I have known since March that I was having a daughter. For those of you who wish to avoid math, I’ll help you out by saying that that was seven months ago today.
And in those seven months, I have not bought her a single item of clothing. Not one.
We got a lot of clothing from several baby showers, lovely miscellaneous clothing items from kind friends, and then a family from church in Boston gave us seven boxes of their baby clothes ranging in size from newborn to a year. Much of that clothing was still brand-new and had the tags on it.
Frankly, there was no reason to buy anything – Ella is swimming in clothing. I had friends that expressed their amazement, telling me how they couldn’t contain themselves from buying clothing as soon as they found out they were having a girl. But we were in the midst of paying off our student loans at a breakneck rate and when clothes were coming in from every direction, I didn’t feel like I needed to BUY any more clothing.
And then, last weekend, I went in to Old Navy. And when I stopped by the clearance rack, there was a small sign stating that everything on the clearance rack was 50% off the lowest listed price. And I had a 10% off coupon burning a hole in my purse.
I. . . bought a lot of things. But they were all about $2 each, except for this first dress which crept all the way up to $5. And they all kept telling me they really really wanted to come home with me and be worn by Ella.
Poor little Ella, she’ll probably never own something that wasn’t bought on clearance.
Who cares if they were clearance? Those are CUTE!
She won't wear anything that wasn't purchased on clearance, OR hand-me-downs, right?
(The first article of clothing I bought for Maren was when she was 8 months…and I bought it at a garage sale.)
Do they make those tiered dresses as tops for grown-ups? Or the floral number? Because, yes, please.
That blue hoodie with the stripes inside the hood? I bought that on super clearance for Piglet! It is waiting in his nursery closet right now.
Glad to hear that you are sometimes human when it comes to spending money! And I am the same way, I don't think I've bought a single baby item at full price, and I don't intend to.
We have to hunt and hunt and hunt to find cute boys clothes on clearance, but somehow, even though the pickings are very slim, we do manage to find a shirt here and a pair of pants there. You are SO lucky that you get to shop the girl clearance racks. Feel sad for me for just a minute.
Somehow I doubt she will mind, seeing as you are the master of finding only the cutest clearance items.
LUCKY Ella, as she will master the art of living providently before most of her peers are losing their first tooth!
I LOVE a good deal! Everything you picked/found is darling. The baby swim suit! The shoes! That floral! Ahhh. So cute.
Clearance stuff is just leftovers from people who paid full price. Suckers.
You should have seen my godsister's little girl when she was born. She's the darling of multiple families and the first grandchild…her parents didn't have to buy a single stitch of clothing the whole first year of her life and well into the second because of how much they got!
And the little "splurge" (50% off notwithstanding) is well deserved for such a cutie.
PS – thanks to you I don't buy anything not on sale anymore – and I mean that in the most awed and thankful way possible. You're fabulous! Ditto on CraftyAshley.
I want those shoes in me-size!
Those shoes are super cute.
I like to browse the clearance racks myself – I especially love Target. I have recently purchased quite a few things for my sister, who's having a boy in January, at $1 or $1.25 a piece.
They're adorable – and I think it's awesome that you're not spending a fortune on her as a wee one. She'll grow up so quickly! 🙂
Yeah, I wouldn't have been able to resist that little bathing suit. SO CUTE.
Little girl clothes are adorable! Love your resourcefulness– who wants to pay full price for clothes? Honestly! LOL @ craftyashley. 🙂
Has it been 7 months already? I can't believe it. Ebay is one of my favorite places to buy kids clothes.
Those are all so cute! I love Old Navy. They have great things for kids.
She won't care…until she's a teenager, maybe. Your choices are beautiful. My eight-year-old just grew out of a pair of shoes I bought on clearance for her when she was a baby. My husband teased me when I bought them but they were too cute. Spring green suede with matching stripes across the elastic laces-slip-ons. I bought them for $5, saved them for 6 years. She loved the heck out of them.
Oh! I loved buying little girl clothes! Well, I still enjoy buying my daughter clothes occasionally, but she's closer to your age and now it requires lots of trying things on. No shame in buying clothes on sale – Old Navy often has great things in their clearance racks.
Oh my word that first dress is SO CUTE! Love the deals, I wouldn't have been able to resist either!
I think the first article of clothing I bought full price was when I was in college. I felt very naughty for doing so!
Once you start, you won't stop…
Trust me. 🙂
Right on! Those clothes are adorable. I will be the first to admit that I have a hard time sticking to a budget, but one thing I can't stand to spend a lot of money on is clothing. I shop for our family at thrift stores and clearance racks and we wear cute stuff, not old grungy stuff. I love Old Navy's 50% off clearance sales, and Kohl's has somme awesome clearance too if you're willing to do a little digging.
Adorable.
Great picks, Janssen. I love the swimsuit. When I had my first I got so many clothing that I was afraid that I'd forget to put it on "Cub" before he outgrew it! Love a good deal too.
We called that "speculative buying" and did it with great joy. My work friend had girls about the same age as my children, so if something didn't work the next season for one of us… we could just trade. We also knew each other's taste so well, we often would splurge that $2 for each other – – and be spot on!!!! So much fun!!!! It is great to share!
Well, if you are the one buying the clearance items, you always find great things. And they must have better clearance items in Texas… or maybe I need a girl instead, b/c the boys clearance are always disappointing and more expensive. I'm glad the dam broke at last. It's fun that way.
I personally think you are teaching her from a young age to be wise with her money. And that is not a bad thing at all!
They may be on clearance, but those outfits are so darling.
I love those little shoes! All of Amelia's clothes are either given to me as a shower gift or purchased second hand–I love Once Upon A Child! She has yet to complain about a single item. I'm sure your little darling is adorable in whatever she wears.
I see nothing wrong with clearance! The couple clothing items I've purchased have also been on clearance. Also, those shoes are SO cute.
My mom and I hit up the same sale and bought a bunch of stuff, including the blue hoodie and the hot pink dress. 🙂