Kids' designer clothing

[MotherBear]

This is just what most of the migrants from the UK are trying to escape from. Really bad news that it's now reached NZ.

Parents digging deep for kids' designer clothing
Page 1 of 2 5:00AM Sunday May 27, 2007
By Michelle Coursey


Charlotte Porter, 8 years old, models designer kid's clothes. Photo / Doug Sherring

Fancy a Trelise Cooper jacket for $285, a Bellerose white long-sleeved T-shirt for $120, or a DKNY denim skirt for $161.50?

You might be prepared to spend these amounts on an outfit for yourself, but these are children's clothes we're talking about.

Designer labels with the price tags to match are no longer the preserve of mums and dads - mini fashion items for their offspring are becoming more popular than ever.

At these kinds of prices, parents could end up spending more than $500 to outfit a child under the age of 10.

A pair of DKNY jeans for a 6-month-old baby boy could set you back $133.90, or how about $214.90 for a pinafore for a 6-month-old baby girl?

More here .

[Bermy Girl]

Are they nuts???? As long as my sons clothing has a little quality to them...in other words they'll last through more then two wears...the cheaper the better. They just grow way too fast to be spending that type of money on they're clothing!! In fact, I won't even spend that type of money on myself, so my son is SOL...

[Welshgirl]

My sentiments exactly. I made the mistake of sending our daughter to school in her best get-up when she first started Kindy, and was rewarded with ruined clothes on a few occasions - glue, paint, glitter, mud, more glue, you name it, it was probably on her clothes!

It's pretty much the unsaid rule that you don't, especially when the kids are younger, send them to school in their best clothes. The Warehouse, Farmers, or similar, sell decent enough clothes for a reasonable price, that you don't mind occasionally getting stained or ruined. By all means, buy an expensive outfit or two for special occasions, but they'll probably only get to wear those once or twice before they outgrow them (unless you have an extortionate amount of special occasions within a year!).

The teachers look at it like as long as the kids come to school clean and well-fed, so what if there is a stain or two on their pants that wouldn't come out in the wash..... Unfortunately for mums but fortunately for kids, over here, the messier the fun, the better!

[Bermy Girl]

I did a lot of shopping at Farmer's the last time I was there in March for my son, they had great summer sales on and of course it's summer in Bermuda now. They're great quality clothes, but very reasonably priced. Here the cost is astronomical for kids clothing. I would say it's about 2.5 times more then the same item would be in NZ and the quality is not as good. Come on NZ

How old's your little one?

[MotherBear]

I would really hate to see NZ go down this path. The financial pain that parents go through in the UK to keep their kids in designer type clothes, because the kids have to bow to peer pressure, is agonising to watch.

For God's sake, it's only clothes - one stain and that expensive piece of clothing is ruined. How can anyone relax with that hanging over them? Clothes are for having fun in and living life in, not sitting or standing around, scared to move in case it gets stained or ripped, creased or even nicked.

Designer clothes is one of my bugbears, in case you hadn't noticed. This subject absolutely infuriates me, especially where children are concerned. They should be concentrating on enjoying their young lives, not being concerned about whether their clothing is 'cool' or 'in fashion' and whether it's admired by their peers and being bullied if it doesn't come up to scratch.

Give me strength.

[Bermy Girl]

I absolutely agree with you MB ! This is where I think school uniforms are good because it negates a lot of these issues for kids and allows them all to be on equal footing regardless of socio-economic background