Tuesday, October 2, 2012

5 Tips to Buying Cheap but Trendy Kids Fashions

This is a guest post by Nancy Evans, a writer who enjoys talking about frugality and families.

Kids fashions always seem to be so expensive, even more so, because you just know, whatever you buy is not going to fit them for long; at most, a year, or two if you’re really lucky. As a mom, it just seems a little silly to purchase a pair of shoes or a cool t-shirt, pants or jacket for $100 or more, when you know your child will soon grow out of it.

Buying out-of-fashion clothes, or finding second-hand, ill-fitting, and worn clothing isn’t the answer either; after all you don’t want your kids to look unfashionable or uncool. No! the solution is to find those hot new styles at the right price (well, within your budget). The key is to find those cheap Jordans, that cool inexpensive Abercrombie & Fitch or the latest in Aeropostale at a fraction of its going price. This way you won’t feel so bad when your kids quickly grow out of the latest and greatest fashion trend.

You can just go out and pick-up some more great new kids fashion styles. So, just how do you go about finding these trendy inexpensive fashions? The following are a few shopping tips that can get you the quality fashion brands you want at the price you can afford.


1 - Look Online
Shop around online for great kids fashions and footwear at a fraction of the price found in regular department stores, boutiques or malls. This is a fantastic opportunity for busy moms that also need to save money. Compare products form online stores, catalogue shops like Amazon or auction website lie eBay.
You’ll find there are many advantages to buying online; primarily, you don’t have to spend gas, time and money going form mall to mall to find what you want.
Additionally, you can take as much time as you want, when shopping online.
All you have to do is place items in your “Wish List” or “Shopping Cart” to save the selection while you make a final purchasing decision. Be sure to check out the online clearance and sales as well, you’ll find some of these deals quite incredible.

2 - Use Coupons
Before setting out to shop at your favorite department store look for coupons online for the stores you plan on visiting. These may only be 10% or coupons worth a few dollars but this can still be a savings worth paying attention to.

3 - Factory Outlets
Consider taking a drive to your nearest factory outlet. Even though this may be a couple of hours away, it may well be worth the extra expense, as outlets are usually factory stores and offer much better prices than department store prices.

4 - High-End Second Hand Shops
Locate a high-end second hand shop in your area. Often these stores have fashion items with very little use, or in very good condition. Still, when visiting these places, you have to realize you are taking a risk; you may or may not find those kids fashions (kids clothes, in good condition, are harder to find in thrift and second-hand stores).

5 - Garage Sales or Swap Meets
Church sales, school swap meets or garage sales are also excellent placed to find trendy kids fashions that meet your budget. However, you do have to search carefully (or you might miss the best stuff).
Shopping for trendy kids clothes at an affordable price is really a matter of using a few of these shopping techniques. You have to know what you are looking for, what the standard price, and you need to identify and jump on a good deal when you see it.

See my disclaimer