How far ahead do you buy?

[crl]

We live in San Francisco where the weather is more or less the same year around. For example, In any given month ds is wearing both short and long sleeve tshirts and pants. In the morning and evening he adds a sweatshirt, a fleece or rain coat most days. So, now I'm trying to find good prices on nice things for dd, but not buy ridiculously far ahead. Storage isn't too much of an issue as she gets the underbed drawers in the spare bedroom.

So how far ahead do you/would you buy?

Catherine

[Melaine]

The more marked down it is and the more I like it, the farther I will buy ahead. I mean, I have a couple things set aside for the girls in size 8/10 but they were something I really liked and were also like 80% off.

[WatchingThemGrow]

I try to do no more than a year ahead. Shoes - not really at all unless the sizing is straight up and it's something like water sandals or rainboots.

[Melaine]

Oh yeah, agreeing with WatchingThemGrow, I don't get shoes ahead anymore. I've been burned that way already!

[swrc00]

For DS I only buy a season ahead. I am pretty sure I am going to get burned with the winter stuff I bought on clearance earlier this year. I will probably consign it. I also don't buy shoes ahead of time.

[arivecchi]

One season ahead. The one exception I made earlier this year was for coats and vests. I got super pricey Polo ones for a super bargain so I bought two sizes up. I never buy shoes ahead of time.

[crl]

So, what is your limiting factor? For those that only do one season ahead, is it because you aren't sure what size dc will be in any given season (not an issue for me as we lack seasons) or you'd rather have current styles, or storage issues or?

Thanks!
Catherine

[arivecchi]

Right. I don't know what size they will be in a particular season. If that is not a problem for you, then I would go ahead and buy for more than 1 season ahead.

[hillview]

The kids have slowed down so I can safely buy a year ahead. I have purchased 2 years on really good clothes deals (hanna mainly) never on shoes and I will also on winter clothes (snow pants, gloves and jackets).

2 or under and I don't buy ahead as they run through sizes.
/hillary

[swrc00]

I only buy a season ahead because of not knowing DS's size. He has always been bigger on the top than the bottom. Storage is also an issue. I have two plastic totes already for fall/winter.

[Snow mom]

I think you are in an ideal situation to buy ahead in terms of not having to worry about the seasons (although if you care about the colors and styles of different seasons you might have to think about it a bit.) How far ahead I buy usually depends on how good the deals are. Right now I'm stocked through all the seasons of 2t and trying to avoid the urge to buy 3t. My DD is currently wearing 18-24 and has basically grown through the sizes with the age they are marked. The thing I'm starting to worry about is her opinion of what she will and won't wear. We haven't run into it yet, but I do worry that the clothes I have (that I like) she will eventually refuse to wear in favor of a particular color or style.

[MommyAllison]

When I'm buying clothes for 25 cents/piece, I buy ahead a few years. DD has stuff up to about size 8 (she is currently in size 4), DS not so much because it is harder to find boys things that we like (and are in good condition). Our consignment store has a "quarter sale" twice a month, where they have thousands of clothing items, sizes & gender all mixed together, and everything is 25 cents a piece. Perfect for play clothes, and also for out-of-season clothes, since anything they get that is out of season goes into the quarter sale. Lately our store has gotten more picky and only accepts things less than 2 years old, so you can get perfect Gap jeans that are 3 years old for a quarter!

When buying in regular stores, I don't buy ahead much at all anymore - maybe 1 year (like buy for next summer at this year's summer clearance) but I have gotten burned on that before, usually because I don't like something as much by the time it fits, and then am stuck with it at a much higher price (compared to a quarter ;) ).

We do have plenty of storage space - before we moved into our house, I didn't have any storage space and didn't buy ahead more than 1-2 years, even at the quarter sale.

[crl]

Thanks everyone!
Catherine

[AnnieW625]

At most a year ahead, but right now I am not buying much because I don't want to be totally wrong in size, but at least here a 9 mos. or 12 mos. size could go for next Spring to early fall, maybe even January/February if we get a huge heatwave. Once DD2 is just over a year I'll shop the summer end of season sales for the following year esp. at Gymbo or Hanna if I need anything because their sizing is more generous.

[lchang25000]

A year ahead and I've done well so far.

[zag95]

I try to do no more than a year ahead. Shoes - not really at all unless the sizing is straight up and it's something like water sandals or rainboots.
:yeahthat:
We live in Portland- same scenario with temperate climate- I feel like I'm usually OK with shirts, because DD can just layer a sweatshirt or sweater over the top, if it's chillier.
Shoes are hard- I've been burned on a couple of pair (early) and have now learned my lesson!

[kevinsmama]

We live in the east coast with 4 distinct climates so it can be hard to buy ahead, depending on the items. I don't pre-buy shoes and coats b/c those are hard to predict until kids are at least 3-4 years old. With regards to shoes/sandals/boots/heavy outside coats, I only buy them in-season, preferably when they're having a sale (usually through Land's End; they tend have decent in-season sales).

I pre-buy mainly tops if they are uniquely designed (Boden, Hanna, Zutano, Garnet Hill, etc.) and are on sale b/c it's not easy shopping for toddler boys clothing (unless you don't mind skulls, pirates, surfer dudes and camo). I don't do "matchy-matchy" top-to-bottom b/c my son is skinny, long-torsoed and has short legs so it's difficult to predict what lengths pants he'd be wearing in a year or two (right now his tops are 90 but his pants are 70). So as to pants/bottoms, I only pre-buy neutral-colored stuff (navy, brown, gray and black) that can be matched with anything.

My son's almost 2 right now and I've pre-bought most stuff up to 3T. I've also bought some Kumquat tops on sale in 4T but these were sized small so they ended up being closer to 3T.

FYR, I only started pre-buying after my son turned 1 b/c we didn't have to buy any infant clothing since we got TONS of onesies and other baby clothes at baby showers and hand-me-downs that were in immaculate conditions.

[boolady]

I buy a year ahead so that I can take advantage of the End of Season sales. It's worked out fine so far.

[robinsmommy]

I would also point out that as your child ages, their taste will change. You could end up stuck with clothes they won't touch. I have DD1, 7.5, and DD2, 3 years. I no longer keep hand-me downs that are super trendy with that age gap, and am very careful what I buy for DD1. Seems like her favorite color changes yearly or more....so I do stock up on a few things, if they are basics (like Gymbo leggings in navy for like $5) or are super cheap (like .25 - MommyAllison, how could you leak the quarter sale secret?!?!? ;)). Pink is so yesterday for her. Didn't see that one coming....but I do have a bin starting of 10-12 stuff.

I really, really dread the coming times when kid clothes become too babyish.....hopefully fashion will swing more conservative by then for tweens. Some of the stuff I see now, even after the thongs have been yanked, is still too adult for my taste.

[SpaceGal]

I buy very far ahead when I see something HUGELY discounted. My boys are 5 and 3 yo. DS #1 is skinny and DS #2 is average...both are on the small side. I've bought ahead for them up till 8 yo. My boys usually are the size they are the age of or smaller...like DS #1 is 5...he wears some 4T still and just started wearing 5T bottoms. Same goes for DS #2...3yo wearing some 2T and 3T. Especially on basic blue jeans (like the recently Gap sale where I was able to find jeans for $5-6 bucks) cuz they will always need those things. Luckily I have two boys and they can use all of it. I buy long and short sleeves ahead as well. I do find it difficult now to find shirts now because I just haven't seen to many graphic tees with designs I like.

As for DD she is 17 months now, very tiny and follows the same growth curve as my first so I buy ahead for her. I confess to getting her a pair of basic boot cut blue jeans in a 7 from Gap cuz they were so cheap I could not resist. I'm fairly comfortable buying ahead for her cuz even at 17 months she's only in 6-12 months and possibly some smaller 12-18 mo stuff. It's hard to resist cute girls things too. Plus I find that I want to avoid too much sparkly glittery things and like basic simple innocent kid designs.

I definitely stock up on a winter coats and what not. I look for things like the Gap Warmest jacket...or anything down-filled for the next year. I lucked out this past November and found the Warmest coats for $17 and bought the size for next year.

I am not restricted to storage space, I now keep and inventory of clothes just so I know what sizes to buy ahead for and to not over buy certain things liek cheap shirts I find for $1-2.

[sunshine873]

I thought I would because I'm a huge bargain shopper. But we have distinct seasons and I have NO clue what size she's going to be & when. I thought she'd be in 18 months by spring. Now we're full-force into summer and she's still sporting 12 months. Hopefully some of those "spring" outfits she got for her birthday will work for fall! :)

[maybeebaby08]

I used to buy ahead but I stopped last year because it's getting harder for me to judge how DD will grow. I would always buy ahead and then want to buy even more when the new clothes for the season came out. I do buy one season ahead for winter coats and basics that I know we'll get use out of when I find a really good deal.

[KrisM]

I used to buy ahead by a year or two, but now only 1 season. The kids have opinions and buying something for $1 if they aren't going to wear it is a waste of money and space. For example, DS1 wouldn't wear beige shirts or jeans all winter.

[AshleyAnn]

Our area has 4 big community cosignment sales semiannually so I try to buy for 6-9 months at a time. I don't buy anything over $4 so if I miss a season or DD wears something twice I just resell it at the next sale. I had someone give me 3T clothes at my baby shower it already feels like I have had them packed away for forever.

[shishamo]

I do buy ahead for my son (10), but he has very clear idea of what he will wear which has not changed much at all for a loong time. Easy.

My daughters (8 and 5) are much much harder. The favorite colors seems to change overnight, and they def. have a style that they want to wear which changes. I do buy basics: plain jeans and pants and undies. The rest, I have learned to just buy when it is time to buy, it is MUCH cheaper in a long run. The exception is the consignment store: $1.99 for a top or bottom, if they do not like it I'm ok with it.

[soontobe]

just wondering why no one seems to buy shoes a head of time? won't they get to every size eventually?

[crl]

just wondering why no one seems to buy shoes a head of time? won't they get to every size eventually?

Ds skipped a size a couple of times. And if you have seasons there is the sandals vs boots thing.

Catherine

[SpaceGal]

just wondering why no one seems to buy shoes a head of time? won't they get to every size eventually?

I did buy shoes ahead of time. For my DS, I bought Converse sneakers ahead. One pair for each size. He has worn a pair for each year his feet don't grow very fast, and since he can wear Cons all year I wasn't too scared to buy ahead...I also bought them for less than $10 a pair.

I also bought DD a ton of SKRs and Pediped. All MJs shoe styles, figuring that most girls need some type of shoes to go with their clothes. I got one or two pairs in each size, figuring again these types of shoes she can wear all seasons, plus when I found them on sale for $15 or less I couldn't resist the cute styles.

As for sandals, I don't buy these ahead...unless it's in a style I know my son likes and it's on sale CHEAP. Like DS #1 (5yo) always wears Nike Sunrays for the summer, and he goes up one size each year so far. He also has a younger brother and sister so if for some reason he skips I'm sure someone can wear them. Except for those Nike sandals and winter boots, I don't buy ahead for DS #2 (3yo) or DD since I can't judge their tastes and foot sizes yet.