Inexpensive gently used clothing is easy to find for the littlest set, but once a kid gets past the age of four or five, the hunt becomes a real challenge. Here are some places you can use to cloth your children with inexpensive clothing for slightly older kids.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, finding good quality second hand clothing gets more difficult as kids get older. There is simply not a good inventory available. You can still do pretty well, though, if you check out the following sources.
The outlets
Outlets can sometimes yield great finds in new clothing. When our eldest is in need of jeans, we head out to Lancaster County here in Pennsylvania. Amid a thriving Amish community sits a giant shopping outlet. The Vanity Fair outlet sells Levis jeans with adjustable waists. So far, these jeans have held up to anything my son can dish out, so they may actually make it to be handed down to our younger son. For underwear and even sneakers, the Disney store outlet had some great deals. We also find nice school shirts at the Children’s Place outlet ($2 a shirt!).
Large outgrown sales
While good clothes for older kids can be pretty hard to find at yard sales, if you are lucky enough to find a good sized outgrown sale (Mega-sized) and get there early, you should have some lucky. I always head over to the tables that hold the largest size that I need (for my oldest) because I know that the larger sizes go first.
Clearance racks
Shop the end of the season sales to get the best deals on next year’s clothing. Usually kids stabilize in their size somewhat when they get a little older, so it is easier to predict what size they will need next year. Also, if you need something seasonal soon, like a bathing suit, wait a few extra weeks if you can during the season. While you won’t get rock bottom prices, you will save quite a bit, such as paying $9 for that bathing suit instead of $25.
Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here or subscribe to the blog using the subscription box on the right.
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