Girl Clothes Bonanza

Grace's First Attempt to Dress Herself Feb. 22, 2008

I've spent some time talking about how much fun it is to dress my son but I certainly don't want to leave the girls out because they certainly are fun to dress! The difference is that I can find a cute outfit for Grace at just about any clothing store while finding cute outfits for Ethan is more like a treasure hunt. Grace is currently in a dress phase where she vastly prefers to wear a dress over pants. The twirlier the dress the better, and she favors pink and purple. Sometimes I'm mean and make her wear pants because it's just too darn cold to wear a dress or because I'm sick and tired of her wearing the same two dresses for two weeks straight. If I do that she'll wail and cry and tell me that she looks like a boy. Seriously. So I'm buying almost all dresses right now and look back at the days of full control over what she wore with fond memories.

Here's a rundown of girls clothing brands I like.

Matilda Jane. This small clothing company has boomed big in the last year or some of her designs are in super high demand on Ebay where used dresses sell for twice their retail value. Pretty crazy. I first bought the Violet Knot dress last spring and have been in love ever since. I love her choice of fabrics and the funky combos. Grace loves the apron dresses too so it's a win win combination. The nice thing about the knot dresses is that they last quite a while since you can adjust the length so we're getting year number two out of the Violet Knot dress. You have to go through a trunk keeper to purchase the clothes (yes it's one of those sorts of companies) but she sells end of season stock online twice a year and it goes FAST. As in two minutes fast. Remember my frustration after Christmas?

Janie & Jack. Absolutely lovely little girls clothes but tends to be a little more formal then we are at times. Beautiful dresses and classic designs. I find I'm buying less Janie & Jack then I used to because it's harder to find Grace's size on sale (last time the sale rack only had 4 shirts in 4T and 3 were the same design. Ethan's size had tons of shirts, pants, sweaters, socks, etc.). Grace loves the dresses but some of the other outfits are less "her" if you know what I mean. Such pretty clothes though. I think they make me drool a little bit.

Naartjie. I absolutely love Naartjie's summer lines but the fall/winter ones are a little hit and miss. It's a South African brand and features super lightweight and breezy fabrics for their summer clothes. They make tons of dresses that twirl and leggings to coordinate which makes them a big winner in my book. I highly recommend buying Naartjie in the store (Washington Square has one) or used off Ebay instead of online because their website stinks. It's really hard to put outfits together online because the colors in real life are a little "off" sometimes due to different dye lots. Their sizing is kind of funky sometimes too, especially their pants which tend to run huge. Really worth the effort for their fun and funky clothes! I've found Naartjie to have great resale value as well.

Baby Gap. My favorite store to buy jeans for Grace because of those fantastic adjustable waists and they tend to run skinny anyways. They have some really cute stuff at times and the resale is pretty good. The only thing I don't like is their huge variety of shirts with writing on them. For some reason I just don't care for words all over Grace's shirts, least of all a Gap logo. Blech.

Hanna Andersson. I can't say enough good things about the Play Dress Day Dress. Those things are awesome! They're so comfy and Grace will always wear them. They are so well made and wear like iron. I love love love the Hanna Andersson End of Season Sales because I can usually buy ahead and sell the outfit after my kids wear them for the same price. There's a retail store in the Pearl District and an Outlet in Lake Oswego (same exit as 217 to get to Washington Square which is a bonus!). The Outlet has random good deals, like the $7 winter coat I scored in December during the ice storm.

Mini Boden. Yes I love their boys clothes but they're no slouch in the girls department either. I haven't bought as much from Boden for Grace because there's so many other options and it's spendy. What we have bought we love and I think that as Grace gets older this will be a brand we wear more of. I love the heart patch pants!

Gymboree. Ah, the brand the started it all. I just couldn't resist all the cute matching baby girl clothes and when I discovered how easy it was to get cheaply I was hooked. Much to David's chagrin I'm sure! Unfortunately, as my little girl grew it's become apparant that Gymboree doesn't fit her as well as other brands do. It seems to run wide and Grace is anything but wide. I still buy it for her when there's good sales, but I try to stick with dresses since they fit better. I really like their pajamas and socks which can be had for reasonable prices. I'm a fan of the Baby Sale that happens twice a year which makes the new line pajamas $10 or $8 if you have a 20% off coupon. Comparable to Carters but better quality and I can sell them when we're done with them. What a bonus. I also like their End of Season sales. Just last week I bought 16 items for $63.79 and sold my Gymbuck for $7.50 which made my total $56.29 or $3.51 per piece. It wasn't all socks and underwear either. Ethan got two sweaters, one pair of overalls, one short romper, two pairs of pants, three shirts, and a hat and Grace got a dress, two pairs of tights, a hat, hair clips, and a pair of sandals. I'll sell all of it when we're done with it which will make it even cheaper.

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.

"Boys Clothes aren't as much fun as Girl Clothes" And other Kids Clothing Myths

I have to admit that when I first found out that I was having a girl I was pretty excited. David, my Mom, and I headed straight to Mervyn's at the Salem Center Mall after the Big Ultrasound that revealed that we were having a daughter. We bought dresses to celebrate, including the dress that we ultimately brought Grace home in. I keep very little of my kids' outgrown clothing but that blue dress with the red ladybugs is something I'll always treasure.

Dressing Grace was a ton of fun and I discovered ways to dress her in fun clothes without it costing 3 arms and 2 legs. I have several strategies in buying and then sell her clothes on Ebay to recoup most (sometimes more!) then what I paid. I slowly learned the brands that we liked and held their value when it was time to sell. My favorite brands have changed a little over the years as I discover new brands and learned that yes $48 is an insane amount of money to spend on a dress but when I sell it for what I paid for it's not so bad.

When we found out that our second child was a boy I was pretty excited about getting to shop "the other side of the store" but really had no clue about boys clothes. We made the same trip to the Salem Center Mall (this time shopping at Macy's since I think Mervyn's had closed) and David was thrilled to pieces to buy football onesies. If you know me you know I'm not exactly into sports and it seemed like every other boys outfit I passed in the mall had a sports theme. Not my cup of tea. Even some of my favorite brands for Grace had awful selections for boys, but some surprised me with really cute stuff!

Right now I favor Gymboree for Ethan because A) It's cheap B) I love their layette designs and C) It's easy for me to find both in store, online, and in consignment stores. Some people think Gymboree is expensive but that's really not true. Especially if you're like me and have slow growing children who are fairly easy to buy ahead for. You just have to know the sales. Yesterday Ethan scored two sweaters for $4 apiece, an entire outfit for $8, overalls for $5, and a few other odds and ends with nothing over $5. It's even cheaper then Target or Walmart. It helps that I'm buying small sizes for him and there are always plenty of things left in the super sale bins.

I love shopping for Ethan, it's true that the boys have a smaller selection but I think that's because girls have so many more clothing options that boys don't have. It's a little more challenging to find the cute boys clothes but I think that's part of the fun.

Oh, and for those people that do like sports clothing for their kiddos you'll be happy to know that I do buy one football outfit for Ethan per year. I'm also in the market for a cheap (under $5) Detroit Redwings hockey outfit in size 18months in time for hockey playoff season! Oh, and I'm pretty sure that I have one soccer and one basketball outfit for him this summer. I'm sure I have YEARS of sports themed clothing coming my way so for now I'm enjoying other themes :)

Little Green Rubber Boots

I have no idea why people think boys aren't as much to buy clothes for as girls are. Maybe I'm nuts but I think Ethan is just as much fun to dress as Grace, maybe even more fun since he wears what I put on him with no complaints while Grace has very firm ideas on what she wants to wear on a given day. And it usually involves the colors pink or purple and a dress. Ethan on the other hand could care less at the moment. I'm sure that will change at some point but for now I'm having fun! He's just starting to grow into 12-18 month sized clothes (been wearing 18 month sized shirts for a while now and just getting into the pants for the length) so we're pulling out new outfits which is always fun. Today he's wearing his tractor outfit for the first time and I think it may be my new favorite! He looks fantastic in bright blue and green and the green rubber boots are precious. I don't know what it is about baby shoes but I can't get enough of them. They're so cute and tiny!

I've also been buying lots of overalls for him since they solve our pants issue (pants that fit his waist are way too short and pants that fit lengthwise won't stay up!) and I know as soon as he potty trains he won't be wearing them much. They're so little boy cute! I didn't put Grace in overalls or rompers near enough, I love them but they don't wear them for long. Ethan is also growing into size 4 shoes (yes he's small!) so I pulled all his size 3 shoes out of the closet. I'm sad he outgrew his trusty brown Pedipeds because he wore them a ton and I haven't found a cheap replacement brown pair yet. Have you looked at the baby boy shoe selection at Target and Walmart lately? Pretty sad. The girls have lots of cute options with a rainbow of colors. Boys get 3 selections, two of which are stiff tennis shoes and the third is navy blue sandals which we already own. I have such luck at Target for Grace's shoes but I think I'll have to hunt around a little more to find affordable shoes for Ethan. Any experienced boy moms out there that have suggestions for me can feel free to let me know where the good baby boy shoe selection is!

Ebay Summer Blitz

Yes it's that time of year again, prime time Spring and Summer Clothing Selling Season! You may think it's ridiculously early to think about buying sun dresses and swimsuits but you would be wrong. In the Ebay world the end of January is the best time to sell. Probably because by now everyone is sick and tired of wearing sweaters and corduroy and are dreaming of lightweight cotton and short sleeves. Or maybe that's just me.

To get to the point, I just listed 64 auctions to sell off the majority of Grace and Ethan's summer wardrobe from last year. I'm in denial that I live somewhere that doesn't allow us to wear cute summer things year round and always overbuy for summer. What can I say, I just can't resist a cute sun dress. My goal this year is to not overbuy for summer and to remember that we only need a few things to last us for the 3 months of warm weather we get. Fortunately or unfortunately, both kids will fit into some of their clothes from last year. Ethan has the tiniest waist for a boy ever and fits most of his 6-12 month shorts but not the shirts. Grace fits into a lot of her stuff but not as many dresses (too short). And of course they both outgrew their shoes.

Listing on Ebay is work but it will pay for the few spring/summer clothes they need and will also go towards picking up some stuff for next fall as things go on clearance. I always like to buy at end of season sales to get better deals and since my kids grow so slowly it's pretty easy to guess on sizes. If I'm wrong it's usually because I guessed too big and it fits the year after. Or if I guess too small I just sell it on Ebay with the rest of the outgrown goodies.

So Yay for being done with listing and now the fun begins...watching the bidding!

It came!

I spent a good chunk of time on Dec. 27th attempting to order some things from the Matilda Jane clothing website for Grace. They were having a 60% off sale which is just about the only time I can afford their beautiful clothes and everyone and their dog was on their website which was slower then slow. I finally gave up trying to see what was even available and just ordered this Fern in Pink knot dress and the Dusty tights. They eventually closed their website for several days to upgrade their server and on January 2nd I was finally able to get in and shop! So don't tell David but there's a second box on the way too. Just received shipping confirmation this afternoon in fact!

Grace was over the moon excited when the UPS guy came this afternoon and I told her that the package was for her. We ripped into it together and she squealed with joy to see another "apron dress". She wasted no time in tearing her clothes off and trying on the new ones and immediately tested out their twirlability.

In case you were wondering, the dress twirls very nicely. The dress and tights fit perfectly and I'm thrilled the blue button tee shirt we already had matches very nicely. Grace told me her dress made her feel like a princess and hasn't taken it off yet. She did agree to put her brown shoes on (she lobbied for her pink converse pretty hard) for a few quick pictures in the backyard so I could share them. Those familiar with Grace will recognize her level of excitement by the fact that she's walking on her tip toes. That means she's VERY happy!

We love Matilda Jane!