I love to be creative in how I style my own kids’ clothing. Sometimes I strive to make an item appear different every time its worn, or make sure it gets just a few more months of wear. I am pretty frugal when it comes to fashions for my family, but I’m also super picky about almost every detail when it comes to the style of an item. I like to stretch my dollar as far as it will go (I know I’m not alone in this one), especially when I get hung up on a item that is a bit more expensive then my usual frugal budget allows. So I wanted to share a few of my own tips on how I like to get a bigger bang for my buck when it comes to kids’ clothes.
The cute and simple skater tank dress from American Apparel is one of many of my daughter’s staple items. A lot of the tips below would work great for many other little dresses, but the simplicity and style of the skater dress make stretching the life span of this little dress not only fun, but easy. The Mini Mioche Fresh Dress is also great for the same reasons.
The mustard skater dress in the photos is a size 3-6 months. My daughter is 2 now, and still wearing it weekly – and probably for a few more months!
Little girls’ clothes are a bit easier to stretch extra life out of, but I have a few tips for boys clothing as well.
How do you get the most wear and use out of your kids’ clothes?
Mini Style – Tips & Tricks to Extend the Life of Clothes by Brandy part 1 of 7
1. Bang for Your Buck : Skater Tank Dress by Brandy @ Heart & Habit2. Bang for Your Buck : Button-Down Shirt by Brandy @ Heart & Habit
3. Bang for Your Buck : Denim Shirt Dress by Brandy @ Heart & Habit
4. Bang For Your Buck : 3 Tips by Brandy @ Heart & Habit
5. Bang for Your Buck : Boys and Girls Skinny Jeans by Brandy @ Heart & Habit
6. Bang For Your Buck : A Few More Tips by Brandy @ Heart & Habit
7. Shopping for Clothes That Can be Handed Down by Brandy @ Heart & Habit
Bang for Your Buck part 1 of 10
1. Bang for Your Buck : Skater Tank Dress by Brandy @ Heart & Habit2. Mini Belt DIY by Brandy @ Heart & Habit
3. Bang for Your Buck : Button-Down Shirt by Brandy @ Heart & Habit
4. Bang for Your Buck : Denim Shirt Dress by Brandy @ Heart & Habit
5. Bang For Your Buck : 3 Tips by Brandy @ Heart & Habit
6. Bang for Your Buck : Boys and Girls Skinny Jeans by Brandy @ Heart & Habit
7. Bang For Your Buck : A Few More Tips by Brandy @ Heart & Habit
8. Shopping for Clothes That Can be Handed Down by Brandy @ Heart & Habit
9. Bang For Your Buck: Shorts, Hoodies and Tees! by Brandy @ Heart & Habit
10. Bang For Your Buck: Beanies, Peplum Tops and Belts! by Brandy @ Heart & Habit
coconut / 8305 posts
OMGosh I must get one!!! Mustard & Ultraviolet! Too stinking cute!
GOLD / wonderful grape / 20289 posts
Very cute! I haven’t gotten to buy anything for LO yet, she was gifted so much, in bigger sizes too. And now that her 1st birthday is coming up I’m sure she’ll get even more.
cherry / 115 posts
@artbee: hand-me downs and gifts are the best!
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
You are a girl after my own heart! We do exactly the same thing! One of my favorite items is a dress we bought for Lala in Hawaii at 8 months. She now wears it as a shirt at 26 months
pear / 1764 posts
Adorable! Thanks for sharing!
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
omg sooo cute! I need a baby girl lol
cherry / 115 posts
@Mrs. Jacks: Nice! It’s even better when you can extend the life on special items like that.
pomegranate / 3716 posts
So cute, I just had to bookmark this for future reference!!
pomegranate / 3053 posts
So cute! Yes, so much easier to stretch it out with a girl. With my son, I just don’t put it in the dryer when it starts to get short and then layer with a white, long sleeve shirt inside. Then when it starts to look obviously short, I just pack it up for his brother.
pomegranate / 3890 posts
this adorable! you and your lo have great fashion sense
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
so cute! I have a lot of 2T shirt dresses that LO started wearing when she was 6 months old. She’s 14 months old and wearing them as long shirts now! They’ll definitely last a few more months
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
Cute!
hostess / wonderful apple seed / 16729 posts
Great tip!
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
LOVE. this.
now if only *i* could pull off these looks…
persimmon / 1255 posts
I do the same! LO wore a flowery 2T top as a dress when she was 6 mos, a long top when she was 1 year and now as a the regular top it was meant for. I also do this with leggings – a 2T crop leggings fit as long pants at 1 yr old, etc.
hostess / wonderful persimmon / 25556 posts
This is awesome advice! I don’t think I would have considered a dress for a 6 month old becoming a shirt/outfit for an older children. Thankfully we shouldn’t have to buy anything until 18 months because of gifts and hand me downs but I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for items to “repurpose”as she gets older! Great post.
bananas / 9227 posts
Oooh so cute! Awesome tip, thank you!
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
This is great if you have a girl, makes it easy to buy stuff in bigger sizes when they’re on sale because you can layer…if you can pull this kind of stuff off for a boy, then I’d consider you a fashion goddess!
GOLD / pomelo / 5167 posts
Love this!!! and what a stylish girl you have! Now, if only i used this rule for myself.
GOLD / wonderful olive / 19030 posts
adorable! I love this idea, thank you so much!!!
guest
I would like to hear tips for boys too!
pea / 18 posts
My neice is very tall so her dresses are too short on her so my Mom sewed her a simple slip with cute white ruffles at the bottom so she can wear her dresses for a while longer.