyday activities.  I quickly found that these clothes are made to last. Claire's high quality clothes are much less likely to stain, pill, rip, or generally get ruined than some of her bargain clothes. Plus, it makes me happy to imagine dressing our future children in these outfits or passing them on to relatives or friends, rather than tossing them in the trash.  Isn't it better to have fewer beautiful things than a whole lot of disposable clothing?

It's easy to assume that high quality clothing always comes with an exorbitant price tag, but there are certainly bargains to be found (I learned this from my mom who always dressed me and my sister in gorgeous clothes even when our parents were living on a student budget). Here are some suggestions, although our readers may have good ideas as well:

- Buy vintage. Vintage clothing may be older, but there is usually a reason it has lasted this long. You may have a great vintage shop that stocks children's clothes nearby, but if not, use ebay or etsy. On etsy, the best way to start is to select "vintage" next to the search box and to look for "baby clothes" or "toddler clothes." If you love smocking, sailor dresses, and bloomers, you'll have a lot of fun with this.

Left to right: sailor coat from midstatevintage; dress with flowers from miskabelly

- Buy handmade. It should go without saying that handmade is almost always better. If you are one of those super talented people who can make an outfit from scratch, by all means, go for it. Instead, if you're like me and can only dream of such things, hop on over to the handmade section of etsy and shop away.

Clockwise from top left: reversible dress and polka dot dress from allthenumbers; tunic dress and duffle coat from breadandroses

- Utilize sites offering private sample sales, like the mini social, zulily, totsy, and gilt groupe kids. The selection is limited and the sales are only 48-72 hours long (with most of the good stuff disappearing pretty quickly), but the deals are fantastic. 

- Become a regular shopper at your local children's consignment shop. If you live in a big city, you almost certainly have an upscale consignment shop nearby. It's best to shop in person so you know what you're buying, but there are online options like Belly and Babe. It's not unheard of to find unworn clothes with tags still attached.

- Finally, search for discount codes and coupons for your favorite brands. Sometimes this is as quick as a google search, but if that doesn't work, it may be worth getting on the mailing list for the brands you truly love.

To help you out on your quest for discount codes, here is a 20% off coupon for one of our all time favorite brands, Velvet and Tweed. How can you not love a brand whose philosophy is "growing up is a special occasion" and whose clothes are without exception gorgeous and sturdy? You can't, which is why you should check out their recently released Fall/Winter 2010 collection (see above). Just enter you+me+20 in the coupon box upon check out for 20% off.

xo,
miya & elisabeth

Comments

[Emily]

Thanks, ladies! Love these great ideas!