After last week's series of heavy, serious posts, I thought I'd lighten things up around here and talk about shopping for the girls. A few weeks ago, I mentioned how I had made an excursion to the outlet mall for a quick shopping trip. Similar to saving money at the grocery store, I usually go clothes shopping with a list of items needed. That list is mental, as compared to my written grocery lists. The girls needed bigger size jean jackets and Gymboree was having their everything is $12.99 and under sale. I hit Gymboree first and as I was browsing around the store, it suddenly hit me that the girls have almost outgrown Gymboree. They still comfortably fit into Gymboree sizing and may possibly do so until they're 14, but in terms of style, etc, I can see how the appeal will soon be lost.
I should back up a bit here and share that the girls do not care about labels. They'll wear clothes from any store - that "phase" has not yet hit. I'm at the school every day for drop off and pick up so I see what the other kids are wearing. When they were really little, the school pushed play clothes and that still seems to be what most kids are wearing. Don't get me wrong - the girls wear skirts and dresses here and there - but mostly it's leggings and jeggings, which is what most other kids wear as well.
Where do I typically buy the girls clothes? They are pretty easy to shop for but I try to keep it to what they need.
Target - So far, I'm really loving the Cat & Jack line. Besides the cute factor, it's inexpensive, the leggings and jeggings fit my skinny kids and it all has held up through multiple washings - even the dark colors. I wash all dark clothing in cold water and dry on low to prevent fading. Regardless, I've noticed that dark colored clothing from Gymboree has massively faded while black Cat & Jack leggings are still going strong. I had read that the knees in the Cat & Jack leggings were reinforced and I have to say, the knees, which typically show fading, have held up really well compared to other brands.
Osh Kosh - If I hit sales just right at the outlet store, I've been able to pick up some great deals here. I think the clothes are cute and the girls have yet to disagree.
Old Navy - I haven't shopped here as much as of late because, for a stretch of time, the girls were between sizes and I moved on to shopping elsewhere. There seemed to have been a big difference between small and medium. I did pick up summer dresses during super sales that they wore last summer though.
The Children's Place - So, this store is definitely hit or miss for me. Sometimes they have really cute stuff and other times, blah, I just don't like anything. I did manage to find three different jean jackets (white, regular wash, dark wash) for a total cost of $50 a few weeks ago.
Justice - I typically only pick up clothes here for gifts, such as t-shirts for Christmas presents. I find it interesting that in conversations with moms of 5th and 6th graders, I've been told that the older girls refuse to wear Justice. It's not cool any longer.
While I do shop online, I usually only do so at stores where I know what sizes fit the girls. So I tend to stick to stores I can physically go to and browse the merchandise. I used to clean up during those Gymboree $12.99 and under sales. Good quality bathing suits for $12.99! This time around, I found one bathing suit I felt the girls would like and only bought one because God forbid they all have the same bathing suit. Emily claimed it as hers but when she tried it on, it was too tight. I had picked out a size 8 because they were still wearing size 5/6 bathing suits from Target. They all wear the same size so it was returned to the store.
My game plan for the beginning of school next year is to not buy any new clothes until after school starts just in case. Plus, it's hot the first few weeks of school and they're still wearing summer clothing.
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