At what age did you start buying good clothing for your kids?

[ROFL BOX 6655]

REI has some good deals right now for online only outlet buys, however even though it's 70% off the original $$ I don't want to buy good stuff just to see them grow out of this stuff in 3 months.

 

Monster is 12.5+, Roxette is 14.5.

 

Columbia

Irrigon Trail Mid Outdry Extreme Hiking Shoes - Men's

$35.73 $120.00*Save $84.27 (70%)

[52-80 19377]

Gucci from the coochie

[deadshank 24654]

The Marines provide clothes. 

[NeverMarryAStripper 22294]

When they quit growing

[Mrs Whiggins 13050]

With ours, it is (and has always been) situation dependent. When they were little,  we bought inexpensive clothes and shoes. As they got a little older, we bought good running shoes because the PE program at their school had a running program so we looked for something with good cushion and support. We also didn't let them wear flip flops to school. (I understand why some parents do this, so I'm not judging). As far as "good clothing," do you mean something made well, or something that all the other kids are wearing? We had ours earn money for anything that was beyond basic jeans and shirts. By that I mean, we might pay for Academy store brand shorts, but if they wanted Nike, Asics, etc then they had to pay for it. Ours haven't been too sensitive about what they wear other than following a trend or two. We have tried to pass along useful information about what makes something worth the money that is spent on it and not get too hooked on 'brands' and hopefully that will aid them when they are out working and paying for their own clothes, etc.

If they are 12 and 14, then there is probably still some size changes in the future. Not as much for females, but our family are late bloomers, and my oldest (female) grew to over 5'5 the summer before 8th grade and kept growing taller into high school.

[horn4life 3838]

Once they stop or slow growing I became more quality focused.  With shoes for me it was more about fit than a particular style.  If they were going to be running in the shoes I bit the bullet and got them either a perfect fit, or slightly larger.

For me I think it's the same thing I think of now for my wife, myself or my grown kids.  What fits? Each designer, shoe company, etc., all use slightly different sizing models. Thus the size that is a perfect fit in one brand is too narrow, thin or large in another.  I drifted more towards name brands for consistency in size rather than branding.  Though I was biting off Uggs for my girls way too soon,  I knew the younger one would get some wear out of the brand shit, and that worked out OK. Once the kids slowed down their growth I would show them that we could buy this item brand new, or but it slightly used on Ebay and get a great deal.  I did this for specialized things like track spikes, that were hard to find anyhow.  Most kids might get a season out of a set of $120 track spikes.  I could buy the same spikes for $27 with barely any use a year later.

Ultimately you have to use your own judgement.  But my girls love brand name and quality, but as young adults they really love getting that quality for little as possible.  REI grage sales, Ebay, Craigslist. The secret is to know what brands fit them best.  When it came to fitness I was willing to buy stuff knowing it was going to  be out of size in 3 months, as quality fit was important to me when they were playing soccer.  My main thing was I will NEVER let you get what you want by whining.  I would also make them contribute towards items I thought were excessive but they thought they would "die" without.  

Once they became really brand conscious they would go to Goodwill and thrift stores as well, and took pride in finding amazing deals.  They both ended up working at REI, as much for the discounts as they cool job. REI garage sales are again a great way to snag cheap stuff if you are willing to wake up and get there early for the best deals.  Hell I think you are a good parent if you teach your kids quality and how to get what they want for less.

 

 

 

[gsoda3 3362]

timely, about 20 minutes ago i bought some stuff from the REI outlet sale for our 8yo. 

 

i love browsing the clearance racks at nordstrom, dick's, academy, anywhere really.  you can find quality clothes/shoes for real cheap, less than $10.  i'm also on slickdeals quite often and there's a lot of good stuff that pops up there on a weekly basis. 

[Nueces River Rat 5796]

Like someone up post said.... When they stopped growing which is about the time they fly the coop.  Then it's not so much about the length, it's the waist.  LOL!  

I know today's youth get a lot of grief and just like my generation (Gen X) some  of it is well deserved.  But thankfully they are not all clothing  brand conscience like my generation which makes clothing more budget friendly.  Back in the day,  most of us dudes had to have a few Polo shirts and we didn't have a Polo outlet to buy them at.  You either found one second hand or paid for it at Foleys (now Macy's) or Dillards at full price at their Polo store.   There is a reason H&M and Old Navy are popular stores.  

On a related note... You all should try Amazon Prime Wardrobe and their private brand of clothing.   I was skeptical, but you can get some good quality shorts and chino style pants which fit good and their button down shirts are not too bad either and $20-$25 per item.   Target also has some pretty nice threads too.  

One thing I would advise anyone who has a kid (or yourself)  who like Under Armor stuff and you are within a reasonable distance of San Marcos, go the Under Armour  and you can load up on good stuff vs what you would get for the same bucks at Academy or Dick's.  

[Baboontyme 2883]

Does Nike count? I buy the little ape lots of Nike stuff. We both like it. He's 9 and he's a hooper. 

[Dewey 3330]

Think I was 16 when I bought my oldest his first pair of Jordans.  

[MNLonghornFUKM 8983]

20 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

REI has some good deals right now for online only outlet buys, however even though it's 70% off the original $$ I don't want to buy good stuff just to see them grow out of this stuff in 3 months.

 

Monster is 12.5+, Roxette is 14.5.

 

Columbia

Irrigon Trail Mid Outdry Extreme Hiking Shoes - Men's

$35.73 $120.00*Save $84.27 (70%)

Youre giving your kids those for back to school shoes? 

[ROFL BOX 6655]

7 hours ago, MNLonghornFUKM said:

Youre giving your kids those for back to school shoes? 

Did I say I was?

[ROFL BOX 6655]

7 hours ago, Dewey said:

Think I was 16 when I bought my oldest his first pair of Jordans.  

Exactly how many kids did you have when you were 16?

[CooterBrown 18288]

My kids each had a dozen pairs of $70+ shoes at age 3. My wife doesn’t give a fuck about money.

[Jerry Callo 8959]

I give my kids $250-300 in August to buy clothes, shoes, etc.  They can spend it at American Eagle, JC Pennys, or Goodwill - I don't care.  They tend to be much more frugal with their budget.

[horn4life 3838]

2 hours ago, Jerry Callo said:

I give my kids $250-300 in August to buy clothes, shoes, etc.  They can spend it at American Eagle, JC Pennys, or Goodwill - I don't care.  They tend to be much more frugal with their budget.

This is smart too. the sooner you can teach them to make smart choices and that money is not unlimited, the better adults they will become.  Otherwise they may end up like... Cooter Brown's wife...

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4999]

16 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

My kids each had a dozen pairs of $70+ shoes at age 3. My wife doesn’t give a fuck about money.

It's Feltman Brothers clothes and stuff with my wife. I can understand a nice dress for Christmas or Easter or something, but yeah we don't need several of them. Luckily my clearance rack shopping at the end of the season training is starting to change her habits little by little.

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

17 hours ago, NotActuallyALonghorn said:

Luckily my clearance rack shopping at the end of the season training is starting to change her habits little by little.

Sometimes that works.  Sometimes they just buy twice as much.

 

I'll be dealing with the clothes issue soon.  We've gotten a ton of hand-me-downs, and then most their new shit i get from Walmart.  But I know kids start to notice brands and shit as they get older.  

To answer the original question, we find stuff on rei clearance frequently.  We will spend a little more if it's something all three of the kids can eventually use.  Like hiking boots they might use 3 or 5 times a year won't really wear out.

Thosee $35 boots seems like a good deal.  I'm pretty sure you could get some boots at Walmart for like $25 and they wouldn't be half as quality.

[NotActuallyALonghorn 4999]

Go to steepandcheap.com > menu > bargain bins > 60% Off or More or 80% Off or More > Sort > % Off

Then filter for kids clothes or whatever. Do it in the off season and buy whatever size you think they will be. Doesn't always work for infants because they could grow really fast or slow, but for toddlers up through the onset of puberty it should be pretty easy to guess what size they need.

[ROFL BOX 6655]

Comedy routine I recall (but not the comedian):

"Yeah, I come from a really small town & we were pretty much the poors.  So small, when it's the new school year @ the end of summer, I'd come in & a kid would say "Hey, I know that shirt.   That was my brother's & mom gave it to Goodwill last week.  There's the hole where he got caught on the chain link fence."

[4th&Five 42004]

11 and 7 so not yet.