what do you kids wear to school, and how much do you spend?

[AnnieW625]

Thursday morning fun. A couple of posts in the Kid Wear forum got me thinking about this. DD1 goes to Catholic school and wears uniforms. She has only done this for one year, but I still feel so far removed and feel like I would be clueless at buying school clothes, esp. when lots of non tween stuff is super expensive. I know if she went to a free dress public school I probably spend more than that. I find uniform shopping soo stress free and easy to plan for.

Last year I spent $350 on uniforms that will get reworn by DD2, and DD1 can still wear her sweater, her jacket, and the blue coulottes she wore last year (for at least the first month or so unless she grows outward a lot). I don't know what I am spending with DD1 yet for this year because I need to have her sized again. I picked up 6 jumpers and 3 or 4 shirts, and a pair of plaid shorts at the uniform exchange last fall in a 6 or a 6x, but I think they run kind of big so I am not sure if we will need more. I might get another pair or two of plaid shorts and some polo shirts, which are optional. The inconsistency of the uniform sizing is kind of annoying, but at least the uniforms are very well made, and some of the stuff we got at the uniform exchange looks like it is brand new.

I spent $125 on shoes (two pairs of Keds, two pairs of New Balance, and a pair of Pedipeds). I will most likely have to buy another pair of New Balance, and either a pair of Pedipeds, Stride Rite, or Primigis, depending what is on sale in late August. One pair of Keds barely got worn, and the other are still in great shape for DD2.

[rlu]

DS is public school, free dress. I don't really track how much we spend on clothes, not much he's pretty much a jeans and t-shirt kid, but he goes through shoes every three months so there's $200 right there. If I could find wide enough shoes at Payless we'd buy his shoes there and save since StrideRite's quality either sucks or DS is especially hard on shoes.

[new_mommy25]

DS needs clothes from a specific store. His school has a used uniform sale each year where everything is $1, max 8 pieces. I usually try to grab shorts and pants since they are in better condition but I can usually find a couple shirts in good condition too. Then I buy the rest of his stuff at the uniforms store where I think the pieces are about $22-25 each. I only buy one pair of shoes because he needs to wear athletic shoes daily. However last year I bought shoes 3 times because he kept wore them out or they got too small.

I spend more on DD. She is in public and I like to buy her clothes. I shop year round at sales. She has a TON of shoes. Couple different sneakers, sandals, crocs etc.

I voted 301-500 for both kids but that's just a guess. I don't track.

[klwa]

DS is public school, no uniforms. I put that I spent < $300, which is probably true, but mainly because DS gets 10,000,000 hand me downs form his older cousins. (SIL got mad at me the last time she brougth 4 BIG moving boxes to my dad's house for me to go through & I culled out about 0.5 boxes worth & that was more clothing than he needed.) DD gets tons of hand me downs as well. So, I splurge on shoes, PJ's, & underwear. Every so often I'll buy an outfit or two for them.

[new_mommy25]

DS is public school, free dress. I don't really track how much we spend on clothes, not much he's pretty much a jeans and t-shirt kid, but he goes through shoes every three months so there's $200 right there. If I could find wide enough shoes at Payless we'd buy his shoes there and save since StrideRite's quality either sucks or DS is especially hard on shoes.

I have tried just about every brand for DS. Stride Rite, Geox, Merrrels, Skechers, Tsukohoshi, New Balance, Nike, Fila, and more. No matter what, no matter what the shoe cost, he always gets a hole by the toe! It's so frustrating. This year he picked out a pair of Reebok Zigs from the nordstrom anniversary catalog so we will see how that brand holds up. At this point I don't have much hope.

[egoldber]

Older DD is in public with free dress.

I voted $300-$500, but I don't really track. She can wear some things for several years and we get some hand me downs from a neighbor. But if she has a foot growth spurt and needs 3-4 pairs of new shoes, that can be $150-$200 right there. By the time we round things out with some new pants and a couple nice things for specific events (chorus concerts, piano recitals, etc.) It must be close to $500. But never all at once. We buy things as we need them.

Younger DD wears almost exclusively older DD's clothes hand me downs except for shoes. I do buy her some new things of course, and we need to buy her more as she gets older and the things older DD has leftover are more worn because she wore them longer.

[knaidel]

My son goes to private school. No uniform, but a dress code-- no jeans, no shirts with characters or logos on them. Most boys wear striped polo shirts (I have no idea why) and khaki or navy twill pants. He likes to wear new balance sneakers, but Tukoshimo (sp?) and Geox are also popular. At pickup, I usually see a large variety of striped polos from Childrens Place.... I guess I spend a bit more than $300. The shoes really add up. the clothes can be can be bought really cheaply at Old Navy or Kohls, but shoes is much harder to find good deals on.

[AnnieW625]

.....If I could find wide enough shoes at Payless we'd buy his shoes there and save since StrideRite's quality either sucks or DS is especially hard on shoes.

Check out New Balance, besides one pair of Stride Rite athletic shoes, which were horrible quality it is all she has ever worn since she turned 2. We get a good 6 months to a year out of the shoes and I don't think DD1 is that gentle with her shoes either.


The shoes really add up.

Agree with this. Thankfully the Keds were $40 total, the Pedipeds were found on clearance at a local childrens shop for $15 in 2010, so the two pairs of New Balance were bought new, but the first were a wide, but by the middle of the school year DD1 didn't need a wide:) so a new pair of shoes was needed.

[hillview]

we are private school. I don't totally keep track of what the kids clothing costs. Shoes alone are expensive. It also depends on what people need.

DS2 has never had a new coat, winter boots or rain boots; DS1 needs a new coat every 2 years and we size up in boots when needed.

I stock up on sales -- so I have Land's End Climber pants for both boys for this coming fall/winter in their sizes (lined and unlined) as I got them at the end of last year on sale with a big discount. DS2 rarely gets new shirts but we do get him occasional sports shirts from Target and most recently spent about $75 on compression shirts and shorts at Target to help with his sensory issues.

I expect I spend over 500 on DS1 if I include snow pants, a year when we need a new winter coat and boots and he changes sizes in HA LJ (which all happened last year). I spend less on DS2. We get 0 hand me downs. 0. Which is too bad.

[Kindra178]

We probably spend more than $500 for DS1 for public school clothes. Jackets, coats, shoes all add up. We have been able to pass down shirts for the most part, as well as coats and jackets, but have not had much luck passing down pants due to the holes problem. Plus, I have very different sized twins so by the time the little twin might see a t shirt, it is most likely stained or ripped or both. He's also extremely tiny and where DS1 was rather chubby when he wore those sizes, so the proportions are all off.

ETA:

I also clothe my nephew, who is a year younger than the twins but about the same size as my little twin.

[crl]

I don't track it but I am sure we spent over $500 for clothes for ds this past year. He goes to public school and has no uniform. But we went through three sets of pants: first set he wore through the knees, second set he outgrew. And he usually has a couple of pairs of shoes at about $50 each and he wore through those mid-year so that's a couple hundred right there. Add in socks and t-shirts and jackets. Even shopping sales, I am sure we went over $500.

Catherine

[maestramommy]

Public school here and free dress every day. Though they do ask kids wear sneakers on PE day. I don't keep super close track of what I spend for the kids each year for shoes and clothes, but it isn't anywhere near $300 total. I don't buy new clothes if they haven't outgrown the old ones, and the younger two in particular I've almost stopped buying them anything because they never seem to want to wear anything besides the same 2-3 outfits.

Wanted to add I do spend more on Laurel's shoes because of her wide feet. I was happy to find that Payless carries wide sneakers so now I don't have to spend $$$ at Stride Rite, but I'm stumped as to dress shoes and sandals. This summer she is wearing SKR sandals I got on sale for $35 and it totally made me cringe. They're a little big so I'm crossing my fingers she can have them for another season.

[KpbS]

DS1 is now at a private school where they have a uniform/dress code of solid polo shirts (any color) and tan/khaki pants or shorts. They must wear sturdy tennis shoes. DS1 is actually very easy on his clothes and his feet grow very slowly so we don't need to buy a lot for him (esp. now b/c of the uniform everyday) and don't have a lot to replace. He does need an extra dedicated pair of tennis shoes for PE that they keep at school. I LOVE the Izod line of uniform shorts and pants (they are super strong) and I buy polo shirts when I find them on sale at LE or Target.

[kijip]

T goes to classes 2 days a week at a center for homeschooling families. He wears jeans or chinos and a shirt plus often a cardigan or hoodie and sandals everyday unless I make him wear shoes instead, school or not. Most shirts are thrift or garage or rummage sale for $1 with a few on sale items. He gets about 4-5 pairs of pants a year usually from the Gap or Lands End and a few pairs of shorts. For shoes each year he gets 1-2 pairs or so of Keen sneakers/laceups, 1-2 pairs of Keen sandals and 1 pair of crocs and 1 pair of dress shoes and if needed, a pair of rain boots. This year he will be getting hiking boots for the first time because we are taking him backpacking and because he will have more scout hiking. We don't spend much on his clothes. Easily we spend more on shoes than anything else since even with a sale, keens are $30 and pants average $15 on sale.

[gatorsmom]

My 4 will be in private school this year. We have to buy our uniforms from a specific store. Last year I spent about $600 on the older 2 boys' uniforms. This year I'm not sure since Sisi will need an entire wardrobe. But I think that Greenbean and Cha Cha can wear handmedowns. And because Gator put on some weight last year, I bought his pants a couple sizes bigger last year and just hemmed the legs. He's thinned out and grown since then so I think I'll be able to simply let the hem down.

The school sponsors a fitting session each summer where reps from the store bring racks of sizes to try on. If you order everything then, the shipping is free and there is a 10% discount. The school also has a closet of used clothes we can buy from other parents which is reallly nice. I go in with a list of what I need and what I already have. Once I buy their clothes during the summer, I don't have to buy anything else during the year.

My kids really don't have many shoes. They get new gym shoes (from Target), winter boots (usually handmedowns from LE and garage sales), and sandals each summer. Oh, and flipflops for swim lessons. They have to wear black dress shoes as part of their uniform. That's what they wear to church and for holidays. Sisi sometimes gets dress-up flats. So, I really don't spend much on shoes.

[randomkid]

DD goes to private school and has to wear uniforms. I voted specific uniform from a variety of stores, but really we have 3 options - a uniform store, Land's End, or the used uniform sales at school. When DD started K, I bought most of her stuff at a used uniform sale and only had to buy a few items new. Then, someone gave me a huge bag of hand me downs that had a hoodie, long sleeve polos, etc. It was awesome! I still have some of the pieces in our hand me down box of clothing items that don't fit yet.

The only clothes I bought new last year were a sweater, 3 SS polos (now we have the option of feminine fit polos which look much better on DD) and 2 polo dresses. I bought the sweater because DH lost the *brand new* hoodie that was in the hand me downs and the other pieces were new options so not available at the used sale. As OP said, the uniforms are of such good quality that I have found most everything we need at the used sale and it still looks new. This year, I was able to find feminine fit polos in a size larger. I go to every sale and pick up a couple of items at a time when I can find stuff that looks good. Prices at the sales range from $5 to $12. I don't think I have to buy anything for fall - we are already set!

Not sure how much I've spent in shoes, but I buy New Balance at Rack Room Shoes when they have buy 1 get 1 50% off, and use a $10 off coupon with it.

I also find uniform shopping to be relatively stress free and am so glad DD wears uniforms to school. She is so particular about her clothes and takes FOREVER to pick out outfits for, of all things, summer camps! Of course, maybe she's that way because she wears uniforms to school.

[rachelh]

DD’s school only requires the children to wear uniforms beginning in first grade so this coming school year will be her first wearing uniforms and I cannot be more excited. I hated having to worry the night before that she had something clean to wear and then those petty early morning fights with her about what she was wearing.

I voted that she can only wear a uniform from a specific store and that we spend between $301 and $500 for her. IIRC, I paid just under $250 for her uniforms which included two skirts, a jumper, 4 button down shirts (in 2 different colors) and 2 polo shirts. I anticipate having to buy her two pairs of shoes as well.

I don’t know what is typical to spend on uniforms but I have heard other parents in the school complaining that they are too expensive. I never really kept track of how much I spent on regular school clothes before but I cannot imagine it would be less than the uniforms.

[AnnieW625]

My kids really don't have many shoes. They get new gym shoes (from Target), winter boots (usually handmedowns from LE and garage sales), and sandals each summer. Oh, and flipflops for swim lessons. They have to wear black dress shoes as part of their uniform. That's what they wear to church and for holidays. Sisi sometimes gets dress-up flats. So, I really don't spend much on shoes.

This is us too, and we really don't even need winter boots like you do. DD1 wore her winter boots last fall and we bought them 18 mos. ago. DD2 did not get winter boots. Hoping for another year, but that may not happen. They automatically get a nice pair of sandals (this year they got Saltwaters), a pair of sneakers (New Balance for DD1, and this year DD2 got a pair of Keens), and a pair of black Mary Janes. DD2 actually has a pair of white fisherman sandals also that I got from the Stride Rite BOGO sale in April and I wasn't planning on buying her anymore sandals, but the darn hot pink Saltwaters are adorable on her and they are her favorites. I also usually do a pair of Crocs, but DD1's still fit from last year, and DD2 is between sizes so we decided to do the Keens for her instead and also not get her a pair of New Balance. I am hoping DD1's shoes will fit her once she hits a size 7, but I am not crossing my fingers as DD1 had a wider foot at that age so I think I am stuck buying DD2 new shoes for the time being, but oh well she needs zero clothes thanks to hand me downs.

[queenmama]

Private school, no uniforms. Dress code for boys from 1st grade is tucked collared shirts (polos are 99% of Henry's wardrobe) in any colors or prints, pants of any kind/color except blue denim. Pullover sweaters are allowed in winter, with or w/o collars under. They're lenient on tucking with the boys up til about 3rd grade. And shorts are allowed until middle school (6th and up), which is beyond ridiculous considering how hot it gets, and girls are allowed to wear skirts/dresses to keep cool. :mad:
ETA: two Fridays per month are spirit days so they wear a school t-shirt or colors and blue jeans are allowed.

Up until this past year, all of his clothes came from ON. They're cheap and he's never been hard on his stuff so he outgrows it before it wears out. We added in some shirts from AE and will probably do more of that brand from now on. I prefer the cut of their shirts on him (he's tall/slim) and the collars on their polos don't get all jacked like ON's. We might branch out with other brands, too. We got Crazy 8 last year and we also have Aeropostale, both of which are pretty cheap. The only Hollister or A&F we buy comes from TJ maxx and the like.

We buy clothes and shoes as needed, no real "back to school" shopping spree. I just look at what he has that fits and supplement. I like to have 6-8 pants and at least 10 shirts. He usually has 2-3 shoes. So maybe around $500? Slightly more, perhaps, so I voted thus.

Sent from the HTC Vivid 4G LTE via Tapatalk 2

[KrisM]

Public school, free dress.

I don't spend a lot. I mainly shop thrift stores and mom2mom sales for them all.

DS1 gets a lot of hand-me-downs still. I save a lot of those for DS2. Plus, DS1 wears a lot for 2 years now. Winter coats last a couple years, so if I get a good sale on something, the average cost/year is lower still. DD doesn't get hand-me-downs. They each get a couple new things each season, but not too much, really.

[hellokitty]

I wish we had uniforms at our public school. I would say I spend maybe about $200 a yr for just clothes (not including outerwear and shoes). I don't really keep track. However, with 3 boys, we get a lot of wear out of the clothes, so I don't feel as strict about a clothing budget.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Ds1's school is uniform that can be bought anywhere. We could be real cheap and shop the school's used uniform sale. Anyone can shop it (you dont have to trade in to participate). Things are all less than $3 and only good quality in terms of condition. It's pretty sweet.

[ellies mom]

I don't really track either. And I've basically stopped buying a bunch of clothes at the start of the school year. We buy new shoes, a few pair of long pants and maybe 2-3 new outfits but it is too hard to gauge growth spurts and child's preferences for the entire school year. So I just buy what we need as we need it.

[MamaMolly]

Private school, uniform from just one store. Last year I spent $250 on her school uniforms of 4 dresses, 4 shorts for under her dress, 2 PE shirts and 2 PE shorts.

I did not vote for how much I spend on clothes because I don't really keep track of what I spend for non school uniform clothes.

Her school shoes last year were a great pair of Umis for class and Payless sneakers (princess!) for PE. I got the Umis for less than $30 at Marshalls.

This year she'll probably need new dresses and a couple more PE shirts.

[pastrygirl]

I have no idea. I buy for them year-round and never keep track. That's changing right now, though! I'm going to make a plan and budget for fall clothes.

The only requirement they have is comfy gym clothes on gym day. Other than that, they can wear anything.

[lalasmama]

DD's a public schooler with free dress. I don't keep track of how much I spend on her school clothes, and, honestly, a lot of people kick in to help out. I'd guess $400 throughout the year, maybe.... DD also gets a fair amount of hand me downs from her cousin.

This year, I'll need to buy her 2-3 pairs of jeans (hopefully on sale at TCP or JCP, so about $45), new shoes (maybe $40), and that's about it. My sister brought a HUGE bunch of clothes that DN outgrew, including a TON of casual but cute shirts. I'm sure DD's birth mom will also buy her a new shirt or two, as is her typical.

[kozachka]

I voted "we don't keep track of how much much we spend on clothes and shoes for our public school child", because I did not quite know how to vote. We spent ~$200 in 2010 and ~$350 in 2011. DS tends to get couple years worth of wear out of a lot of clothing items, particularly outerwear, hence the difference, I guess. We already spent ~$130-$140 this year, and I am not sure how up-to-date my Quicken data entry is, so we'd probably spend $300 this year, too. I already bought DS' favorite Geoxx sneakers and sandals in the next size or two.

Frankly speaking, I don't know how we could be spending much less than that without me spending much more time and effort on this, which is not really an option since I work full time. We buy limited number of quality items on as needed basis, with the only exception being shoes since DS wears just one brand, so I stock up whenever I see a good sale for it(typically 50% off courtesy of MyHabit.com, so $35-$40 per pair) but I don't mind since he wears at the most 2 pairs of shoes at the same time - sneakers and sandals in summer. DS gets a lot of free s/s t-shirts and wears shorts for 2-3 and tops for 2 years. I buy everything on sale. Plus grandma buys few things from LE. Based on posts in LE/Boden/Hanna sales threads, we are buying much less than others, but somehow it is not coming through in this thread. I wonder what I am missing.

[crl]

. Based on posts in LE/Boden/Hanna sales threads, we are buying much less than others, but somehow it is not coming through in this thread. I wonder what I am missing.

I know, I feel that way too. We get a couple of years out of outerwear, but ds goes through the knees of even things like LE climber pants in less than a year, plus he outgrows things and they have to be replaced. I can't imagine getting two years of wear out of pants on him. I buy on sale and mostly things from gap and LE, so mid-price range brands. I have never had any luck buying used clothes for him. The thrift stores near me have no children's clothes or one rack for all sizes, infant through teenager. Doesn't seem worth the time to look there. The nearest consignment store has had no pants that fit (ds needs slims) and shirts that look quite worn and are going for $4-5. I can get LE on sale new for that sometimes. I guess there is better selection elsewhere.

(I had great luck getting used clothes for dd up to 2Ts but then the quality and availability seemed to really taper off.)

Catherine

[rlu]

Frankly speaking, I don't know how we could be spending much less than that without me spending much more time and effort on this, which is not really an option since I work full time.
I buy everything on sale. Based on posts in LE/Boden/Hanna sales threads, we are buying much less than others, but somehow it is not coming through in this thread. I wonder what I am missing.
cut a few lines from the quote

we're in the same boat. The shoes are a huge piece of our clothing budget and the other is jeans for DS. MIL buys him an outfit each year that works for Easter and Christmas (usually) so we only have to buy him jeans but the kid is really hard on the knees and grass stains gravitate to him so we need to wash them after one wear. We couldn't get away with just 3 pairs as I'd be doing a jeans load every 3 days and that's just not practical. We buy 7 pairs of jeans at the beginning of school and hope they make it through the year. We were buying the toughskins reinforced knee from Sears but they've dropped that line so now we had to jump up to Lee double knee (or whatever they are called) which are $25. I'm really hoping they have good sales. I've also bought a cheap pair of jeans from Walmart and plan to do an iron-on patch inside the knees and see how that holds up as it is much more affordable.

Shirts (usually Target or Walmart) he can wear two or so years so we're pretty good there, it's the shoes and jeans that are killing us. He rarely wears shorts as he tears up his knees if he does.

[nfowife]

I spend between $3-500 for each kid for school clothes and shoes. They need warm weather clothes and then cold weather clothes during the school year. I get the majority of their clothes at consignment sales and shoes as well, and I supplement those with clothes I find on sale, mostly at Kohl's.

[MamaKath]

For my dc returning to private/parochial it will be about500 for back to school clothes and shoes. For my homeschooled dc, costs will be closer to 300, mostly shoes and pants as he is tall with big feet and growing everyday!!!

[daniele_ut]

DS attends private school and uniforms (except socks and shoes) have to come from Dennis Uniforms. Last year I spent $300ish with the faculty discount and at the uniform swap sale and then bought a pair of all black leather Nikes on sale for $25 and a pair of LE mocs on sale for $20 and he wore them all year. I also spent roughly $15 on black socks at Target.

I complained a bit about the costs of the uniforms when DS transfered to this school last year, but I have to say that everything I bought at Dennis held up REALLY well. He didn't end up with a single hole in his pants and all of the clothes can get handed down or resold (dd will have to wear jumpers next year). The quality was much better than the stuff we bought at Target when he was wearing uniforms at a different school in kindergarten.

[megs4413]

My kids will be wearing uniforms for the first time this year. I'm really excited about it, actually.

Normally, clothes shopping for them is a bit of a hobby of mine. I shop as smartly as I can (though I do not shop bargain brands) to try to get good prices for high quality stuff, then I take extremely good care of the clothes and resell 90% of it after the kids grow out of it. Usually I make back about 70% of my total cost. It's time consuming, though, so I don't really recommend it if you don't have the time.

I no longer have the time to resell every single thing because I started working this past spring, so the uniforms are a welcome way to downsize my clothing budget.

Last year, I would say that I spent right around $300 for back to school for DD. I buy right around that same amount each season (so BTS, Winter, Spring, Summer) which would be about $1200/yr for DD alone in all of last year. My DS' total clothing budget was probably only about $800, but he wasn't in school yet.

THIS year, we just completed our BTS uniform shopping (has to be from a certain store) and it was just over $350 for BOTH kids. That total will go up because I still have to buy shoes, so I expect that we will spend $450 for both total. We will have to buy another set of winter-ready uniforms, but it won't be nearly as expensive and I won't buy a separate spring wardrobe this year, just divide wardrobes into summer/winter using some of what we already have and supplementing. Normally, Each child has at least 20 outfits for any given season, but I hope to whittle that down to 10 outfits/season for each child this year.