School Clothes for us po' folks

Valerie - posted on 07/23/2012

Buy iron on patches, fabric paints, and other artsy stuff and let your daughter design her own old clothes! She'll have a bladt doing it, and maybe she can invite some of her friends do to it too! It will save you time, energy, money. Or you can just accesorize her outfits to make them looking newer and cleaner.

Magaly - posted on 08/03/2009

depends on their age, but i like to freshen up outfits with accessories. teens & tweens can go crazy for bold necklaces, bangles, and hair pieces. some ideas: you can give an old blouse a new look by switching up the buttons, cut jeans to make capris/shorts, layer tops so they'll look different every time u wear them.

Jennifer - posted on 08/03/2009

I have two girls returning to school. We keep it simple. Jeans and t shirts. You can get lots of tshirts these days for 1-4 dollars at places like Target and Walmart, or try TJMAX, Marshalls or Ross. I can not bring myself to spend more for school clothes. They play hard and eat messy, it is just not worth it even if you had the money. Plus you are setting a priority for you family. It is not about what they are wearing or how much it cost. You will prevent a lot of teen mother/daughter stress. Check out churches too. I know our church has a group that tries to bless people in the community with great items at no cost. Blessings to you and your family. Don't stress, if you don't make a big deal about the clothes usually kids don't know the difference :) sometimes we create their stress by what we model.

Stacey - posted on 08/03/2009

Dye works wonders. I have also found that sewing ribbon or lace on pants adds a flare. and the girls will love it! If the shorts or pants have holes in them, take an old flannel shirt or something and patch it up. For something new...garage sales are awesome!

Branwen - posted on 08/02/2009

try resaleshops and garage sales

Helen - posted on 08/02/2009

Why not try a clothes swap? We're doing them a lot here in Canada, where you get a couple of friends and everyone invites 1 or 2 people for a Sunday, and bring clothes to swap. You can specify children's clothes only, or open it up to all sizes for more diversity. Plus, if there's someone in your town who "refurbishes" old clothes into new fashions, invite them along. They usually have some great ideas on taking some older pieces (jackets, etc.) and making them fresh and funky.

http://www.cbc.ca/ottawablog/2009/07/swa...

Deirdre - posted on 08/01/2009

Well, I know a friend of mine told me to help with " high water" jeans, take the stiching out of the bottom and iron over it. It kind of looks stone-washed on the bottom, but with the way they are making jeans these days, it is kind of in style. I did it for my kids and you would think they had on new jeans.

Traci - posted on 08/01/2009

Buy clothes dye. You'd be amazed at how new things will look when there dyed. You don't even have to do the same color

Elaine - posted on 08/01/2009

go o walmart and buy some dye and redye some of her cloths!

Tina - posted on 08/01/2009

Rit Dye works good for plain colored clothes

Yohnnilee - posted on 07/31/2009

Patches are fun and ribbons, take some ideas from fashion design! Puff paints and fun stuff like that. But what I do with my kids stuff is I have a Yard Sale and then the money I get from his old clothes in the sale goes to new clothes from Thrift Stores and other Yard Sales... I'm a bargain shopper!!!

Crystal - posted on 07/31/2009

I hit thrift stores and ebay. Sometimes you can get some great deals, depending on what you're looking for. In addition to buying, I sell my children's clothing in order to use the profits for things they need or want. It comes in handy this time of year, and for Christmas.

Tracy - posted on 07/31/2009

you could go to walmart right about now ... they have racks with clothes on them for a 1.00 to 2.00 i got a whole lot of them lastnight so try to hit the walmarts

Debbie - posted on 07/30/2009

I hit the GoodWill stores. Sometimes you can find brand new clothes. I buy a little at a time.

Jennifer - posted on 07/30/2009

resale shops are great too and you can take your old stuff there and have them set up a n account and get credit from them also.

Tracie - posted on 07/30/2009

My aunt works for the Department of Health and the have big bins of clothes they give away for free. Like new, if not new condition. Please give them a try. They have some cute stuff and like I said no cost. Good luck.

Ruth - posted on 07/30/2009

Hi. I think our mom's guilt gets to us. I've found that my kids (not really my son) want something new for the first day and then return to wearing their old clothes. I bought a ton of clothes when my kids were younger. As they have grown, they seem to care less and less. It's a nice savings. I've found that you can get some great bargains at Old Navy and Target.

All the best with your health and job search.

Ruth at SuchASmartMom

Jackie - posted on 07/30/2009

My family usualy only rummages or thrift store buy for school clothes. Only the basics are bought at dept. stores. What I do to freshen up worn out or old clothes is to of course get some colorful pattern patches to not only fix worn out knees and elbows but to add a bit of flare. If you have a sewing machine that has different stitches see if it has an embrodery funtion on it and you can also add a bit of flare to jeans and shorts by drawing a design on them and then embrodery stitching them. Make use of dad or grandpa's old ties if you can't find patches the kids like! Also ties can be used for belts, homemade scarves and such. Old worn out buttons and other fabric can also be used to spruce things up a bit. Shirts are a bit harder. If your kids have (daughters here) tank tops that they love and a blouse or a button down shirt they like but is old also.....cut the back of the tank top out and make your own connected shirts with the button down! Basically attach the tank top to the button down and make it a pull over blouse. Plain tshirts can be combined with nicer shirts to make a layered look. You can also take old outfites and go thrift or rummaging for new assecories like belts, ties, shoe strings, purses, backpacks, hats, earings, and such!

Jill - posted on 07/30/2009

Couple of ideas...if you have any white or light colored shirts that are faded or stained but otherwise in good condition, maybe you could tye dye them or let your daughter get creative with some fabric paints. I agree with checking the thrift stores too...maybe you can even find some plain white stuff there to tye dye. Or if you can sew, add some appliques. One thing I have done to increase the life of shirts for my daughter that are getting too short, but otherwise fit well in the shoulders is to find a piece of fabric (check the remnant bins at Walmart, Joanns or any fabric store) for cheap and use my sewing machine to gather and add a little skirt to the bottom of the t-shirt. That way depending on how long it is, she can wear it as a dress or as a long tunic/shirt with leggings. My best friend is struggling financially, and she has made some good finds at garage sales too. Or if you know someone who has a child slightly older or bigger than yours, maybe ask if they would be willing to sell the outgrown clothes? Good luck!

Melanie - posted on 07/29/2009

I don't know about freshening up old clothes, but can suggest that you look at department store's clearance racks. Almost all department stores have a ton of clearance this time of year and you can get amazing deals. I bought my son a pair of Calvin Klein jeans for $8.20, not much more than you'd pay for a pair of used Levi's at Goodwill!

Sarah - posted on 07/28/2009

Check your local agenccies some places give vouchers for clothing and shoes

Angie - posted on 07/28/2009

Try hitting the thrift stores. Sometimes we find brand new clothes on the rack for just a couple of dollars. There are cute patches you can buy at Walmart to put over worn through knees. Adding fringe and sparkles can do a lot to freshen up an old outfit.