More on Boys Clothes

I know not everyone thinks that dressing boys is as interesting or fun as girls but there's a lot of fun to be had when you dress little guys. At least it is so far in my journey as a boy mom. I realize that will most likely change before too long which is why I'm trying to enjoy having my way as long as it lasts.

I mentioned earlier that I really like Gymboree for Ethan because I like the layette lines and the price. The small sizes are easy to find on a good sale and if I pay $10 for an outfit and sell it for $8 when we're done with it then I'd say it's pretty affordable. On the other hand, if Ethan manages to get spaghetti sauce all down his back (how did that happen?) or a bleach mishap happens in an attempt to remove another tomato sauce stain from another shirt I don't sweat it. The Gymboree in Salem is a good one because they have lots of sale stuff. I don't think anyone around here is big on paying full price which I'm heartily glad of.

I really like Janie & Jack clothes because they're so classic and have cute little boy themes that rarely involve sports. It's refresing. They're also fairly expensive. But again, the small sizes are easy to find on sale and the resale is fantastic. I love Janie & Jack stuff for photos and church clothes. Can't beat them. Because they run on the spendy side I tend to buy J&J stuff in store only twice a year at the Season Finale Sales. Otherwise I buy used stuff from Ebay or clothing boards online.

A brand I've been turned on to lately is Mini Boden which has really cute baby stuff but even cuter bigger boy stuff. I have a feeling we'll be buying a lot more Boden as Ethan gets bigger. Boden is from the UK and has amazing resale. There's almost always an online code floating around and they have a beautiful incentive program called Refer A Friend where you can get $5 credit for giving 5 names and addresses each month. I give names and addresses of people whom I've sold children's clothing to on Ebay or clothing boards since I figure they might be interested in drooling over the catalogs like me and I want the credit!

Another brand I've really liked lately has been Baby Gap. The infant stuff is pretty cute but I can't wait for Ethan to fit the toddler boy pants. They have adjustable waists starting at 12-18 months which is uber important for my skinny boy. Gap can have fairly good resale value but it really depends on the outfit/pieces. I usually order online because the closest retail store is in the Washington Square Mall. I try to order when I know I'm heading towards Portland soon after because then I can return stuff in store and not have to pay shipping for any returns.

Pumpkin Patch deserves an award because they have super cute stuff AND their adjustable waists start as tiny as 3-6 months! I could kiss their designers for that fact alone. There's a retail store in the Clackamas Town Center up in Portland which I don't make it up to very often. When I do I definitely stop by! I haven't done much reselling of Pumpkin Patch but it seems to do okay but not great. Not sure why because I think they have really cute stuff. Pumpkin Patch is an Australian company so maybe it's just not as well known here.

It'll be interesting as Ethan gets bigger to see how my tastes change. Or more likely, how Ethan will want to dress. I've heard that boys are harder on clothes then girls so resale isn't as good as it is for girls and I'm not sure what I'll do if that gets to be an issue. Probably buy less and not buy with resale in mind. For now I'm enjoying dressing my little man.