Just for Fun: New Year's Resolutions, Reality Layette Style

[AvasMama]

Ava will be 1 in 10 days, so after a year of buying baby clothes, here are my resolutions for this year:

1. No more buying ahead -- Up until now, I've done a decent job of buying ahead, and I have plenty for the coming summer and fall, but I am less certain of how fast she'll grow once she gets closer to 2. Plus, it is hard to resist all the cute NEW clothes that come out every season.

2. Buy only what I LOVE -- I have gotten a lot better about this. I mainly buy J&J and Hanna now and less and less from Gymbo, Old Navy, TJ Maxx, and others because I find that I reach for the J&J and Hanna outfits over and over again, especially when I want Ava to look her cutest.

3. Buy outfits, not single pieces -- I've also gotten much better about this one also. Ava has a ton of misc. onesies, pants, and sweaters she never wears because we don't have something to match.

4. No more than ONE outfit per line -- I am pretty good about this with J&J and Gymboree, but I tend to go a little nuts at Naartjie. Then we end up with a drawer full of similar outfits and I get sick of the same "look" over and over again.

5. Spend less time obsessing over getting the lowest price -- If I MUST have an item, esp. from J&J and Hanna, I will buy it full price instead of stressing that it will be gone when it goes on sale. I can always rebuy at the lower price if I must, but I spend way too much time tracking down items that I didn't buy when they first came out.

Those are mine. What are yours?

Robyn & Ava

[urbanmama]

Well, Robyn, I think you have some GREAT ideas. These are the same philosophies that I have been employing this year and they are working really well for me. It took me a little longer than it took you to come up with them though (Anneliese is 4.5).

My comments on your "rules":

1. I refuse to buy ahead anymore unless it is a basic (cream or white sweater, etc. and I get a GREAT price on it). It isn't worth the stress of worrying whether or not it will fit and I frequently find new things I like better anyway.

2. I've been preaching this all year. If I don't LOVE it, it won't get used as much so it isn't worth it.

3. I figured this out a while ago. When Anneliese was a baby, I used to buy pieces and I NEVER liked those "mismatched" outfits as much as the ones that I purchased together. What a waste!

4. I stick to one or two outfits per line. Sometimes Gymboree puts out large lines that have several different "looks" within them. If this is the case, I'll break the one outfit only rule.

5. This one is the hardest for me. I hate not getting the best deal, but I am better than I used to be about it. I do have a hard time buying J&J full price though. I'm so glad that I don't see anything that I LOVE from the new lines!

[lrucci]

First of all, I can't believe that Ava is almost 1 already. What dress is she wearing for her bday?

My resolutions are very similiar to yours.

1. At some point over the past few months I have resolved to buy less, now in the new year I'm really going to try to stick with it. Luckily, Kyleigh has been growing slowly, but she still has many adorable outfits that she has only worn once or twice. So we are going to buy less and get more wear out of what we have.

2. To accomplish #1, I am definitely only buying what I love and what I know she is going to wear a lot. She has a lot of dressier clothes that she never gets to wear.

3. Since I will be buying less, I can spend buy J&J at full price to make up for what I won't be spending. This way I can get what I want before what I need is gone.

4. I haven't gone to the "one outfit per line" because if I really LOVE a line, I will buy a few outfits from that line, rather than buying something from other lines that aren't as cute.

Now, if only I can stick to it.

Lisa
Mom to Kyleigh 7/19/03

[AvasMama]

Lisa,
I never did find *the* birthday dress. Ava is wearing the RL "Madeline" dress -- navy velour with a white peter-pan collar and white cuffs. I don't remember if I posted a pic of it already or not; it is kind of plain looking by itself, but TDF on, so sweet and classic. I am really happy with it, even though it is not exactly what I had imagined.

I totally agree with your #3 rule (well, all of them, but this one especially). I realized thanks to the roster that Ava was getting much more wear out of some of the pricey J&J and Hanna outfits than less expensive ones that I didn't like as much. A $50 outfit that gets worn 20 times is actually cheaper than a $20 outfit that gets worn 5 times. Which is not to say that there aren't lots of adorable $20 outfits out there, it's just that my taste tends, regrettably, to the $50 ones ;)

Robyn & Ava

[Joshuasmommy]

I am so with you on #3. This fall and winter I bought a ton of pieces in coordinating colors but I hate deciding what shirt to go with what pants and then I feel guilty because I go for my favorites and he hardly wears some which just seems so wasteful.

[ktdid74]

How fun! Maybe these will go over better than my resolution to do 100 situps a day (only made it 2 days :) )

1. I resolve not to get sucked into stupid Gymbo gimmicks time after time (maybe only once in a while :) )

2. continue to work on only buying things I love- it does help cut back on purchases.

3. Try some new clothing brands that I see mentioned on the boards

Check back in a few months and we'll see how it's going!

[heidi_timms]

Gosh, I don't know how I fell so hard off the wagon. I ended up buying too much this winter.

1. Only buy the brands I love-Gymbo, Naartjie, Gap, Hanna (occasionally), etc. I find that we don't wear other brands.

2. BUY LESS! I am always working on this. It's sooo hard!

3. Don't fall into the "sell-out" tactics of Gymboree. I hate how they sell out of things on the website and then you feel like you have to run out and buy it and then a week later, they replenish things. (i.e. Fox Trot, CAAB tights). I didn't fall into the full price Fox Trot craze, but I was close to it!

4. Try some new brands such as Baby Lulu.


~Heidi
Mom to Kailey
4/03

[iluvmy2boys]

#1 - buy what I love, when I see it and want it.

#2 - don't worry about buying coordinating items for the boys! - this is a biggie for me, I think it's SO cute to dress them similarly, but Ashton looks better in the casual stuff I think and Holden looks better in the slightly dressier/preppy look.

#3 - buy OUTFITS, not single items

#4 - do NOT buy on a whim. Sit and think about it overnight and then buy it if I must!

[suribear]

How funny. Looks like we all have similar resolutions IRT this!

DD is five and I just "got it" a few months ago, so you're doing well!

Mine are:

1. Only buy stuff I LOVE from brands with good return policies, and return the things I won't use. I find that I want to dress my kids in the stuff I love, but since they have so many darn clothes, I have to "make time" for the other stuff. How nuts is that??

2. Don't buy random things just because they're on sale. Think hard about how they'll fit into the existing wardrobe. Like others, we have items (mainly shirts and leggings) that were hardly worn, while others get a regular workout.

3. Use the good stuff more often. Don't "save it" for a special day. By the time I use them, half the season is gone!

I will continue to buy ahead(DD has been predictable thus far) but only from brands that allow returns. I have some things I bought ahead for DS, but his growth curve slowed down a LOT and now I can't use them nor return them.

Kris

[supersparkee]

Whew - I have been absent from the boards for a while. I had a very busy December which included International Travel (and a massive sinus infection - yuck). But now I'm back! And what a great re-first post.

A lot of my resolutions overlap others (especially Robyn's) but I'm listing them all for completeness. Here goes...

1. First and foremost - DON'T BUY IT JUST BECAUSE IT IS A GOOD DEAL/ON SALE!!! As a total bargain shopper, this is my biggest problem (and not just for DD's clothes but for myself as well). This is going to be the hardest resolution for me to follow.

2. Don't get too many outfits from a single line so it won't become too "tired" too quickly. Plus, there will always be another cute line to drool over.

3. Only buy complete outfits - no "singles". I made this mistake last year by buying ahead some single items and drove myself crazy this year trying to find things to match them!

4. Don't buy too much ahead. I will still get a couple of outfits a season or two ahead but not more than that. And only buy items that can be returned OR can be resold for at least the same price paid (I'll just be happy to break even :) ).

5. And last - try new lines that can be bought IN PERSON. I may take Heidi's suggestion and take another look at Baby Lulu, which I am sure I can find in some local stores. As much as I love Naartjie (and LOVE is definitely the word to use), not being able to see the items in person before buying is frustrating. And exchanges are near impossible - and expensive, when you factor in all those shipping charges. Speaking of local, does anyone have an update on a possible Hanna store in the Atlanta area ;)

Now let's see if I can stick to these resolutions...

[parkersmama]

Great idea!!

Here are mine:

1. Continue to improve on my "only buy what I LOVE" policy. I tried to stick to this but have found that I've strayed a bit as the winter went on.

2. Stick to buying only one or two outifts per line, especially from Gymbo. I have a tendancy to want several outfits but then I don't like them after a while because they are all so similar. I still buy several sometimes from Naartjie but at least they are in different colors. :)

3. Do NOT buy ahead, at least in any substantial quantity. So far I haven't bought anything at the winter sales for next fall/winter and I'm fine with that. The only place that I would really consider buying ahead from is Hanna and the pieces I liked didn't go on that good a sale. I only have about 5 spring/summer outfits for this year that were bought last year and that's good for me. I always love the new stuff and can't resist despite the closet full of pre-boughts. LOL!

4. Really consider the "wearability" of the items I'm buying. For example, last summer I bought AG two outfits from Amanda Remembered (at their warehouse sale) that were so cute...sleeveless tops with bloomers...but I rarely put them on her because she didn't seem comfortable in them and the elastic at the legs made the bloomers ride up.

5. Dress her in dresses more frequently. I sometimes seem to reserve dresses for Sundays but I really want her to wear them more during the week.


I've done pretty good lately about avoiding all the sale gimmick stuff. I buy what I want when I think the price is reasonable and then try not to worry about it. I've quit going back to Gymbo for PAs unless I'm already headed there because inevitably I end up buying more just because I'm in the store!

[khakismom]

Oooohhh, good thread Robyn!

Mine are definitely the same as all the PPs. I will strongly echo Kris' (and in fact, use hers verbatim for the first two):

*Don't buy random things just because they're on sale. I have this habit with Hanna, trolling the sale page just to see what's on sale, ready to buy something, anything, just because it's Hanna and it's on sale, when I've already bought all the things I've loved.

*Use the good stuff more often. Don't "save it" for a special day. I paid for it, it should be worn! I need to not be afraid that they'll stain it at school and then I can't resell it. I should look at resale as a perk, not a requirement.

*Stick to the roster and don't overbuy. I've gotten so much better at buying what I love, but there are still too many clothes in the closet.

*Quality, not quantity! Quit buying random stuff at Target or ON or even Gymbo that I think is passably cute. I could pool all that money together and instead of getting 4 outfits at Target, get 1 fabulous outfit at Hanna. (Of course, that means sticking with the second resolution and wearing it and not saving it ;).)

[jubilee]

Dress my son in his cute stuff more often. I tend to put him in his Gymbo sweats and t-shirts every day. He still looks good, but then he never wears the cute sweaters and such. Saving everything for a "special occassion" is dumb- I don't have many special occassions a year.

And, the biggest one is donate a bunch of his used clothing to the Ukraine orphanages. The kids there will enjoy the clothing and it will a nice tribute to the two boys Neve just adopted. (There is a recent thread in the Lounge, if you too want to help this project)

[LoveMyBabyBeans]

Fun thread!!

I pretty much agree with everything that everyone has said. LOL How's that for getting off easy? My overall goal is to simply be smarter about what I spend OUR family money on. We had such a great time on our family ski trip and I thought about how I'd love to have even more family experiences like that...but it takes MONEY. I still want to have fun dressing the kids up, but I want to be super smart about it.

[parkersmama]

"I need to not be afraid that they'll stain it at school and then I can't resell it. I should look at resale as a perk, not a requirement."

ITA, Maureen! I need to do that, too. Whenever something gets a stain, I am panicky! LOL! I need to loosen up and let them wear their clothing and then resale what's resellable and not have any regrets.

[AvasMama]

Kris,
That is such a great point about only buying ahead from stores with good return policies! Most of what I have bought ahead is J&J and Hanna and I do save all my receipts until I am positive I won't need to return something.

Robyn & Ava

[AvasMama]

I totally agree on using the good stuff more often. I dress Ava in whatever strikes me on that day even if we have no plans. It's fun and I get a lot of happiness from seeing her in the cute outfits.

And you're right about resale being a "perk"! We should buy our kids' clothes to be worn by OUR kids, not someone else's! ;)

Robyn & Ava

[AvasMama]

Kerry,
This is a smart one, too, and it is DH's and my only resolution for each other. We are moving back to our old house, which is MUCH smaller than the one we live in now, and drastically downsizing. We will be forced to be very careful about what we buy since we won't have room for a lot. We plan to put that extra money toward experiences that matter to us -- travel, classes, private school for Ava -- and eventually a bigger house if we decide to have another baby!

Robyn & Ava