How Many Outfits Does Your Child Have??

Updated on July 24, 2012
L.O. asks from Sterling Heights, MI
26 answers

It seems like my kids have a lot of clothes.. and with as fast as they grow through sizes.. Some things barely get worn before they have outgrown them.. So I am taking a poll of all the moms ... how many outfits do your kids have??? How much clothing is enough for a child..?? I think my duaghter started last fall with about 15-20 outfits.. but as she grew - by spring she was down to about 7 or 8 that still fit..

I have been fortunate to recieve lots of handmedowns.. so I dont buy her 20 outifts per season... that would cost a fortune..

I have a girl and a baby boy.. so nothing is handed down in my house... boys cant wear pink!!

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

Featured Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

N.A.

answers from Lansing on

I am kind of the wrong mom to ask. I have tons and tons of clothes for my kids but my Mom is a shop aholic and so are lots of my friends, so i take their handme downs, plus I shop a year in advance ( I just got done getting almost everything for next winter at Childrens place at the Howell outlet. Sweaters were on sale for 1.99, pj's 3.99 etc

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

B.Z.

answers from Grand Rapids on

I have three kids so to keep the cost of clothes reasonable I do keep track of how much I get them. For each size and season they each have 10 outfits, 2 of those that are dressier and 3 pajamas. I have enough that if I only do laundry once a week I have enough.
I did have more for the infant stages though becuase I had to change them more frequently.
Hope that helps you out.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.L.

answers from Grand Rapids on

About 30, but I notice she can wear dresses longer....no bottom for feet , so we are trying to go for long dresses and skirts. Hop it helps1

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.B.

answers from Detroit on

I just make sure my boys have enough so I can go a few days without doing laundry. Luckily boys don't care much about the latest fashion. Unfortunately, 5 year old boys wear out pants really fast. I rarely buy them anything new, usually it's from a mom-2-mom sale or the resale shop. When they start wearing clothes longer, I'll invest more.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

C.S.

answers from Detroit on

At my house the number is less as the kids get older. My 13 year old son has 7 pairs of jeans and probably 20 shirts. My 5 year old son has 10 pairs of pants and 30 shirts. My 4 year old boy has even more. My youngest is a girl and she is the only one with actual outfits that aren't interchangable and she has about 30. I also get lots of hand me downs from relatives and friends. The hand me downs get less and less as the kids get older. Mostly because kids grow slower so the wear items longer thus wear them out before they can be handed down. If I had to purchase all the clothing for my kids at retail prices they'd have just enough to last a week! Cloths are sooooo expensive!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.T.

answers from Detroit on

Lisa,
I have the same problem with my son. I have kept all of his clothes since birth but I think it's more for sentimental reasons! So he always has a lot of clothes! I don't think you can ever have too many clothes! I always get handmedowns too and that is awesome since clothes get really expensive! Recently I've started selling all of his old clothes on Ebay to make some extra money. They are just taking up too much space and who knows when I'll have another baby and whether it will be a boy or not! You'll be suprised at ho many people buy children's clothes on Ebay! Good luck!
J.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.W.

answers from Detroit on

I think that 6 or 7 good realible dependable outfits are good. 6 good play outfits and 6 or 7 good dressy/nice outfits...now what my daughter has is not what Im saying she should have...I rarely buy her clothes but off the top of my head she has about 10 really nice church outfits, 10 in house decent outfits and about 10-12 casual outdoor outfits...and then theres the tights (about 20 pairs) and socks and pjs and shoes...were not going there! but my opinion is that especially if theyre given to you, no amount of clothing is too much! ( I say that with my first) but if you cant get hand me downs and have to purchase them yourself just a few dependables are necessary...

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

T.W.

answers from Lansing on

Too many! I have a teen daughter, shall I say more. My mom loves to shop, and we also get hand-me downs from relatives!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

R.W.

answers from Grand Rapids on

My mom taught me well, I think. I have a five-year-old son and I keep him a supply for up to 10 days. so he has 6 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of sweat pants, 2 khakis, 4 sweaters, 3 long sleeve shirts to wear under t-shirts and/or polos (including a PINK polo, which is his favorite color!) and about 10 t-shirts and polos. He also has 2 dress shirts. He only has one pair of shoes and one pair of boots. We have more pajamas than are necessary, probably.. about 12 sets. I let him choose these since I control what he wears in public.

My daughter is about 22 months old and she has more clothes by far, but as she gets older, I'm sure this will lessen to a degree, but girls have so much more variety!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

P.M.

answers from Portland on

Well my daughter has like 15 shirts 6 jackets 5 pairs of pants that fit but almost all of them are handmedowns from one of her friends. The friend is 2 sizes biger then her in like everything so she gets a lot of her old clothes. And she loves those clothes! Her friend has all hte things like ambercrombie ( I never buy her those way to expensive) so she is so excited to get handmedown's.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

B.W.

answers from Grand Rapids on

We have enough for about 2 weeks, But she most times sleeps in her clothes, unless it was jeans. That way I don't have to wash so much.
I love to shop for her at Goodwill, I refuse to pay 10$ for a shirt that will have a stain on it the first time she wears it.
I also will hit up the 75% off rack at Meijer. I got a turtle neck for $1.75 :)

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.R.

answers from Benton Harbor on

Oh wow, my girls have a TON of clothes!! I can't even count!! I hardly ever pay full price for them either!! I am a bargain shopper! I shop at Goodwill, garage sales, ebay, clearance racks and Old Navy has the BEST sales!!! Believe it or not, most of my kids clothes are namebrand like Gymboree, Children's Place, GAP, etc., etc.!!!!! However, my oldest is tough on clothes (one of the reasons i don't like to buy new), so her sis only gets about half of the hand-me-downs!! We also have a garage sale every summer and I sell on Ebay!!! Right now there are probably 5 tubs of summer clothes in storage and I will buy more I'm sure!! I think I have a problem, but my kids are dressed adorable!! I should open a resale shop!! LOL!!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.C.

answers from Saginaw on

Boys can wear pink, it doesn't make anything fall off or even shrivel up <G> But I see what you mean...

When my kids were a little older, just because I never thought of doing this before that -- I don't think I ever had teh energy or curiosity to count the baby clothes -- we used to bring all the clothes into the living room a couple of times a year, and take out everything that didn't fit, was too worn or they didn't like, then count things.

We declared a maximum amount of anything they could have: 6 pants, 4 shorts, probably 12 shirts, 5 sweaters, unlimited underpants... I don't remember the numbers, but it seemed reasonable to me at the time. In fact, it seemed like a LOT of clothes to me, but a fraction of what they had (we were also the happy recipients of handy-downs, as a friend's daughter called them <G>)

They could pick out their faves-- the stuff they really liked to wear, and usually at least a couple of other spares or things they hoped they'd grow into soon.

This made for much less work (the sorting and the laundry) for me, made it easy to see where they were missing some supplies so we could focus our shopping (usually at second hand stores), and taught them how to sort, use discernment and the value of passing on donations to others...

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.S.

answers from Detroit on

My daughter has way more than that. I don't have time to count but the other day I counted he PJ's and she had 15 pairs. I was lucky my mom saved a lot of clothes from when I was little. Plus I find a lot of my daughters clothes on Freecycle, Mom2Mom sales , and other second hand shops.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

E.M.

answers from Detroit on

Most of my son's clothes are hand me downs. He is 19 months now; he has slowed down in the growth spurt department. I have 6 pants, about 20 different shirts (one piece and t-shirts, sweatshirts), and 5 sleepers.

I was fortunate to be the last one having kids, so I have a ton of hand me downs. I have had to purchase very little. What I did, I got at mom2mom sales.

If I have a girl next, I am in trouble.

T.M.

answers from Lansing on

I love handmedowns! and unfortunately because of that all of my kids have well over 30 outfits each because no matter how often I tell grandmas not to buy the kids clothing they always do. Since I have three sons the youngest son probably has 100 shirts (no joking) between handmedowns and stuff from grandmas. It's similar for my daughter too because we have two friends who give her handmedowns and grandmas won't stop buying stuff. Every summer we have a yard sale and get rid of as many clothes as we can.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.M.

answers from Kalamazoo on

hi lisa, i must disagree with you; boys most certainly can wear pink. reinforcing gender stereotypes doesn't nurture anyone's soul growth. pink is a nice color; it makes people happy.

sincerely,
S

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.P.

answers from Detroit on

Hmmmmm...DD probably has 10 pairs of pants and maybe 20-30 shirts. I try to have atleast 1 or 2 nicer outfits each season as well. When she was younger her closet was mostly gymboree, and janie and jack. Now that she's almost 3, and always messy...mainly Children's Place and Gap, LOL!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

L.H.

answers from Detroit on

My kids have so many outfits, it's ridiculous! I have two boys, so the "collection" keeps growing. I'm very fortunuate to receive many hand-me-downs from my side of the family and my husband's side just spoils them. I've started being selective of what I keep and I pass along the rest. I also quit going to mom-to-mom sales because I am so over-run with clothes that their drawers are overflowing. It sounds great, but too many of them are the wrong sizes or in bad condition. I am doing major closet cleaning and donating to our church.
To answer your question, because my kids get thier clothes dirty daily, they get one wearing and it hits the hamper, so I think at least 8-10 outfits is reasonable. You can't possibly do more laundry than you likely are already, so you need to make sure they have enough to get them through the week if need be. I try to always have an extra outfit for "school" and have some clothes they can get dirty, some that are dressier and the rest are for everyday.
Hope this helps. Good luck!

P.S.

answers from Detroit on

My son has tons of clothes. He has 10 pairs of jeans, 5 pairs of khaki's, 5 pairs of cords, 3 dress pants w/shirts & vests, 40 shirts, 10 sweatshirts, 15 top and bottom sets (including hoodie running suits), 10 pairs of PJ's, I'm not even counting summer clothes, swim suits and shoes. My son is 3 and very messy. He can easily go through 2 changes of clothes p/day. The number increases as it gets warmer and he's outside all day. I have a friend who gives me hand me downs, but I do a lot of garage saleing and http://www.mom2momlist.com/ shopping. I buy new shoes - most of the time, and socks/underwear/undershirts. Here and there I'll buy new clothes, but pretty much it's the gently used. I've done this since I was pregnant.

You hit the nail on the head. They grow so much so fast that sometimes they don't get to wear clothes that you buy. Clothes for $.25 to $2 is the perfect price.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.

answers from Detroit on

I about fell over when I read your request!! Ok, both of my kids have WAY TO MUCH!!! I hardly buy anything new though. Everything is bought off of eBay or at Mom2Mom Sales. Sometimes I'm lucky enough to get new outfits there though. Plus I sell all of it that way also. So in the end I feel like I'm actually renting my kids clothes and sometimes depending on the brand, I can make more selling them than what I paid for them. I can't even begin to count how many outfits they have. I just know I don't spend a ton.
J. in Macomb

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

N.W.

answers from Detroit on

Probably way too many. My 3 mos old has at least 21 outfits, plus about 10 pairs of pjs. I didn't buy most of it...

My son (4) has fewer outfits-- but still a lot. 6 sweatsuits (nice GAP and Osh Kosh); 3 pairs of cords; 2 pairs jeans; 4 pairs cotton pants and matching tops. Again, many were gifts.

I am trying not to buy as much, as they don't wear everything for long (esp the baby). But the girl stuff is so darn cute!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.S.

answers from Detroit on

Ugh... I think I may be the wrong person to ask about this. My daughter has a RIDICULOUS amount of clothes. She has 8 winter coats, 2 snowsuits and 14 pair of pajamas. I dont want to count her outfits. Her closet is totally full, where you can't push the hangers to look at the clothes and the pants are doubled and tripled up on hangers. She also has 2 drawers in her chest of drawers full of clothes and our spare bedroom closet is dedicated to her woredrobe for next season.

Now... with that being said. I totally shop on sale. I got most of the pajamas for less than $2 in the off season. If there is a store closing I go up there when everything is 70% off. I shop at Great Lakes Crossing, so everything there is clearance or super markdown. I've also been known to go to mom2mom sales and buy a whole outfit for $2 or $3 that is almost new or a pair of pants for 75 cents. She is the only grandchild AND great grand child on both sides of the family, so everyone is always picking up a little something. My grandmother particularly goes a little crazy and buys her a lot of stuff, & she lives out of state, so I come home with a suitcase full every spring & fall when we visit.

So... your question of how much is enough? How much do YOU think is enough? If you're comfortable with her clothing, then let it be. Kids are expensive! They'll only wear those clothes a few times before they grow out of them, so why spend a ton? Shop the sales and relax...

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

E.B.

answers from Grand Rapids on

I too would have to say that my step daughter has too many outfits, but 99% of them were bought at Goodwill or similar stores. We are lucky to have a number of younger girls in our extended family, so any outfits that are still in good shape get handed down to these girls.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

H.W.

answers from Detroit on

Too many, he wears some once if at all. I would say he has averaged 20 per size (now 12-18 months) I have received alot of gifts. I do tend to have 4 sleepers he loves to be in instead of his outfits.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.I.

answers from Birmingham on

I just finished school shopping for my 7 year old daughter, going into the 2nd grade. My daughter is a size or two bigger than all of the girls that we have around us so we rarely get hand-me-downs, but there are 4 little girls who I give her hand-me-downs.

I think my final count on my daughter's clothes to start out the school year is 30-40 outfits and 7 or 8 pairs of shoes. I shop clearance racks, yard sales, thrift stores, and actually received a few hand-me-down jeans this year from a friend was given clothes that were still too big for her daughters. If I had to guess I'd say 10-20 of those outfits are brand new. There are still a couple of clothing items that fit her from the end of last school year, too.

I DO NOT buy unless it's on sale. My daughter grows too fast for full price, but I do shop at Justice, GAP Kids, Children's Place, and JCPenney's. Occasionally, I'll pick up a couple of items at Wal-Mart, but Target is the only place that I buy clothes that are not name brand.

I know that I overindulge my daughter, but I'm pretty sure it's because of how I grew up. Growing up I rarely had new clothes and what new clothes my mom did buy were not in style, cheap brands, and didn't fit me right. I was made fun of and had hardly any friends because of it. I remember actually getting into physical altercations with my step-father over clothing as a young teen. I wasn't asking for much. I just wanted enough jeans to get me through 1 week of school that fit me correctly and were in style. Once I was old enough to have a job, I bought all of my own clothes and didn't even bother with them. I promised myself that when I had children they would never have to go through that.

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions

Related Searches