Which kids’ clothing brands look great, don’t cost a fortune, and wear well through the active years of childhood? That’s what listener Andrea wanted to know when she sent us this question via Facebook:
Do you guys have any tips or go-to brands for quality children’s clothing (but affordable)? In six years, I’ve learned that GAP clothing sometimes shrinks, movie character shirts from Target stretch out easily, and I’m still looking for coat zippers that don’t break! Thanks! Love your show!
Andrea’s question inspired Episode 90, where Meagan and Sarah talk all about kids’ clothes – where we shop, how we style our kids, and tips for storing and organizing all those clothes. It’s a fun conversation with a ton of tips – enjoy!
LINKS MENTIONED:
- Brands Sarah likes: Hanna Andersson, Tea Collection, Mini Boden, Stride Rite, Carter’s, Native Shoes
- Brands Meagan likes: Lands’ End, Crazy8, Gymboree, Children’s Place
- Zulily (Sarah shops their curated sales and has good luck – usually with marked-down brands she already knows/loves)
- @WhenChildrenDressThemselves – Blogger Kristen Howerton curates this Instagram account and it’s priceless
- Kid to Kid or Children’s Orchard (children’s consignment stores – see if there’s one near you!)
- thredUP (online consignment – check out their secondhand Mini Boden girls clothes!!)
- Nordstrom Rack
- These shoe size conversion charts on Zappos.com can help you go between kid and adult sizes to save money by shopping in the kids’ section, even for bigger feet!
- Meagan’s system for organizing handmedowns and seasonal clothing – here’s the original blog post, and here’s where we talked about it on the podcast (skip to 13:40 to get right to it)
MORE HELPFUL LINKS:
- Visit our website
- Check out deals from our partners
- Follow us on Instagram
- Join our private listener group on Facebook (be sure to answer the membership questions!)
- Sign up for our newsletter
Right now I’m loving the Cate & Jack line from Target. I also love Mini Boden and Tucker & Tate for girls. Both higher end but I shop sales.
Now for total randomness. From this episode the thing I latched onto was that Sarah mentioned she uses cloth napkins. I love this idea because we waste so many paper napkins. What kind do you buy and how many do you go through in a week. Thanks!
I buy most of my daughters clothes on line at moncouturier.com They ship to the US and they have a vast choice of designers clothes. Deux par deux, a canadian brand is amazing, and the snowsuits are the best. Deux par deux also have ‘jeggings’ that last for ever. Desigual kids make orignal pieces, but you have to check the website often to get them under 40$.
Have a nice day
@Kim – I got a simple 12-pack of cloth napkins from Bed Bath & Beyond. They’re easy to bleach because they’re white. I wouldn’t spend too much since my 2 kids stain theirs, but they do the job. I just change them out when they look bad (maybe every other day?) and each child can have their own napkin ring so they know which one is their’s.
The vast majority of Baguette’s clothing comes from Boden (shirts and leggings–the leggings seem to wear VERY well, although YMMV) and Hanna Andersson (shirts, bike shorts, and yoga pants). I try to buy only on sale, but she is very particular about the feel and fit of her clothes due to sensory issues. If she’ll wear it, it’s worth buying. We’ve had some luck with Gymboree and Naartje, although unfortunately the latter is no longer available in the U.S., even online.
For truly lovely and (for us) unaffordable clothes, I recommend Janie and Jack. They’re out of our price range by quite a ways, but the clothing is beautiful. We’ve gotten a few items used, but it’s not a line that has been in regular rotation in our household.
I’ve had some luck finding used clothing on eBay and ThredUp, so those might be sources for people who don’t have children’s consignment nearby.
Check out Primary for the basics to pair with other patterned clothing – good quality at very reasonable prices. No holes in the leggings yet!
Oh, yes, Primary.com is great! We have quite a few of their shirts. And their customer service has been fantastic.
I love Primary too! They don’t always have all sizes/colors in stock but hopefulky that is something they are working through as a new company. Zara & H&M have super on-trend stuff too for little kids/babies.
Another vote for Primary – the leggings are great. Their stuff is great for costumes too – our Halloween included a pumpkin and a black cat!
For girls, we’ve become huge fans of Princess Awesome – fantastic twirly dresses with dinosaur/science/etc patterns. A bit more expensive, but we’ve been really pleased with the quality, and for my two girls who only wear dresses it’s been a great way to still show their interest in robots or rocket ships!
I’m a huge fan of Jumping Beans at Kohl’s and recently Cat & Jack at Target too. My oldest is in between sizes (8 & 10), which makes things challenging, I’m having to buy the size 8’s and then taking them in ?. Our neighbourhood has a major love for local designer (I can’t afford) and private party seller (like Avon etc) https://www.peekaboobeans.com/index.aspx.
I’m a huge fan of Jumping Beans at Kohl’s and recently Cat & Jack at Target too. My oldest is in between sizes (8 & 10), which makes things challenging, I’m having to buy the size 8’s and then taking them in ?. Our neighbourhood has a major love for local designer (I can’t afford) and private party seller (like Avon etc) https://www.peekaboobeans.com/index.aspx.
LOVE you both!
Thanks Amy! We are loving Cat & Jack lately too–especially their basics like undies and leggings for girls. Great tips!
I like The Mom Hour and listen to a lot of their podcasts. I was really looking forward to this one as I am transitioning my kids summer wardrobes to fall and needed some good tips on how to store their clothes. I was rather disappointed though when they didn’t touch on it at all and at the very end of the podcast they mention a whole different podcast to listen to for storage tips. ‘Organization’ really should be removed from the description of this podcast, as it wasn’t really talked about at all.
Hi Katie! I’m so sorry you felt let down by the conversation in this episode. It’s been a while so I don’t recall exactly what we did and didn’t cover, but I know we mentioned this post by Meagan, which has a ton of detail about how she stores clothes seasonally. We might not have gone into it in detail because it’s she does so so thoroughly in the post. Hope this helps, and we’re so grateful to you for listening! http://www.thehappiesthome.com/organizing-hand-me-downs/