My Picks

I'm not quite sure why I felt the need to blog about my clothing of choice for Clara, but perhaps someone can use the info. Ok, here ya go; here's my faves:


Carter's- I love Carter's. I've never had a problem with shrinkage with anything I've purchased, even 100% cotton. Never once has any of her Carter's clothes even gotten a hole in them. They are a little pricier than other brands, but in my opinion, they're worth it. I typically only buy Carter's when it's on sale, usually at the outlet mall or Kohl's, so that helps me justify the higher cost. All of Clara's socks are Carter's; they don't shrink or unravel. And they are my favorite pajamas, too. So many different styles and colors to choose from.


Genuine Kids- This is an Osh Kosh brand sold only at Target (I think). It's all really nice quality, yet much more reasonably priced than regular Osh Kosh. Their clothes are really cute and unique. This year, I bought both pair of Clara's jeans and overalls there and I love them because they don't have an excessive amount of embroidered stuff all over them that a lot of the other brands have. Their cute little dresses are usually only $12.99. Can't beat that.


Miniwear- I'm adding this brand as of today. It's sold at Babies R Us and I just realized today how good of a bargain their clothes are. They have two piece outfits, and while I don't particularly care for their winter sets (I don't really like winter sets of any kind too much), I do love their summer sets. They're only $9.99 and you can get them on sale frequently. Today was buy 1 get 1 half off. I've bought several sets and they've all held up nicely. I've never had problems with shrinkage either. Here are the two I bought today. Not bad for $7.50 each.

Stride Rite- Love 'em, but my budget doesn't. I've only bought a couple of pair. I will probably always buy her sandals that go with everything from there, but that's about it. I think it's important that the sandals she wears on a daily basis have good arch support and are comfortable so she doesn't get blisters since she'll be wearing them without socks. And since she'll be wearing them 8 months out of the year.

Now, here are the brands I think are overrated.

Old Navy- I can occasionally find something there that I like, but most of the time their stuff is pretty expensive. Plus, a lot of it tends to be a little too showy for my taste. I think everything I've ever gotten Clara from there was on clearance. I will say their Halloween costumes are very cute and very reasonably priced.

Osh Kosh- I get that it's very high quality stuff, but $20 for a baby t-shirt at an outlet store is just insane. I go check out the outlet store when I'm up there, but I rarely buy anything because even on sale, it's so darn expensive. Also, a lot of their stuff has Osh Kosh printed across the front of it and I'm not a big fan of advertising what clothes my child is wearing, especially when it's somewhat expensive. I'm just weird like that. (It's the same reason I never buy Tommy Hilfiger or Polo, even if it's on sale. I bought her a Tommy Hilfiger dress for $5.00 at a resale shop and found myself explaining to everyone that I bought it used because I didn't want people thinking I'd be so frivolous with my money, but that's just me.)

Payless shoes- They seldom have anything very cute, they never seem to have a very good selection and tend to run about $15 for toddler sizes. I cringe at spending $15 on cheapo kids shoes that are going to give Clara stinky feet and blisters. (Linsey can vouch for the stinky Payless feet. She once cleared a fitting room when she removed her shoes. Remember that, Linsey? It was bad.) I've found that the best place to get cheap shoes is at Target. Most of them are around $12. And Sears usually has a pretty big selection of shoes and are typically in the $15 range.

Boutiques- We all know how much I love smocking, but I simply cannot justify spending $75 or more on a dress for my little princess. I just can't do it. Same thing goes for their matching ensembles. Actually, a lot of the boutique style outfits are pretty ugly in my opinion. Oh, and $8-$9 on a large hairbow? Thanks, but I'll stick with my not-quite-as-perfect handmade hairbows. Clara doesn't sit still long enough for anyone to notice the little drips of hot glue or the unevenness of the ribbon (or at least that's what I tell myself). And anyway, you've seen how long I've been making hairbows. Almost 20 years. I'm a pro.

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So, did my last post render everyone speechless? Are you just embarrassed for me that I have so little pride that I would post that picture? Or is it just that you're remembering your mother's advice that "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."?