Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Formula for Fall Shopping for Boys.

Coming up on having my third boy, I now have my "fall/winter" clothes shopping formula down to a science. I basically use a similar but slightly modified list for the summer too, but I thought I'd share my fall version here in case any other moms of boys could benefit from it. 

Here's my basic list: 

- 4-5 long sleeved t-shirts
- 1 or 2 button up shirts
- zip up sweatshirt
- hoodie
- 2 pairs of jeans
- 2 pairs of sweatpants

- sneakers/socks
- dressier shoes
- pajamas
- winter coat

I don't go looking consignment or yardsales for my boys clothes because I figure I'd rather choose things that can all work together to give the most possible outfit combinations and then still have enough wear left in them to pass them down to the next two boys. The stores I always hit are Children's Place (great boys clothes selection, not crazy about the girls section) Carter's and Baby Gap. All three have outlets in my area, and I never pay full price for anything I buy. 

I took Drew & Isaiah clothes shopping yesterday and here's what we got for Drew:

Below: four of his basic long sleeve t-shirts. (the fifth is pictured with the zip up) Each of these shirts has a little character of it's own and a variety of colors, but they can all go with his jeans, gray pants or sweatpants that are pictured later. 

Below: his zip up hoodie. Underneath the hoodie is a white thermal long sleeved t, but I would put any of the other shirts under it on a cold day. 

Below: I love the versatility of this shirt. It is filling the category of "hoodie" on my list even though it's not technically... But I love that it could be worn totally casually on a comfy day with sweatpants or dressed up with his gray pants and brown boots with either the white thermal or a red polo from the summer underneath for a dressier look. 

Below: His two pairs of "jeans". (Before we go shopping I try everything from the year before on him, and in this case we had a pair of jeans that had been too big that were a gift to him last year, so instead of buying him a second pair this season I got these awesome gray straight leg jeans that I think will be so cute on him!) And a note about the jeans, I usually get a darker wash because they don't show spills or grass stains so easily and because I like the contrast on boys. Also pictured- His sneakers (gray and black) and his brown boots. Side note: I quite enjoy the fact that the "you can't wear brown and black together rule" is no longer in existence. It makes life so much easier and so much more fun to get dressed! 

Below: His two pairs of sweatpants. (This might sound like it contradicts my above statement, but I do still like a more athletic look to not break the brown and black rule, hence the gray and black sweatpants to go with the gray and black sneakers.) 

This year Drew's winter coat from last year still fits him, and for his birthday I ordered him this awesome brown faux leather bomber jacket that hasn't come yet. So that's not pictured either. 

I also happen to know that my mom got him and Isaiah their pajamas for their birthdays, so that's not pictured either. (I always get them a two pack of either summer or winter pajamas from carters when they're on sale) 

Lastly, you might notice that there are no button up shirts pictured. In the summer, I buy them the button ups where the sleeves roll up and button in place, and then in the winter we just roll the sleeves down, so I don't need to re-buy their dressier clothes. I figure those get the least wear anyways, so we make them last from one season to the next. 

This formula works for several reasons. Number one, I do laundry weekly, with an occasional smaller mid week load and I am not the least embarrassed for them to wear the same things over each week. I mix up the shirt/pants/shoes combinations and layer and they feel like new outfits. Besides, they're only for one season, they're going to have new clothes next winter, and honestly it's much easier for me to dress them when my options are smaller. Number two, it also works because at Christmas or Easter I always get each one a new shirt or sweater, and for Christmas they get new pajamas. So it's fun to have something fresh come into play part way through. And Number three, they sometimes get clothing from either my mom or Shaun's mom and we mix those pieces in too. 

One more thing to mention, I don't buy all this for each one, just for Drew and then I hand it down. But because I don't want to never get anything new for Isaiah, he usually gets a new pair of shoes, two new shirts and new pajamas. I mean, who cares about handing down pants, they are not so obvious, and shirts take the brunt of the spills and messes and the pajamas get a ton of wear, so that's what I replace for him. This particular time he actually got three new shirts because I found some good deals. :) 

Anyway, hopefully that was helpful for someone else out there, I love shopping with a purpose and a plan and knowing that I'm not forgetting anything or going to regret anything I bought. It takes a bit more thought up front as you are choosing what to buy to make sure it will all go together, but it is SO worth it in my opinion since it saves time and money in the long run :) 

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