School Clothes Shopping for 3 boys....

**brenda67** · 07-29-2009, 06:45 PM

I'm trying not to get upset for spending $800.00 so far ...my boys ages are 16,14 and 12... I probably have to spend another $200.00 to have everything that I havnt bought already like school supply's, socks and a couple more shirts for my 16yr old...I so wish that all schools had a mandatory uniform dress code so I wouldn't be hearing from 14 &12 yr old well I want this BRAND or I won't fit in...If every kid was like my 16yr old (he doesn't care what "Brand" it is..how much it cost and whatever I buy him he is always happy) parent's would never face this scenerio...I do try to get the best deals I can get and I normally buy all their clothes from Old Navy (Cheaper then most stores when having the sales) but my 14 & 12yr old want their clothes from Holister..Ambercrombie & Finch & American Eagle...Holy smokes I'm not use to seeing such high price tags.. So I compromise with them and bought all their jeans from Old Navy plus 4 shirts for my oldest..1/2 of the shirts came from Holister Clearance section..I paid no more than $15.00 per shirt...Ambercrombie & Finch also in the clearance section I bought several shirts plus sweatshirts (really nice I must admit) that was very reasonable...I bought all their sneakers and bookbags from ccs.com again everything on clearance.....I will not be buying anymore school clothes for the whole school year.. I'm just glad I'm 95% finished..

How much do you usually spend on your kids for school?

FYI.. Please no negative comment's to my post!

**frugalwarrior** · 07-29-2009, 07:12 PM

Well, no negative comments to you but my kids know better than to even ask. We buy most of our stuff used and don't worry about brands. DD is in college and will buy her own this year. She found a bunch of hot topic stuff for a $1. at a G.sale. Every school start I buy DS 3 new pair of jeans from Koh'ls when there on sale if i have a 15% extra coupon. He will get 1 pr. of shoes. The same at christmas. 2 pkg. shorts, 2pkg. socks each season. Won't wear pj's or undershirts. Salvation Army for saying t-shirts or henley shirts. Won't wear sweaters,fleece. Has had the same coat for 3 years,doesn't want another one.
i used to buy the good stuff,expensive stuff and they treat it like the junk, so why. Same w/ christmas. Very few items and some cash. The only thing we spent a lot on was their laptops. Those we don't skrimp because they live on them at this age. DD needed one for college that was $1100. Grad gift instead of a party and DH got it for $800. DS needs a new one but not that nice until grad.
To each his own though. Clearance and off season are where I get a lot of it.
I would have a difficult time putting a price on it but under $400. for both. Her college chef uniform was about $100. too. Luckily she can use the shoes and pants from high school culinary. Books, I don't want to talk about books for college.

**Wendy99** · 07-29-2009, 07:59 PM

Prob well well under $100 for 2 children. We shop a lot of thrift store and get hand me downs and then I just top it up with whatever else is needed.

**onencgirl** · 07-29-2009, 08:06 PM

Wow that's alot of $. I would have given each child a limit amount and let them figure if they wanted brands or more clothes cheaper. Just saying.

**Missourimom** · 07-29-2009, 08:07 PM

We always told our girls if they wanted name brand items, they need to work and buy it themselves. We gave them a set amount of money when they were older and told them to spend it wisely because that was it....there would be no more. I have to say, they always did pretty darn good.

**Nana2two** · 07-29-2009, 08:10 PM

I have a 14 and 17 year old, they will wear abercrombie, hollister, Vans , nike ect, plus all the school. supplies and backpacks. We spent around $300 total. They got each 4 pair of jean used condition but can't tell..They each got around 6 or 7 tops, plus several hoodies. I do buy underwear ,bras and socks new.
Alot of it depends where you live. We have several great thrifts around and around 5 consinment shops that only carry high end clothing. So that makes a big difference.

**nodmicks** · 07-29-2009, 08:21 PM

Originally Posted by Missourimom

We always told our girls if they wanted name brand items, they need to work and buy it themselves. We gave them a set amount of money when they were older and told them to spend it wisely because that was it....there would be no more. I have to say, they always did pretty darn good.

Thats our idea too. I'll buy $40 shoes tops if they want higher they can pay the difference.

To the original poster thanks for posting about ccs.com. I just used a great copon code and ordered my kiddos sweatshirts for a awesome price!

**craftypam** · 07-29-2009, 08:38 PM

Originally Posted by nodmicks

Thats our idea too. I'll buy $40 shoes tops if they want higher they can pay the difference.

To the original poster thanks for posting about ccs.com. I just used a great copon code and ordered my kiddos sweatshirts for a awesome price!

Exactly what I did with the shoes when my sons were growing up. When you spend that outrageous amount of money on clothing they do not appreciate it; when they have to work for it they appreciate it and take care of it. I'm not saying every child is like this. I bought clothing out of season for my sons. They are all adults now and were not harmed by not wearing what alot of others were wearing.

**geckoace** · 07-29-2009, 08:39 PM

It's so funny cause I was pissed I spent $85 on my sons uniform a combo new and used. my son is 5 I'm
not looking forward to having teenagers

**Neeley** · 07-29-2009, 08:53 PM

A good bit of money is spent on our kids' clothing. But not all by DH and I. My mom buys DD a couple of new shirts every month and a new pair if jeans, shorts or capris every other month on average. She also will buy DD 2-3 pair of shoes throughout the year. MIL has been buying all of DS's uniforms for school and pays for some of his non-tuition school expenses (he is in private school and DD is in public - both by their own choosing). MIL also has been known to take him and get him a pair of shoes here and there.

Like I said, DS's school does have uniforms, however I still make sure he has plenty of regular clothing to wear on the nights, weekend and afternoons. DD's school does not require uniforms. Her school wardrobe is the same as her "normal" wardrobe. It is actually cheaper to dress her since we don't have to get uniforms.

There is only two uniform clothing stores our school will allow you to get your uniforms from, Buckhead Uniforms or Southern Uniforms. There is no bargain shopping or searching clearance or sale racks for these. To get DS's uniform shirts it is right at $200. When the cooler weather comes he'll get a couple of the fleece pull-overs and sweat shirts they sell. That will be around another $100-$125. They cannot wear just any jacket for cooler weather. It has to be a certain one. It will be another $50. It doesn't get cold enough for a full winter coat here so the jacket will be more than warm enough. There are very few days that it is even cold enough for sweatshirts. His jeans, pants and shorts are another $200.

Plus, I do still want him to have plenty of "normal" clothes. He is like your sons and prefers Hollister, A&F, and AE. I do shop the sales and Plato's Closet for the brands the kids like.

The kids get new clothes throughout the year and not just right before school starts.

I like to make sure they each have several pair of new shoes to start school in. We get them each at least three to five new pair to go along with the ones they already have. DD cannot wear flip-flops to school. Five pair of her summer shoes are flip-flops so those do her no good when getting her school wardrobe together. We spend around $250 on each child for shoes before school starts.

They each get a new backpack each year. They like either the Jansport big student backpack or a Northface one. That is another $80-$100 for both of those. We have been lucky and found these on sale.

Another thing, I make sure they each have plenty of are their bottoms - jeans, shorts, khakis (for DS) and capris (for DD). I like for them each to have a minimum of ten pair of bottoms. Most times they already have several pair that are appropriate for school and we only need to buy a couple of pair for each.

You won't hear any negative comments from me about money spent on our kids' clothing. I like to get them the brands they want in the styles they like. As long as we can afford it, they are not snobby, ungrateful or disrespectful then DH and I have no issues in dressing them in brand names. They are appreciative, not demanding and thank us, and their grandparents for everything they are given. They have been writing their own thank you notes since they could hold a pencil or crayon. At an early age it was a thank you picture. Once they could write, it progressed to thank you notes.

**sunshine** · 07-29-2009, 08:55 PM

If I was buying, they wore what I could afford. . . they bought what ever they wanted with their money (as long as it fit our morals/standards)

I never spent more than $100 for all 3, for back to school supplies. . . clothes, shoes, notebooks, etc.

Dd asked me last year (freshman in college) if we could get her a new winter coat. I asked her what was wrong with the one she had. . . she sheepishly admitted that there was nothing really wrong with it, but she'd had it since 7th grade and was really wanting something new. We bought her a new one at the after season sales, so she's set.

**lisaflex** · 07-29-2009, 08:55 PM

i personally dont think that is a bad price for 3 boys of those ages. jmho

sometimes peer pressure is more hurtful than us parents know. it can have a lasting effect on them. they do need to know the value of a dollar, but, sometimes under certain ages, it is hard to teach or if it is new to them (becoming frugal, i mean)

i would go w/out before i let me child be ridiculed for their clothing. no, i am not saying they always have to have the most expensive, but, sometimes, well,....enough said. as i said in my first line, this is all jmho

**Neeley** · 07-29-2009, 09:04 PM

Originally Posted by 0911laob

i personally dont think that is a bad price for 3 boys of those ages. jmho

sometimes peer pressure is more hurtful than us parents know. it can have a lasting effect on them. they do need to know the value of a dollar, but, sometimes under certain ages, it is hard to teach or if it is new to them (becoming frugal, i mean)

i would go w/out before i let me child be ridiculed for their clothing. no, i am not saying they always have to have the most expensive, but, sometimes, well,....enough said. as i said in my first line, this is all jmho

I agree with you. Being a teen/tween can be hard enough as it is. If by dressing them in the clothing and styles that they are comfortable in helps a little, then I am A-OK with it. Fortunately for us, our kids are good with money, understand the value of a dollar and are thankful for what they receive.

**brenda67** · 07-29-2009, 10:42 PM

Originally Posted by Neeley

A good bit of money is spent on our kids' clothing. But not all by DH and I. My mom buys DD a couple of new shirts every month and a new pair if jeans, shorts or capris every other month on average. She also will buy DD 2-3 pair of shoes throughout the year. MIL has been buying all of DS's uniforms for school and pays for some of his non-tuition school expenses (he is in private school and DD is in public - both by their own choosing). MIL also has been known to take him and get him a pair of shoes here and there.

Like I said, DS's school does have uniforms, however I still make sure he has plenty of regular clothing to wear on the nights, weekend and afternoons. DD's school does not require uniforms. Her school wardrobe is the same as her "normal" wardrobe. It is actually cheaper to dress her since we don't have to get uniforms.

There is only two uniform clothing stores our school will allow you to get your uniforms from, Buckhead Uniforms or Southern Uniforms. There is no bargain shopping or searching clearance or sale racks for these. To get DS's uniform shirts it is right at $200. When the cooler weather comes he'll get a couple of the fleece pull-overs and sweat shirts they sell. That will be around another $100-$125. They cannot wear just any jacket for cooler weather. It has to be a certain one. It will be another $50. It doesn't get cold enough for a full winter coat here so the jacket will be more than warm enough. There are very few days that it is even cold enough for sweatshirts. His jeans, pants and shorts are another $200.

Plus, I do still want him to have plenty of "normal" clothes. He is like your sons and prefers Hollister, A&F, and AE. I do shop the sales and Plato's Closet for the brands the kids like.

The kids get new clothes throughout the year and not just right before school starts.

I like to make sure they each have several pair of new shoes to start school in. We get them each at least three to five new pair to go along with the ones they already have. DD cannot wear flip-flops to school. Five pair of her summer shoes are flip-flops so those do her no good when getting her school wardrobe together. We spend around $250 on each child for shoes before school starts.

They each get a new backpack each year. They like either the Jansport big student backpack or a Northface one. That is another $80-$100 for both of those. We have been lucky and found these on sale.

Another thing, I make sure they each have plenty of are their bottoms - jeans, shorts, khakis (for DS) and capris (for DD). I like for them each to have a minimum of ten pair of bottoms. Most times they already have several pair that are appropriate for school and we only need to buy a couple of pair for each.

You won't hear any negative comments from me about money spent on our kids' clothing. I like to get them the brands they want in the styles they like. As long as we can afford it, they are not snobby, ungrateful or disrespectful then DH and I have no issues in dressing them in brand names. They are appreciative, not demanding and thank us, and their grandparents for everything they are given. They have been writing their own thank you notes since they could hold a pencil or crayon. At an early age it was a thank you picture. Once they could write, it progressed to thank you notes.

Thanks.....this is the first year that my 12 & 14 yr old asked me if I could by them clothes from those particuliar stores ..as I mentioned I was totally bolwn away when I saw the prices..however when I think about it I really didn't spend anymore money than I normally would have shopping at Old Navy...I got really good deals searching the clearance sections and bought 4 A&F sweatshirts that was a bonus for the price since that seems to be the "IN" thing to wear them in the winter instead of a coat..Go figure? Like you I don't skimp when it comes to my kids..

**Nana2two** · 07-29-2009, 10:52 PM

When you hit the clearence racks, you can find some great deals. Plus like i mentioned before i think sometimes it depends on location. I live about 2 hours from Chicago. They have alot of outlet malls. You can and find some great deals there. With you being in N.Y prices i would think be a bit higher.So with that said, $800 might be a really rock bottom deal for you