Cheap and cheerful sundresses for little ones

In this baby bargainista post, Jenny shares tips for buying sundresses for little girls.

With the hot weather comes my annual search for inexpensive,
yet pretty summer sundresses for our girls. Our oldest is 5 and is deeply into wearing dresses – the frillier, the better – but they don’t always stand up well to her active, still rough-and-tumble lifestyle.

For special occasions, I splurged on a couple of beautiful dresses from Happy Wear. I love their cheerful, colorful designs and the dresses are very well-constructed in such a way that they can be easily adjusted to fit as your child grows through the season, with double-snaps at the shoulders and drawstring waists. Best of all, they are durable, and I’ve bought from them every year so I have a growing collection ready to pass along to Daughter #2! (As I tell my husband, it’s not really splurging, it’s an investment!)

But these gorgeous dresses likely wouldn’t survive a kindergarten birthday party unstained, so I also visited our local Winners and picked up a couple of marked-down frilly dresses. They’re fancy enough to keep Daughter #1 happy, but at $15-20, they’re cheap enough that I won’t mind the occasional cupcake stain.

And for school and active summer holidays, I always swear by Joe Fresh and H&M. Very simple, light cotton dresses can be found for $6-$12 at either store, and their A-line construction, while not fancy or fitted, is perfect for staying comfy and cool on hot summer days.
Top 3 tips:
1. At Joe Fresh and at Winners, stock moves quickly, so when you see something in the right size, buy it – it might not be there next week!
2. If you’re not sure about size with Joe Fresh, because they’re located in the supermarket it’s often easier to buy a couple of sizes and try them on the kids at home, then return them during your next grocery run (rather than try to wrangle cranky kids plus a full shopping cart into the fitting room!).

3. At H&M, lines at the checkout can often stretch around the store. Bring a friend to wait in line while you browse, or better yet, if the line is more than 6 people long, do a little browsing for yourself – you might find that the line has shrunk significantly when you are done (and you might discover a few bargains for yourself!).

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What NOT to buy for your new baby

In this week’s baby bargainista column, Jenny explains why you won’t need to shop for baby clothes before you welcome your new baby into the world.

If there’s one thing you DON’T need to worry about buying before baby is born, it’s baby clothes.

I know, it seems counter-intuitive – what will poor baby wear? – but trust me on this. Save your money, at least until after baby arrives. Here’s why.

1. You’re likely to receive innumerable gifts of baby clothes after the birth even if you don’t have a baby shower. In my experience, it’s the number-one go-to gift from friends and family – especially hand-me-downs from anyone who’s already had their brood and has been hanging on to bins of good-condition newborn baby clothes in the hope of finding them a good home. (At this age babies grow out of their clothes quickly, and nothing gets worn out until baby starts to actually crawl.)

2. In the early weeks it’s easier to keep baby swaddled in a blanket or two rather than buttoned into a sleeper or onesie. This allows for faster unwrapping for that essential skin-to-skin bonding that helps your milk come in faster, and kick-starts baby’s nursing instincts (by the way, the same holds true for bottle feeding – baby feeds more effectively when skin-to-skin). It also allows for faster diaper changes – and there will be plenty of those, believe me!

3. Until your baby is born, you can’t know what size he or she will be. Don’t put too much faith in the tags that give age ranges or lbs – those are just a guideline. There are major variations between brands, and every baby is different. The photos above are of three sleepers, from three different brands (George, Snugabye, and Joe Fresh), all helpfully labeled 0-3 months – and as you can see, they vary greatly in length. If your little one turns out to be on the smaller side at first (as our most recent arrival was), you might find her swimming in onesies that are far too big despite being “right” for her age; or if your baby is longer (i.e. taller) than average (as our first-born was and still is), you might find that 0-3 month sleepers don’t offer enough room for her legs.

So when you pack for the trip to the hospital, bring just a few sleepers of various sizes and brands so you can pick the best-fitting one for the trip home; and when well-wishers ask if there’s anything baby needs, give them the specifics on weight and height to help them shop. At worst, you can always send the father or a grandparent on a quick trip to the nearest Real Canadian Superstore for some Joe Fresh sleepers or onesies. And you won’t end up with pangs of regret as you pack away or give away, unworn, the perfectly good baby clothes that never quite fit.

Cheap clothes for kids

In this week’s column, Jenny Bullough share’s her thoughts about shopping on a budget for young kids.

Now that fall is really upon us, my thoughts naturally turn to outfitting my 4-year-old for the colder months.

After a few years’ experience of digging through last winter’s long-sleeved shirts, pants, and jackets and finding more than half of them no longer fit, I’m prepared for a massive shopping explosion in order to make sure my girl is adequately clothed for the coming chill.

Nothing says “mommy guilt” like seeing the disapproving glances of the other daycare/preschool/JK moms and dads when they see bare ankles and wrists exposed because last season’s pants and shirts are suddenly a size too small! I speak from experience, unfortunately.

I hope you won’t think I’m a negligent parent when I tell you that when it comes to buying my little kindergartner clothes for everyday wear, I am *supremely* cheap.

Again, from experience I know that anything she wears to daycare or school is doomed to come back home stained with play-doh, paint, food, or old-fashioned mud, and most likely missing buttons, fasteners, and any fancy doo-dads sewn onto it, so spending a lot of money on daily wear is just not worth the investment since by the time she’s done with it, it won’t even be fit for passing on to future siblings or younger cousins.

For cheap kids’ wear, my first stop is always Joe Fresh. There’s a section conveniently located in our local Loblaws, which makes it easy to check out their clearance racks every week; and their kids clothes are inexpensive and surprisingly durable. Plus their pants often feature adjustable waists, which is a key ingredient to longevity in the kid wardrobe.

If I can’t find what I need while grocery shopping, Old Navy or Zellers will often have good stuff on their sale racks, and their regularly-priced merchandise isn’t too costly. For durability, go with Old Navy first; for items bedecked with your child’s favorite cartoon characters, Zellers is your best bet. I have occasionally had issues with the fit of some Zellers clothes, but as with all HBC properties their no-hassle return policy makes it easy to buy two sizes and return the one that doesn’t fit.

And finally, I always love to drop into Once Upon a Child at least once a season and I’m rarely disappointed. This chain of consignment stores scores high marks with me for their constant rotation of high-quality, gently-used kids clothing. I’ve gotten some tremendous deals there on barely-worn name-brand designer kids clothes like Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren.

Those are my top tips for durable, cheap daily kids wear. What store is your first stop when your little ones need new school clothes?

Weekly Wish – Attending L’Oréal FashionWeek

Last week I attended a special TFFB where everyone was preparing for a week of fashion excitement, as Toronto’s finest designers were getting ready to debut their fall-winter ’08 collections. Most of them had press passes because the Fashion Design Council of Canada (FDCC) is enlightened enough to realize the value local bloggers bring to the community.

If you’re like me, chances are you didn’t get to L’Oréal FashionWeek. I really wanted to see the Pink Tartan show – I love Kimberly Newport-Mimram’s Pristine Punk collection. The Joe Fresh show always amazes me too – how does Joe (Mimram – yes, he’s Kimberly Newport Mimram’s other half) pull off such an incredible show while keeping prices so affordable?

Fortunately, there’s a lot of coverage online. Fashion Television assembled an incredible multimedia archive. And if you want to get a behind-the-scenes look at the make-up, check out what Henna from Canadian Beauty had to say.

Enough of this virtual view of L’Oréal FashionWeek, next fall I’m wishing for my own press pass so I can share the details first hand. Wish me luck!