Littles Clothes

Today I thought I'd post about my favorite brands of baby and kids clothing.

The idea has been running around in my head for quite some time now.

Since I do have 9 children and have 19 years of shopping for baby clothes and kids clothes under my belt, I wanted to share with you the clothing brands that I love and why I love them.  The fact that I have 9 children does NOT make me an expert, and the brands I share in this post are just my own personal favorites.  Please do not think that I am claiming to be an expert or that I know everything!! HA! If I was an expert, I wouldn't have had to throw away and get rid of so many pieces of clothing over the years!

I have compiled this list of favorites due to things like durability, attention to detail, quality of clothing items, and price.

So, my very most favorite brand is Gymboree.  But, as most of us mamas know, Gymboree is crazily, freakily expensive! I just went on their website the other day and they were asking $20 for a pair of 3-6 month boy shorts!! And that was the sale price! My eyes nearly popped out of my head! Wow.  That said, Gymboree is still my favorite brand.  I've gotten most of my Gymboree stuff off of eBay or from my favorite children's resale shops…..

I have to go on a rabbit trail here and say that I'M SO VERY THANKFUL FOR CHILDREN'S RESALE SHOPS! My husband likes to say, "thank God for rich people!" I really do love resale shops.  I mean, with 9 children, there's no way I can afford to dress them all in Gymboree matching outfits, no matter how much I want to…plus, my teen girls wouldn't really like that so much! Let me say right now that most of my children's clothing have come from resale shops.  There is a shop in my town at which I've been shopping for well over 16 years. A family of sisters own it and I have gotten some great things there.  So, my advice to you as I get off of this rabbit trail is, DON'T BE AFRAID OF RESALE SHOPS! If you do your research, you can find really great shops in almost any city.  I usually look for resale shops in more well-to-do communities.

Okay, back to the subject at hand! I love Gymboree and I love their older lines of clothing.  It is true that I have found most of my really cute Gymboree outfits on eBay.  I've been very, very pleased with all of my Gymboree eBay purchases, especially for Jack.  I started getting things on eBay about 10 years ago, when Kellie was still little.  I love Gymboree lines and some of my favorites are the older lines.  I won't bore you or show you what a fanatic I am by naming those lines!! Gymboree clothing is very high quality usually, and I've been pleased that the clothing holds up very well through repeated washings without fading and I have been able to pass down many, many things to my other girls due to the great quality of their clothing.

Another of my favorite brands is Crazy 8.  Crazy 8 is online and they have super cute stuff, and their sales are incredible.  I've been really pleased with the quality of their clothes.  We do a lot of laundry here, about 6 loads a day, and it's really important that clothing holds up through lots of wearing, washing and passing down.  Crazy 8's customer service is phenomenal, and their website is very easy to navigate.  I do believe they have "lines" of clothing too, like Gymboree.  I think they might be sort of a less expensive alternative to Gymboree.

Green Dog is also on my list of favorites, and you can find this brand at Macy's.  This brand is very durable too, and doesn't shrink up at all when washed repeatedly.

I also love BabyGap for Jack.  I don't really like their girl clothes because they aren't as feminine and cute as I like, but for Jack, they're really super cute! However, their clothing is super duper expensive and I find my BabyGap things at resale shops.  

I mentioned it in my last post, but for jeans for Jack, I love Children's Place.  Their jeans just fit his tall, skinny body really well for some reason.  Their girls clothes are a bit of wild prints for me, but I do like some of their things and they hold up really well.

I can't do a post on clothing without mentioning Target.  I adore Cherokee and their store brand Circo. I was putting a load of clothes into the washer last night and I was marveling at how Target clothes really do hold up well in the wash and through lots of wearing.  Right now Target has the cutest little girl dresses and shirts ever! And having a Target just 10 minutes away from our house is great.  I usually do buy a size bigger for my little girls, even though I haven't noticed a ton of shrinkage.  I just get a bigger size just in case.

Lastly, I do like Old Navy.  I shop online at Old Navy.  The dresses right now on their website are just absolutely delicious! However, I always have to get at least one size bigger, and sometimes two sizes bigger than my girls usually wear because Old Navy clothing does shrink badly.  But it's really durable usually and I've been happy as long as I get one size bigger.

Okay, that's my take on children's clothing.  Like I said before, I'm not an expert but I know what I like.  Also, save yourself some money and investigate resale shops.  I'm pretty sure that, in most of your communities, you'll be glad you did!