[wrekdiver]

Well, my fs (2yo) and I were planning on going to the thrift store to get some winter clothes and spend the rest of the federal money they allote us each year for these purchases. I invited my MIL .....

Okay, her "grandson" is not going to wear clothes that someone else has already worn. So we went to places like JCPenney's, Belk's, Peebles....you know, places where you get to pay a premium for unworn clothes

I was SHOCKED to say the least. I only shop at thrift stores and haven't been in a dept. store to buy clothes in about 10 years. His clothes cost as much as mine!!
Everything was on sale and it still cost 8.00 for a shirt and 10.00 for pants. There was an Elmo sweater/cheap pants set--40.00! My eyes started to sting looking at those prices.

So, I did my part to boost the economy today. I spent all the governments money and then tons fo mine as well. Tomorrow, I will do a little self-help therapy by going to a thrift store and chanting...it only cost a dollar, it only cost a dollar

Stay sane people. Don't shop with your in-laws

[shy_bear]

May I suggest buying off season. That is what I do for my girls and they wear name brand items. For example, went into Limited Too the other day. No way would I EVER spend $25 for a tank top. Got it on clearance for $2.69. They both pretty much have enough clothes for next summer. I will not pay full price for an item, it will go on clearance!!!
A friend of mine brought me to a garage sale about 2 years ago, first time I had been to one. Some things I can justify buying used, but not clothes or bed items. Just me!! I know a lot of people do.

[shycar]

Lol too funny. My mom is the same way. I can not drag her to any thrift stores. Yup kids clothes are soooo expensive. I personally dont go to thrift store for the kids, well once in awhile. Not becouse they are used, but here they cost the same as brand new. Thats becouse I go to outlet stores and I found a outlet store called The Childrens Place. I have bought clothes for $5.00 or less. I bought my sons coat last year for $10.oo, I just got it bigger and he wore it for the first time this year yesterday for our first snow. Lots of baby clothes too and cheap and brand new. I also go to Target or Walmart and only buy whats on clearence.

[kxl164]

I buy all of our clothes on clearance off-season. I love getting cute Oshkosh clothes for $2-$3, and this year I just did some fall shopping for both this year and next for the same low prices.

I always shop for clothes at Kohl's, but we do hit The Gap and The Children's Place clearance racks too!

The ONLY item of clothing that I will pay a "regular/sale price" for is a good pair of jeans, particularly is they are adjustable waist jeans that are PLAIN. I find plain quality jeans are so hard to find, but once you do they last for many kids!!

My kids are given lots of hand-me-downs too so we are very lucky!

I don't pay full price for anything though, lol!! I can't not understand the cost of clothing and I find the importance of fit to supercede a label every time.

[stevenstwin]

yeah, where we are, there aren't many good thrift shops - small town and very hit or miss. Not to mention the risk of putting your kid in something that some friend of theirs will recognize and remember donating, LOL We do a lot of new but cheap: WalMart, Saan, Zellers, etc.

[EmmaLeigh2882]

I have been stocking up for years - always clearance- long before we had anyone to wear them- I always buy the clothes/shoes in places where I could return it if I really needed to ( Sam's Club and Walmart are really good for returns a year or more later- just save tags and reciepts)
Buy big- really big- as long as its not too "fad-y" Basic cloths two or three years older then your kids in multi season wear is great- that way if they grow really quicky and dont fit into just right for that season you could use it closer to when they fit in it... Light weight long sleeve/pants- jackets etc
Sometimes I buy clothes at regular price in the current size then wait until it goes on sale ( in any size) buy another pair and return it on the original reciept... ( Hey they have earned the interest on my money in the mean time- plus they are making a tun of money on the items they already sold at regular price- they are choosing to mark it down- not me) Usually the size I want will be gone by the time of drastic mark downs.... I dont do this aways- just if there is a real need for the item and I feel its over priced as it were. After all, I still paid for it- just less.
I do have morals... (=

[straightblues]

If you feel that way wrekdiver what I am about to say then will make your head spin right off.

In Los Angeles County, you can't put foster children in second hand clothes. They think it will ruin their self esteem and stigmatize them as less thans. This directive comes from the social workers and our agency. Our agency required us to spend $75 for clothes for each child every month and present reciepts for them at the end of the month. After 12 month of doing this my sons each have over 50 shirts, 30 to 40 pairs of pants and shorts, at least 10 pairs of shoes each, and countless socks and underware. It is completely ridiculous. We have clothes not only one size bigger but also two sizes bigger. We are lucky they don't put sizes on the reciepts.

People at our Church have offered us tons of great second hand clothes and we have had to turn them down. I could have clothed these children in very nice designer second hand clothes many times over for FREE, but the system wouldn't let me.

Now for the even crazier thing, one of the parents main complaints at the TPR hearing was how poorly we have been dressing the children. They claimed we dressed them in old tattered clothing. It was kind of funny when we presented all of the reciepts to refute their claims.

[arkansas parent]

I buy a lot of our clothes from yard sales. They are name brand and usually cost just $.50-$3.00. Sometimes they even have the tags on them. Some people rather just sell them in a yard sale than return them. My MIL almost never returns stuff. She also thinks if it came from a yard sale than something must be wrong with it. She would never buy used clothes but she wears stuff her sister can't wear anymore and even her dead aunts clothes . I also buy clearance stuff from JCpenny,Sears,and Dillards. I never buy my daughter clothes at yard sale that are in the same town we live in. I like to go to the nice neighorhoods in the next town.

[foster_bub]

My wife and I feel your pain. When we got our first placements, everyone and I mean EVERYONE in our families spoiled the kids rotten. Baby Gap, Macy's, you name it, which we all know isn't cheap.

If we had shopped at these stores getting ready for our little ones we'd be broke.

I have to remind my folks that these children most likely will be re-unified with their parents.Though it's not expected the gifts are great.

[Joy2566]

We also are not allowed to buy second hand clothes. We are required to spend $50 a month on clothing which comes from our per diem. The kids end up with way too many clothes and are dressed much better than my bio kids.

[baby_love]

I am so glad that we are not required to put our children in only new clothes. I was raised on hand me downs, trips to the thrift store and yard sales. I get a high from finding fab stuff at dirt cheap prices. I also have a group of friends and family members that we all have children about or around the same age. We all pass clothes down, or rotate them depending on the age of the child. We also do this with toys. My oldest was on buzz lightyear kick, then he wasn't. Now my cousins son who is 3yr younger loves buzz lightyear, so we gave him all of our buzz toys.

[locoenlacabeza]

Here there is no requirement that the clothes are brand new, but I agree with how it could make them feel about themselves.
I personally love thrift store shopping, its one of my favorite past times. My husband hates it though. I rarely buy the kids clothes at thrift stores only clothes that I keep here for an emergency. I have my own personal stash sorted for sex/age/size etc and those clothes I pick up from the thrift stores so that I have what I need when I get those unexpected calls and the clothing money won't be issued for another month or so. I also keep totes full of baby items like diapers, wipes, pullups and some formula. The formula I check often for experation, and if it gets close I donate or toss (depending on how close to expiration it is). I have been caught one to many times with a child that only has the diaper he came with.
I also rarely buy full priced clothes for anyone in my house. I usually always hit the clearance racks and most times can even still find clearanced clothes in season.

[ca-bigsister]

I live in LA. SW can give you a referral to agency in Northridge where you can get one new outfit free or used outfits. I found out about this through the person who led the D-rate classes. Maybe you work with agency where there are stricter rules.

Personally, I buy new clothes for my FD because when she lived with her great-grandmother, she was dressed in really old ugly garage sale clothes and her grandmother wasn't clean with her. So, my FD smelled, wore old ugly clothes and had a learning disability. She was teased mercilessly as the smelly, dirty kid with bad clothes. The new clothes helped her to boost her self-esteem from her old reputation as the dirty, smelly kid with bad clothes.

I know that you can buy cute clothes at a thrift store or garage sale, but the grandmother did not buy cute clothes and they weren't clean. If the clothes are clean, who will really know if they are used? Especially when the kids are little, I would rather have good used clothes than junky new clothes.

I buy her new clothes as a teenager because it helps her to fit in more. I think it is different as they get old.

[Withay]

I think it depends alot on the age of the children. I foster medically fagile infants and almost always go to a second hand store. I even get my DHS vouchers for there.

I can always find outfits that look brand new, and with the prices at the store I shop I actually get double the amount for the amount of the voucher. I mean that with a $125 voucher I get $250 worth of clothes. If an outfit costs $4.95 I get another $4.95 outfit free. This is really nice for the babies who grow so fast.

Once an outfit is outgrown, I can take it in and trade it for 60 cents on the dollar.

[skilack]

I just thought I would add this. If you are looking for some cheap clothes......O.N.. I am not sure if I am allowed to say the name. They are having a big sale going on. I just bought three shirts and one pair of jeans for(are you ready for this)3.88. YES, you read that right. They are having a .97 cent sale on summer stuff. Plus the day I was there all halloween things were half off. If there is a sale or bargin I will find it. My kids say I have a Master's in shopping. LOL. I have a friend who can tell you what days to shop the big department stores and where they hid the big sale racks.