Parents of well dressed kids - tell me your secrets!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, how do YOU define well dressed and well put together? Are you talking expensive looking clothes or just clean and matching?

OP here. I tend towards classic/preppy so expensive does fit. But I don't think you need to spend a lot on kids clothing to get the desired look. My problem is I think my kids' stuff is a hodge podge of different color palates and styles and I'm not sure I'm doing myself any favors with the haphazard way I shop for them. Wanted to hear what others do who feel like their kids look pulled together every day.

Here's a tip: the more patterns you buy, the harder it is to match things. Less is more. None of DD's leggings have patterns, except one. The ONE patterned pair of leggings is worn with a solid shirt. The shirts with images, sayings, patterns are worn with solid pants. I found a great line of shirts at Macy's called Belle de Jour. The t-shirts are thicker, higher quality than the ones at Old Navy, and they fit DD well, plus a slew were on the clearance racks.

I am very, VERY careful with shirts that say anything. Nothing that a pedophile would see as an invitation (sassy, flirt, cutie), and nothing that would get her made fun of by other kids (my mommy loves me, I'm a princess), and nothing that would get her beat up by older tougher kids (eat my dust and cry).

[Anonymous]

Generally, I buy pants/leggings that are solid neutral colors, so that pretty much any top can match. If I buy something that's not a neutral, I already know which tops it will match--and it has to match more than one top. I will buy several items that can be mixed and matched from the same store--so two leggings and two tops in the same color scheme.

I don't have a set color palette, but I do keep in mind what colors I'm buying so that new things can be easily integrated.

[Anonymous]

We generally limit purchases to Boden, hanna andersson and Ralph Lauren and stick to the preppy colors (blue, pink, red, purple, green). I don't purchase the bright, neon colors. Everything matches, it's all well made, and lasts for hand me downs to sibs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think well-dressed means different things to different people. To some, it means no sweatpants. To others, it means clean clothes that match and aren't wrinkled. To yet others, it means high-end brands. So first you'd need to sort out what well-dressed means to you/your kids.

My 12 yr old went through a very heavy leggings/yoga pants phase that she's only just begun to come out of. At first she was wearing leggings (mostly capri) with all kinds of shirts and she often looked like she'd thrown her outfits on as she ran out the door. I said no. I moved all her tops that (were longer) look good with leggings to one side of her drawer and we agreed she'd pick from those each time she wanted to wear leggings. I made rules for when she could and could not wear yoga pants (yes to school on gym days).

The majority of DD's clothes come from Old Navy and Macy's, with a smidgen from H&M, and Ross. We do not buy pants unless we can identify a shirt that will go with them. To me well dressed means the clothes are not wrinkled, stained, falling apart (holes), and match.

I am looking for clothes that match, generally.

This is a great tip. Thanks!

The easiest way to accomplish this is to buy a whole collection. It is always well coordanated. I buy those most often at Zara, sometimes Gap and H&M.

[Anonymous]

I'm not one of those parents but my SIL is. I can tell you she spends alot of her weekends shopping. She buys brand name clothes for the kid. ALOT of clothes. He's always well dressed and clean. She lathers him up in ALOT of sunblock or lotion (he's shiny) and when his hands get dirty, she wipes them right away. She still feeds him because she doesn't like to get him dirty (4 years old!!). If there's a scrape on hands or knees (with no blood), the playtime is over.

My kid is the opposite but he's a happy kid. Not the best dressed because I don't buy expensive clothes because he outgrows them in 2 months. I don't spend my time cloth shopping. My kid leaves preschool dirty but when I ask if he had fun, he said, YES! I was rolling around the dirt. Water play was great!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You made rules about which tops your 12-year-old could wear with leggings and which days your 12-year-old was allowed to wear yoga pants?

To each their own priorities, I guess.

Yes. She was wearing t-shirts she was about to grow out of with her leggings. So they barely covered her entire stomach. And yes - she was wearing very faded black yoga pants that were too short but apparently VERY comfortable that she didn't want to part with, even for new yoga pants. So no, she could NOT wear them to the holiday party at a friend's house, to temple, etc.

My kid gets sentimental about her clothes. ::shrug::

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid wears a uniform to school. I get like 10 of the same little polo dress, plus a pair or two of pants and shirts in the appropriate colors. Then we accessorize. She likes tights, so we get fancy tights and nice shoes.

The real secret, though, is making sure that her hair is not a mess and all the clothing is intact, unstained, etc. I make sure that her bangs are trimmed and that her hair is brushed and styled (ponytail usually, sometimes more elaborate) every day.

This is one part of it. My kid's hair is always neatly combed, face, clean, etc. There was a girl in my kid's class last year with long hair that was nearly never brushed or styled in any way. I don't think the bar is very high to have a young, school-aged kid looking good. Kids in elementary school look like slobs for the most part. My kid does not wear sweatpants to school and usually wears a collared shirt. I do one H&M order at the start of the school year and order sporadically from Lands End and Target. I also do some of the thrift sales held by the private schools. I am not spending a lot of money--it's less about you shop than how much you value teaching your kid that taking pride in your appearance in not a bad thing.

[Anonymous]

It's true, neat-looking hair will really improve things. Find a few go-to hairstyles that will last without being fixed throughout the day.

I try very hard to buy solid-colored pants, and to buy shirts and shoes that will go with a lot of different things.

My go-to baby gift is a pair of navy pants, a solid-color onesie, and a white or gray cardigan. Rather than some cute set that only goes with itself.

[Anonymous]

I stick with neutrals and everything can mix and match pretty easily. I don't do a lot of "outfits".

For boys this is super easy. Some khakis, navy pants, jeans and a bunch of shirts in solid colors. And a few graphic shirts. Nothing over the top. I don't like cheesy sayings on shirts and my kids aren't an ad for the Gap. (My taste.)

My daughter...can get more complicated. I keep the bottoms very neutral and then she can go more out there with the tops. No sparkle, no bows, no "Daddy's little princess"...no, no, and no.

As soon as clothes are very obviously stained or torn, they are out of the rotation.

Again, my taste. But I think they always look decent.

[Anonymous]

I try to stick to a consistent color palette, which changes when she goes up a size. So, for example, my DD's "colors" right now are navy, purple/lavender, gray, pink, and yellow. So I only buy stuff that more or less fits that palette. I make sure the sneakers in particular are consistent with it. Earlier, it was navy, purple, pink, turquoise, and light green. The summer before that, it was red, because I found these awesome red sneakers, navy, dark green, purple, and gray. So basically I stick to a few key favorite colors, like navy and purple, and then build the rest of the wardrobe around that. I have a lot of hand-me-downs to choose from, so I don't actually buy a whole lot-- I just buy things to fill in the gaps.

This is what I (try to) do as well. It seems rigid but by the time you add a couple gifts from grandma and some superhero gear bought by Dad, there will be a couple more styles/colors I don't find it to regimented. Basically I buy mostly classic solid colored clothing (and a couple stripes) from Old Navy and Gap and then add a couple (sort of complementary) things from Tea for DD and Boden for DS.

[Anonymous]

I posted about this a couple weeks ago. I end up getting a hodge podge of clothes on sale, and they never go together. DD starts K this year and I'd like her to look a bit more put together. My plan is to go to a store, maybe Hanna Andersson, and buy 3-4 sets of clothes that will mix and match. Then go to another, maybe less expensive store like Old Navy, and do the same. Add in a few dresses and a couple pairs of shoes, and hopefully we'll be set.

[Anonymous]

Ditto not buying bottoms unless I've identified one, or better, two, tops that match.

Another thing I do is ruthlessly cull things that are even a little bit stained, pilled, or faded. I admit that I can do this because my MIL goes overboard with clothes, but she shops at Kohls--she gave my 5yo FIFTEEN t-shirts at the start of the summer. (I cannot restrain her. i've tried. But it does make me more willing to get rid of stuff, because there's always more, and i'm not paying for it.) The flip side of this is the one time she bought him a $35 shirt from Boden, it lasted 2 years beautifully. But i've passed on some Hanna Anderson type hand-me-downs because they were too worn looking.

[Anonymous]

oh dear.

[Anonymous]

I find Boden to be tricky because it's all made to kind be crazy patterns together. I can never replicate the look myself!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I try to stick to a consistent color palette, which changes when she goes up a size. So, for example, my DD's "colors" right now are navy, purple/lavender, gray, pink, and yellow. So I only buy stuff that more or less fits that palette. I make sure the sneakers in particular are consistent with it. Earlier, it was navy, purple, pink, turquoise, and light green. The summer before that, it was red, because I found these awesome red sneakers, navy, dark green, purple, and gray. So basically I stick to a few key favorite colors, like navy and purple, and then build the rest of the wardrobe around that. I have a lot of hand-me-downs to choose from, so I don't actually buy a whole lot-- I just buy things to fill in the gaps.

This is what I (try to) do as well. It seems rigid but by the time you add a couple gifts from grandma and some superhero gear bought by Dad, there will be a couple more styles/colors I don't find it to regimented. Basically I buy mostly classic solid colored clothing (and a couple stripes) from Old Navy and Gap and then add a couple (sort of complementary) things from Tea for DD and Boden for DS.

Exactly. Also, if you know you will always have certain basics then you can buy them in advance when you see a good price. My DD will never be without plain navy leggings and brown Mary Janes, so I get them when the getting is good.