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SoCalMommy
08-16-2012, 02:41 AM
We are graduating from month sizing to toddler sizing. And unfortunately running out of our hand me downs, so it is time to start shopping!

DD is 21 months, but on the tall side (at least 34" right now) so we have been wearing 2T in most brands for a few months now. How do you shop ahead? I like shopping clearance and sales (online and in stores) if I can, but don't know if I should buy that far ahead or not?

We live in So. California, so we don't have true seasons which means I always need short sleeves and lighter weight materials through most of the year.

Do most kids tend to stick with one size (for example 2T) for a while longer than baby sizing? It seems my DD is still growing fast....I thought they were supposed to slow down a bit around this age. She has been in the 85% in height this year, but was always in the 50-60% during her first year. How do you suggest I plan for clothing?

WatchingThemGrow
08-16-2012, 06:58 AM
What has worked for us is to find a couple brands that fit your DC's body type and try to stick to those couple brands. It works in terms of sizing consistency because someone's 2T may be equal to someone else's 3T. It also works to limit brands so colors/patterns coordinate a little bit - like Naartjie pants don't jive with a top from Gymboree. At that age, we mostly wore "sets" that I bought 2nd hand from Craigslist or consignment sales. I did buy ahead if it was something I really liked, and nothing was ever wasted once we were past the "months" sizing. For ease of pottying, we do all elastic waist pants, usually leggings/bike shorts/capris for DD, elastic waist bottoms for boys. My DD wore tons of Hanna dresses from 2T(90) on, both winter and summer.

There are GOBS of cute clothes at consignment sales for the sizes you describe. I found it helpful to volunteer at those and shop first for the best selection, then I only had to buy a small handful of items new (on sale). When they get older, the selection of used stuff is less and that's when I end up buying more "new" clothing for them. Another thing that I learned here is to do a clothing roster to keep track of what we have in each category as I buy so things can be put away. Without a roster, many tend to overbuy. We try to limit items to 10 daily outfits, 3-4 church outfits and 1 special occasion outfit. Also, shoes can be wasteful. I *try* to get an everyday pair, plus a dressy pair. I buy all the extra stuff like pool/water shoes, rainboots, crocs in gender neutral colors so they can be passed down. Oh, I also buy all HA long johns/short johns in gender neutral colors - 4 per season/size, plus their carefree jeans and fleeces, hoodies, etc. so they can be handed down.

BabyBearsMom
08-16-2012, 09:24 AM
I don't buy ahead. I've been burned too many times. It isn't a good sale/deal if you end up not being able to use the clothes. My strategy is to buy inexpensive basics at Target and Carters, and then buy a few cute pieces that are more special at Gymbo, Hanna and Next Direct.

crl
08-16-2012, 09:25 AM
I find it helpful to pick a color scheme and stick to it. That way stuff matches up better. So for dd, I am doing navy as a neutral and red, blue and green for colors. This way navy shoes always work and all the tops go with the navy bottoms and so on.

I also find it helpful to set mental price limits for stuff I am buying ahead. For me it's $10 for pants or dresses and $5 for shirts or leggings.

I also find it helpful to keep a rough inventory. I do a list and stick it on the top of the clothes. That way when I see a great sale online I can check the list and see what we are short on, if anything.

Storage space can be a limitation. And at some point your toddler (and mine) will start to have opinions on clothes. So I have started pretty much only buying one size ahead now that mine is two.

As far as how long a size lasts, that varies widely in my experience. Older ds wore 2Ts for about a month. Sigh. Dd has been in 2T pants for several months now, but has gone up a shirt/dress size in that time. Ds never got a full year out of a size until he hit size 4. We will see with dd.

Catherine

catsnkid
08-16-2012, 10:44 AM
It really depends on your kid. My son is 3 and still fits some 18 month pants, but usually 24 months or 2 T, but wears size 2 to 4 on top depending on size. He takes after his father with short legs and larger top, and he is short. Pajamas seem to be spot on, with age. still have him in some 2's but mostly 3's and even some 4's. Cotton runs small so if your DC is large I would buy on the large side.

catsnkid
08-16-2012, 10:50 AM
duplicate post, sorry

MamaMolly
08-16-2012, 11:51 AM
So much is kid dependent, too. Lula had a lot of really cute 4T shorts sets (we are in a year round hot climate) and decided she wanted to wear knits. Now that she is almost 6 she only wants to wear dresses. She is also at the age where it is just easier and cheaper to take her shopping because she has surprisingly strong tastes that occasionally differ from mine. She can put together an outfit I think is going to look insane and it is really cute once on her.

Dolly strongly prefers twirly (tiered) dresses, but I can usually convince her to put on leggings or shorts once or twice a week. She also pretty much skipped size 2T, going from 18-24 month sizes right into 3T. She's a beast!

AnnieW625
08-16-2012, 02:21 PM
I am in So Cal as well. I agree that a lot of it is kid dependent as well, but thankfully DD2isn't too picky yet. I have a lot of hand me downs from DD1.

A lot of what fits IMHO has to do with the brand. Both of my girls got lots of wear out of Gymboree 18-24 and 2T clothes from around the time they were 18 mos. old until around 2/1/2. Hanna Andersson for us also gave us a good year or so of wear in their 80 size (sizing based in height, but equivalent to a 18-24/2T), but by the time both of them were about 35" tall they were wearing size 90 (equivalent to a 3T) and DD1 even wore some of those 90 sized items until she was almost 4 like the old loose short johns, some lace trimmed leggings, and even a few dresses. She wore a size 100 for most things except tops (and dresses I started buying early because I was unsure of fit) until last fall when she was 5/1/2. She still wears a 100 in a few of their twirl dresses (that I have put in the dryer numerous times, they just ran big). She also wore her 90 Hanna fleece lined jacket for two winters (perfect jacket for this area as well). I buy them sometime later on in the year during the Hanna outlet winter sale for about $40.

We have had to size up most of the time in the Target brands of clothes for both of my girls, except I haven't needed to size up for DD1 in the last year or so as the clothes are running true to size.

Some people complain that Carters runs small, but for both of my girls it runs TTS, but they are slim and tall. I think it is easier to gauge size wise vs. TCP or Target Brands and it isn't that much more money esp. with sales.

I tend to buy things with the exception of the long sleeve Hanna playdresses/leggings that can be worn all year around. We also always have numerous hoody sweatshirts on hand because you never know when you might need one. DDs also have light rain jackets. DD1's is from Lands End and DD2's is from Target's Osh Kosh line. DD2's is a 18 mos. and it runs pretty big. I'll probably get her a 3 this year from LLB, Osh Kosh Target, or Lands End.

brgnmom
08-16-2012, 06:51 PM
I don't buy ahead anymore because my dd has outgrown items that she hasn't even worn. She was 34 inches at her 18month appointment, and can fit into a wide variety of sizes depending on the brand. My mom bought her size 4 and size 6 leggings from osh kosh, and to my disbelief, dd can fit into them lengthwise although there is a gap in the waistline. So I just end up shopping for what dd's current wardrobe needs are versus trying to figure out what she will wear x months from now.

Snow mom
08-16-2012, 07:56 PM
My DD is 3.5 and I just stopped buying ahead for her (although I still have quite a stash in size 4 and a bit that's bigger.) I was lucky in that she went through 2t and 3t at those approximate ages. So she moved to 2t when it started getting cold a month or so before her 2nd birthday and 3t for her winter clothes before her 3rd birthday. She can still wear her 3t summer clothes but will need 4t when we go to long sleeves and pants. We also live in a climate where it is warm to hot most of the year so don't deal a ton with seasons, although a bit more than in SoCal.

I've stopped buying ahead because (1) I've found my own taste, as well as DDs, has been changing, (2) buying ahead led to buying way more clothing than we needed, (3) this summer DD had at least half a dozen outfits that we never took the tags off of, and (4) I'm anticipating her demands will only get stronger as she moves toward elementary school age. Another problem I've started to run into is split sizing where I'll have a set but she actually needs different sizes for top and bottom. I sell both her nicer used clothes and some unused clothes on ebay but it's a huge pain and while it helps recoup the cost, I'd prefer that I hadn't bought the extra clothes to begin with.

So what I'd advise is there is really no way to know how any particular child will grow through clothes. I would be careful about the volume of clothes you buy--it can get out of hand when you have a full year to stock up on the next size. And have a plan for how you are going to recoup costs if she grows through a size more quickly than anticipated, starts expressing preferences, or things don't work out for other reasons.

zag95
08-17-2012, 01:10 AM
DD is 4.5 now, and wearing a size 5.

I tend to buy ahead, only sticking to certain brands because I know how they fit DD. I buy ahead on Hanna Andersson, and a very little on Gymbo and Carters. With HA stuff, I have DD look at it with me- and some of the things are more basic- like hoodies, dresses, etc.

I have definitely slowed down on buying because I don't want to overbuy- in the past 6-9 mos DD totally wouldn't wear many leggings, etc- she was more into skirts and dresses.

I inventory what clothing I have and what I need- and use that sheet when I shop so I don't overspend or get duplicates or unnecessary items. That has really helped.

We live in OR so our climate is pretty temperate- I usually get short sleeved things and layer with a sweater/sweatshirt, if weather is cooler.

Simon
08-19-2012, 01:07 PM
I am still buying ahead for Ds1 who is entering size 7 this winter. He is in a 6 now and will move into 7s this winter. I have up to size 8 waiting for him.

I think it really pays to buy ahead because after about 24month/2T, my kids have spent nearly a year in each size. So, even though we are a 4 season climate, things worked out.

I stick to basics like jeans, pants in navy, black and khaki, solid color long or short sleeve tees, etc. We have saved a lot of $$ this way and I am pretty much never running out to buy something last minute at full price because of a growth spurt or special t-shirt day at school.