Second Hand Clothes - Good Bargains or Just Gross?

I absolutely love consignment shopping, I have gotten leather coats, a beautiful full length fur coat for a really great price and no one knew it was used. I get lots of clothes at this stores. The only thing I don't buy is shoes because people walk differently and the shoes can be uncomforable. But what I save on clothes gives me the extra to buy what ever shoes I want new. Clothes for children are also great. When I watch my grands sometimes their Mom forgets to send a change of clothes si I"m always prepared. Another exception is underwear no used for me. Otherwise consignment is great.

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Yes, you do sound like a snob and a hypocrite. You need to get over yourself. There is nothing wrong with buying childrens clothes or adult clothes at a thrift store. I LOVE buying clothes at the thrift store and I am 48 years old. You never know what cool things you are going to find. I have often found clothes that are brand new and still have the tags on them at some of the thrift stores I shop at. You should be happy that your daughter was thrilled with the "new" sweatshirt she got and that she probably saved you anywhere from $10 to $20.

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Amy Dacyczyn's book "The Complete Tightwad Gazette" has an interesting discussion of the pros and cons of used shoes for kids. Good shoes are very important for growing feet, so it's vital to check shoes carefully for wear before putting them on your kids. However, the jury is out on whether not-worn-out, used shoes are bad for growing feet. What podiatrists agree on is that kids' shoes must, must, must fit well...and that's the challenge, since kids grow out of shoes about every five minutes.

Dacyczyn comes to the conclusion that it's best to dress her kids in used shoes, because that way, she can afford to have a stockpile of nice shoes in every size, and get each kid into the next size up the minute his shoes feel too tight.

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So THAT'S why all the people I've known in my life -- classmates, co-workers, friends, etc. -- always had closetsful of tons of clothing and never had to wear anything twice! Aha!!! Unless I only had a quarter in my pocket, I would never make my baby wear second-hand stuff. It's the most cherished time in a (good) mother's life, and yes, you can buy new things for your baby and still take him/her to the circus.

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Do you have your children's college educations paid for yet? If not you shouldn't be blowing money on expensive, brand new, designer duds as a habit. Occasionally if you can't find what you want at a consignment shop maybe but Saks should not be the first place you look for clothes for your toddler if the practical things aren't taken care of.
I was a snob at first, I only wanted new, trendy clothes for the kids. I'd feel guilty if I gave them less. I assuaged the guilt and formed an excellant new habit when my first son was a year old. For every item of used clothing I bought them, I put $20 to reflect the savings in their college fund. I would have spent it on a pair of pants, I could darn well afford it for something so important. These contributions went into simple savings accounts in each child's name. I collected over $2000 per child per year in this way. Do the math, that's $36,000 when they graduated from high school. Not a bad start on their college expenses.

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As the child of a single mother, I lived in 2nd hand clothing and hated it. My first pocket money purchase was a brand new shirt, and it was the first new item of clothing I'd ever owned - age 12. I therefore always swore that I'd put my kids in new clothes. I've now eaten my words and the majority of my kids stuff is 2nd hand. But it is well chosen and well matched and good quality stuff. That makes all the difference.

Most of my kids' clothes are either handed down by friends (we have an unofficial 'circuit' for all our clothes in our town, and it's so cute to see a new baby wearing stuff my children once wore), bought for nothing in charity shops, NCT Sales (National Childbirth Trust - runs nearly-new clothing sales all over the UK), received from Freecycle, or picked up for next to nothing in store clearance sales.

I think I've bought one full-price new item for each child in 4 years. I object to spending so much money on things they will grow out of / trash in about 15 minutes! I always check sale racks, charity shops, Freecycle (50% is dud, but 5% is amazing), and buy ahead for things like winter coats (clearance sales are the only place to buy these at a reasonable price). If I get given stuff that isn't necessarily my kids 'style' or fit (my daughter is so skinny she doesn't suit a lot of toddler clothes), I use it as play-wear, garden clothes, or pass it directly on. It can be challenging, particularly with girls clothes, to get stuff to 'match' (I never realised there were so many clashing shades of pink before I had my daughter!) - but I often get their clothes out and check what I have bought previously, and sale-shop with an idea of what I actually need. I have been known to take a pair of never-worn handed-down trousers to a store sale, just to get the right shade of tshirt!!

I get cross with people who buy huge numbers of cheap clothes for their kids - they fall apart, they often don't fit well, they become landfill and - once replaced a couple of times - they end up costing more than a single better-quality item picked up second hand. I plan ahead, and have boxes of things in my kids wardrobes for them to grow into. If I see something particularly nice (our local NCT sales recently had a huge load of Boden clothes, yay!) I will get it. So my son has Levi's for next year for 20pence, found in a jumble sale. He won't know the difference, but they will be good-fitting jeans that wash well and can be passed to his younger cousin.

The only thing I buy brand new full price is shoes. I've had a few 2nd hand shoes for my son, and the wellington boots were ok but he found the other shoes uncomfortable. And my daughter has foot problems so I have to pay over the odds for her special shoes anyway (£32 for a pair of goretex walking boots she'll wear for 2 months, all because she can't wear wellingtons. Yikes!). And you won't damage yourself if you wear a 2nd hand tshirt - but bad shoes can and do wreck your feet. I save on the rest of the clothes.

I have been really lucky not to buy too many clothes for my children, and know that as they get older they will get more picky (my daughter is showing signs at 19mo!). But in the present global economy, and with so many clothes going to landfill and wrecking the planet, you can't NOT economise and reuse good clothing.

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We had a pair of Osh Kosh overalls that every kid in my extended family has worn. It started when my older cousins kids wore them and passed them on to a nephew, then they passed them on , then they passed them on ect. In all they went through about 10 kids.

I buy because at a young age it is just a waste of money to buy brand new. The only thing that is new are socks and undewear.

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I buy clothes for the whole family at consignment and thrift stores located in and/or next to wealthy neighborhoods. Many items still have the original tags and I can get a level of quality that might otherwise be a strain to purchase. Shoes and socks, I go new, but pretty much everything else is fair game.

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To the author, Amy: Holy Cow! Get over yourself! Why would second-hand clothing be "mortifying?" You are capable of washing them before putting them on your child, right?

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Besides, kids are so cute. Why do they need expensive designer clothes? Most kids would look cute in a gunny sack, as my grandpa used to say.
I agree with you all. Taking used clothes saves money, is less wasteful, and allows kids to have more clothes. My daughter has more shirts than I know what to do with, thanks to all the clothing "donations."
Another point is that by age 4, my little girl won't ascede to my taste any more. That's about the age that my taste becomes irrelevant to what she wears and I have to focus instead on finding choices she approves of. Right now, it's all about flowers. Before that, it was rainbows. Before that, stripes. She's also going through a mismatched sock phase. Why waste money on fancy new clothes if she's just going to refuse to wear my choices?
I will say that living in the Northwest, we do buy brand-new raincoats and boots, but that is for practical reasons. Believe me, those get used until they are worn right out.

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