I went to Target the other day to buy some fall clothes for
the children. Apparently, when Chris and I sleep at night, the boys wake up,
put on an outfit, go outside and drag themselves on the sidewalk. They must do
this with every single outfit because there is no way that two soft,
made-of-meat little boys are this hard on clothes and no - it is not the new LG
washer and dryer we purchased when we bought this house, either. The LG washer
and dryer don't really wash clothes; inside the drums are actual magical
fairies that wave tiny little wands and make the dirt disappear like magic.If we ever had to sell the house I'd keep the washer and dryer and we'd live in them.
I went to Target because their clothes are cute and I think anyone who spends more than $25 dollars on a single piece of clothing (excluding coats, suits, Easter dresses, fancy crap, etc.) for a child that will grow out of it in two-three months is either a) rich or b) delusional. Target is not paying me to say that I think their clothes are well made, cute, and cheap. Target, for me, is fancy. I do not shop at Baby Gap; I cannot bring myself to drop $40 on a Macy's Ralph Lauren sweater, because while that sweater and an $8.99 sweater at Target were both made in some factory in the same third-world country, the Ralph Lauren factory workers took the extra ten minutes and used their machines to stitch RALPH LAUREN or some polo emblem into the fabric and BOOM, the price instantly jumps up $30 dollars.
(I try to buy American-made when I can, when-I-can meaning when I can physically see it and sadly, it isn't often.)
Liam needed new gym clothes, Ewan needed new pants because in addition to dragging his clothes on the sidewalks while we sleep at night Willy Wonka also visits and puts him in that stretch machine he once used on Mike Teevee. His little pants look like capris. I do not believe in the manpri so it was time for new clothes. Unfortunately, he did not inherit much from his big brother who wore predominately secondhand clothes because we were broker than jokes in those days, as compared to being mildly broke now. Liam's old clothes were either purchased entirely from Goodwill or inherited from people we knew. When it comes to furnishing a wardrobe, I can stretch a dollar to infinity.
While at Target I bought Ewan some pants, Liam his gym clothes, some long-sleeve t-shirts for both boys, a couple button-downs, and new hooded jackets. I unloaded the items at checkout and then severed a couple of limbs and handed them to the cashier because HOLY CHRISTMAS, the total. All the while Liam and Ewan complained about being hungry - even though they'd had a decent breakfast and it was nowhere near lunch - because they were eager to hurry up and already grow out of what I just bought them.
Liam was just excited that I'd bought them hoodies with skulls ("dead guy heads," Ewan calls them), which goes along with Ewan's whole fascination with death. Remind me Monday to show you what he has been dressing up as every single day for the past two weeks.
I hear you. I swear Maddy grows a size every two months. I bought her the tweetest cowboy boots in June in Ft. Worth and she better by george get to wear them before she grows out! She just got new soccer shoes in a women's size 7 1/2. Just shoot me now.
Thank heaven for Target, Old Navy and Limited Too when they have $25 off a $50 purchase coupons - otherwise Maddy would be up a creek without a jacket.
Whirlpool Duet Steam - am in lust.
Hilarious that you should write about this today. The first thing I said to my boys this morning when I entered their rooms was "Oh my goodness, you guys grew last night!" Seriously..it looks like they did..their heads even looked bigger, older, whatever. I love Target for their clothes too. Sometimes I shop online at Gap Kids when they are clearancing things out..also, Children's Place has cute jeans if you can get them when they do the 2 for 20. If I have the time to surf, sometimes I find new designer stuff on ebay for about the same price it costs at Target, by the time you pay for shipping. Target is just easy though.
Target is definitely a lifesaver for us frugal folks. I think their stuff gets cuter every season. I am also a believer in consignment shops. I have a few favorite online shops that sell only name brand new or barely used items. The only catch is that most only provide baby and toddler clothing. Once they hit the big kid sizes, it is much harder to find the deals.
Sears has a KidVantage program in which they will replace kid's clothes for free if they destroy them before they outgrow them and it doesn't cost anything to sign up. They didn't pay me either, but I have taken full advantage of that program over the years.
target is my favorite store. Reminds me - I have to go purchase my annual size L black (plain) Hanes hoodie.
I buy one every year and it's about the only jacket I wear all winter, unless it gets sub-arctic. Cause it's warm in the house and warm where you're going.
I digress.
Mossimo athletic cut T's make me look athletic! And they're soft - the exact kind of cotton I look for in a T-shirt.
In short - I agree with clothing frugality and Target makes me happy.
That is so strange that you said that! It got cooler this week so I put my boys in jeans this morning for the first time in months and they are all a minimum of 2 inches too short. I love Target too, especially since they let me sign up to donate to my kid's school. I also love old navy. They are always having good sales and with an old navy account I get rewards and free shipping,'cause really, I only shop a 1am anyway. Having trouble finding small enough waists with long enough legs, anyone have a recomendation for skinny jeans for boys? (On the cheap of course:)
This is off the topic of conversation right now. But I just read that Andi would be playing at POP's for "Battle for Pointfest". I think that is great and I hope that she blows that crowd away.
I love Target, too. Their colors match Gymboree clothes most of the time, which is where I love to shop for sale items. Old Navy is great too! Also, if you can catch the kids boutiques when they have their sales, you can get great bargains for one-of-a-kind clothes.
A site that I like is slickdeals.net--they have coupons and sale alerts. Just recently I was able to buy kids jeans at Old Navy for $7 per pair (adults were $12).
That being said, just be glad that you don't have girls. :)
Have you looked at American Apparel? It's all American made, no logos just good, well-made clothes.
I love La Boutique Target' (there's supposed to be an accent in there somewhere). I just bought my 3 year old two thermal shirts and a pair of jeans from there all for under like $15 or something. I'm going to have to keep an eye out for those skull hoodies though -- my husband would think he died and gone to heaven if Aidan wore anything that had a skull on it. (My husband is tattoo artist and his daily wardrobe consists of black t-shirts with some sort of skull on them.)
My daughter rocks Target clothes almost every day. The exception is when she rocks the Ralph Lauren that I buy on the cheap from Marshall's. (super cheap RL there. I love it.)
I'm another Target lover. Between Target, Walmart, and the Family Value Center, I'm pretty much set for clothing at a fraction of the price of what Department Stores charge.
Wait till they are teenagers, and you start adding up your food bill. I used to have a neighbor across the street with 3 boys - she would load her Suburban's cargo area full of groceries at least 3 times a week to feed those guys. I bet her grocery bill was up there with her house note.
Girls grow out of their only pair of school shoes overnight. Mine thought hand-me-downs from friends and older cousins were very cool till she was about 14. So I've only had two years that I've had to buy her clothes so far, and have been super lucky because she gets lots of clothes store gift cards on holidays. We found her Christmas dance formal on the rack for $25. My sister found her an all-purpose black dress that will do for a school dance for $15.
I'm nostalgic for the days when I could buy her stuff at yard sales.
I love Target, too. However, whenever I need to stock-up on Kids clothes I go to the Children's place at The Mills. It's a haul, but it is well worth it. You can also google Children's Place coupons and you will find coupons for up to 20%. I bought an entire 2 season of my daughter's clother for $100. They clothes are stylish, durable and wash well. They also have an entire shoe store, too, so it's really easy to make it a one stop shop.
I love target almost as much as I love the clearance rack at Old Navy! I can kick some major arse with those bargains!
Heh. We just did the holy-crap-your-pants-are-too-short Target run this morning-- dodging flood waters along the way (so maybe it was good that the kids were in high water pants...?). And then spent the rest of the day scouring Marshalls et al because the Boy was going to die if his new shoes did not have small pumas on them. He's SIX, and I think he's already rebelling against our anti-establishmentness. Oy.
I wish I had this problem with my kid eating all the time and growing so much.
Seriously. I do.
Target really does have nice clothes for kids.
You should try The Children's Place, they have great sales and their regular prices are good as well. The clothes wash well and hold their shape, which sometimes with so of my boys Target clothes, they don't!
They grow so fast....unfortunately, my wallet doesn't!
H&M is great for little boys clothes. Priced like Target but a little edgier. You have to go to Chesterfield, though . . . .
Ugh, I used to work in the kids department at Sears. (Which might explain my fear of children.) And I can tell you stories of worn out clothes. Sears used to have toughskins which were guaranteed. It was amazing to see how worn out boys could get them. AND, how many mothers wanted to exchange them and, oh, could they get the next biggest size? Working there kind of shook my faith in humanity for a few years.
Man do I feel the same way! It just kills me to see kids running around with Tommy Hilfiger logos splashed all over them. So what happens the first time they stain or rip it??? (I would scream or cry or BOTH) There is so many things I would rather spend the money on for my children. Target IS my favorite store of course, although I have had really good luck the last couple of years buying the 'Okie Dokie' brand @ JCPenney for my kids. You can buy so many mix and match tops and bottoms for toddlers up to 5T. I usually stock up when they go on sale for 2 for $10. To KAREN: I too have had a problem with jeans for my very tall stick of a son. Target has adjustable waist jeans in their 'Legendary Gold' label. I buy 8 slim for my son when they go on sale for $7-$8. Hope this helps!
I've had a great time reading your post and all the comments...they've brought back a lot of memories.
When my boys were young I shopped at Sears A LOT, especially for parochial school blue pants and white polos. They wore like iron, but if they didn't I could get a new pair. I did Old Navy when they were "tweeners", and discovered Goodwill for khaki pants and polo shirts (Catholic high school dress code). However, when they started needing brands that I wouldn't pay for they would take my money, and add their own to it for what they wanted.
Target. A.K.A. "The $200 Store".
Because no matter how frugal I am being, I will still drop $200 on crap that I suddenly realize I NEED.
I'm not allowed to buy clothes though. My wife insists I have no taste. I insist that green polkadot pants go with everything.
I've gotten a little disillusioned with Target's clothes because of the wear issue. I've started shopping Goodwill pretty extensively. I have to pop in about twice a month, but I find good stuff, a lot of it barely worn. In fact, the next stop for Target after the clearance rack is Goodwill, so I pick up my Mossimo tshirts there. And at $3 per item, it doesn't hurt so much to replace stuff ...
manpri! I love it! I too refuse to spend big bucks on my kids clothes. i wrote this post about how I do, however, enjoy competing with other moms at the local kid-to-kid sale I go to every year!
http://momminitup.com/?p=929