How to Shop for a 6-Year Old Fashionista on a Budget
Hey, Hey, it’s Jessica, one of Collin’s sidekicks!
When it comes to fashion, my daughter is 6 years old going on 17. So how do I keep my budget in check and shop for my little fashionista?
She’s been into fashion since she was three years old. At first, I loved it! When she was a baby, I enjoyed dressing her up in frilly dresses, skirts, and PINK, PINK, PINK! Little did I know I was creating a monster. A cute one, of course, but a monster nonetheless.🎀👗👡 She loves to have a lot of different “pieces”, and everything NEEDS to coordinate, from her earrings down to her socks. I mean, I get it. Clothes are fun. The price tags, however, are not.
The truth is, buying children’s clothing is a rat race. We know kids will either stain clothes or grow out of them within a very short period of time, so spending a ton of money on them doesn’t make sense. Thankfully, there are some things you can do to ease the financial burden.
Deals, deals, deals, and ONLY deals!
I’m confident in saying that 99% of the time, I’m getting some sort of deal. I never pay full-price. Well… on purpose, I should say. I actually had a very bad, eye-opening experience once. I took my daughter school shopping the summer before kindergarten, and we went into a more (let’s say) “trendy” store. I made the mistake of letting her pick out four items BEFORE looking at the price tags – and she was FAST. She grabbed them, the clothes looked cute, and I said “okay”.
I get up to the counter and the cashier tells me I owe her $125. My face must have said it all because she quickly added, “but you get a free tote for spending over $100”. Oh great, I thought, maybe we can live in that when we’re homeless!
Instead of creating a scene, I paid for the what should have been diamond-encrusted clothing, stopped at Auntie Anne’s to get a huge pretzel to ease the pain (ahh life before keto), and took with me a very valuable lesson.
Buy pieces to mix and match
It’s good to buy lots of plain pieces so they can mix and match. Also, for us, leggings are a must! My daughter prefers them 75% of the time. She doesn’t grow out of them as fast, and I hear less complaining about her jeans being “too itchy”. Another important and pretty common sense tip is the less white the better… does that really even need an explanation? 😉
Online shopping is my jam!
I prefer online shopping over going to the store… surprise, surprise! Yes, sometimes I get the wrong size (shoes mostly), but most of the time I can return them without a problem. If you’re reading this article, I am guessing you like to online shop as well.👍
My favorite online stores to shop at for my daughter are the ones that almost always have sales and/or free shipping like Carters, The Children’s Place, and Crazy 8, just to name a few. The Emoji shoes pictured above were from Crazy 8 and were only $7.19 shipped! I love taking advantage of their awesome sales when they’re also offering up free shipping on any size order!
It’s also important to sign up for emails and any free rewards or membership programs. For instance, score $10 off your $40 purchase at The Children’s Place just by signing up for their emails. Also, when you sign up for their Rewards Program, you’ll get 1 point for each dollar spent. Once you get 100 points, you’ll score a free $5 reward! They also offer free shipping every day and have lots of sitewide sales and hot clearance buys!
Another one of my go-to online stores is Carters.com. While they may not offer free shipping every day, they do offer free shipping to my local store. They also have tons of sales and a “Rewarding Moments” program. It’s free to sign up and you’ll earn points every time you make a purchase. Spend $100 and earn $10! Every little bit helps, right?
What’s with the massive bows?
One thing that has surprised me is how giant bows are all the rage right now. I don’t even think they were this popular in the 80s when I was in elementary school! The person responsible for putting bows back on the map is most notably JoJo Siwa. If you don’t know who this girl is, lucky you. Her brand can be super pricey.
Thankfully, I have been finding more and more of her stuff on sale. For instance, I purchased this set of bows from QVC for $25.74 shipped, which works out to $4.45 per bow. I realized that even as a deal, it still seems expensive for a bow, and I agree with you. I don’t exclusively buy these bows because my daughter wears bows every day, and I don’t have the money for them all to be JoJo.
You can buy this 15-pack of Hair Bows on Amazon for right around $11 which works out to 73¢ per bow! That’s more like it. 🤗 I also like to check out the hair section at Dollar Tree during one of my many weekly visits. They have cute headbands and bows, too!
Speaking of JoJo, I was also able to buy TWO pairs of JoJo shoes and a pair of Zac & Zoe boots for $27 shipped from Payless. Don’t sleep on Payless deals, guys!
This brings me to my next point: Don’t let brand names freak you out!
My daughter is still young enough where this hasn’t been a big issue yet (other than JoJo, of course). But with tweens and teens, it gets to be ridiculous. Everything HAS to be brand named OR ELSE. As adults, we realize brand names are fairly silly and really don’t care about them as much. I hope my daughter will not fall victim to the brand name game, but if it happens, I’m ready.
If it’s currently happening to you, don’t worry! More often than not you’ll be able to find that name brand designer item for much less online from eBay and Amazon or at stores like TJ Maxx. Consignment and thrift stores are another option, and you can even do that online now with sites like Thredup.com and Swap.com!
I hope my little tips will help people who are in the same boat as myself. I’m always looking for more tips and tricks on how to score my little fashionista clothing without busting my purse threads, so if you have any advice on ways you save on kids clothing, please let me know in the comments section! Thank you!
Awesome How precious thank you for sharing : ) : )
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I don’t know where you live, but there’s a semi-annual sale in some cities called “Good as New Consignment.” Also Consignment Stores have great sales. I used to purchase accessories at Michaels & Hobby Lobby.
Thanks for the tip! I will definitely look into that! I LOVE Michaels and Hobby Lobby!
thx so much for the post. My sister has a tough time with my niece, when she has to buy her clothes. Blame me .I have two boys .. and little girls outfits are so cute .This will help us both . ps. Your little girl is so cute. keep up the good work and God bless
Thank you for the sweet comment! I am glad my post could help you and your sister!
Thrift stores. You never know what you may find. Brand new,barely used…
YES! I love checking out thrift stores, especially when I score a great find!
Being a grandma and trying to stay”in style” with buying clothes for my granddaughters is sometimes challenging and expensive, this is a big help in finding deals. Thank you! Your daughter is gorgeous! A proud grandma!
Awww! Thank you, grandma Jill! She gets her looks from her g-ma!
LoL! That comment about the free tote cracked me up! I only buy clothes for my kiddos on clearance (must be 50% or more!) at Target/ Walmart or buy second hand at garage sales (25 cents for a shirt? Yes please!) or garage sale Facebook groups. Feeling a bit nervous for when they start demanding specific brands or being picky about designs!
Yes! Target and Walmart have awesome clearance deals on kid’s clothes. I especially love when Target has a Cartwheel offer on them too!
I have the same struggles with my 7 year old! She is a total fashionista, too! Thank you for the suggestions!
You’re welcome! The struggle is real! 😂
I think our daughters came from the same mold! Some things you didn’t mention that I’ve found to work for us are: shop next size up in clearance going out of season section. This is handy because when a growth spurt happens you’ve already got some clothes. Also, my daughter LOVES hand-me-downs from her cool older cousin. The semi-annual spring/fall pre-owned sales work well for me because it’s like going to multiple garage sales under one roof (even though I typically pay a little more than garage sale prices, I justify it by knowing it’s cheaper than new in store, but worth the time and driving hassle of going to multiple garage sales). And for us, we communicate with family members that like to purchase little girls clothing as gifts (Christmas/birthdays). We save more expensive purchases like boots and dresses for them, even arranging shopping with my daughter so she helps choose. One thing I try to do now which I think will pay off down the road is to let her know that saving money on clothes is important. I use little teaching moments to teach her my tricks.
Thank so so much for the awesome tips Angie! I did forget to mention that I rely a TON on my niece for hand me downs. Her clothes are super stylish and because she grows like a weed, they look brand new!
For those who have a kiddo headed into the Justice age of clothes…it may be worth looking into working there doing floor sets to get the discount (40%). I did this for years while my girls were younger. Once a month for a couple hours on a Sunday evening and it saves you a ton on clothes. I’d usually be home by 10:30pm at the latest and still worked my regular day job with no issues. It was a wonderful way to take away some of that sticker shock!
Thanks for the info! We’re childens place ppl but sometimes the quality is ehhh
That is such a great idea! I had no clue about this! Justice clothes are so cute but you are right about the sticker shock. Thanks so much for the tip!
I must be the only person that feels this way, but I cannot support the JoJo stuff. I feel so sorry for that little girl and the way her mother exploits her.
I agree. It’s alarming to me when I see this girl being celebrated as what young girls should aspire to. Nothing wrong with wearing a giant bow in your hair, but If I had a girl, I would push her toward better role models.
I recently discovered Kid2Kid consignment and have a new addiction! I just wanted to get a little cash from my daughter’s outgrown toys and clothes, but instead got hooked on the 20% more offer of in store credit! I found some amazing deals like little people, megabloks sets, Janie & Jack and Under armour clothes! I have only spent $6 out of pocket on well over $200 worth of toys, books, and clothes.
Thank you for the Kid2Kid tip! I don’t have a store in my state just yet, but my fingers are crossed that we will get one soon!
great tips! I have a 9yo fashionista! I love shopping secondhand (facebook marketplace, swap.com, ebay). For new items, I have been loving GAP lately when they have 40% + 10% off coupons!
Yes, GAP is great! I have found super cute clothes there! We actually posted an awesome deal from them today! https://hip2save.com/2018/10/21/up-to-70-off-gap-kids-shoes-more-star-wars-unicorns-more/
Check your area for a local Kids sale OR better yet, start one in your town! We have one every Oct and April to prep for seasons. It’s basically a very organized garage sale and anyone in the city can bring clothes to sell. I got my 4 year old a north face jacket for 6.00 and Elsa and Anna Halloween costumes for $10 for both! I plan what I buy around this sale every year and its saved me a lot so far. Thanks for the tips you gave! Those will definitely help!
Thanks, Jennifer! This is a fantastic idea! A $6 North Face jacket? SCORE!
Well this reminds of my 7 year old, she’s also a true fashionista and luckily from the time she’s 2 I’ve found great deals at a for profit thrift where clothes are new or almost, clean and smell fine.. in an organized layout. As far as the “Jo jos” etc are concerned..I’ve been strict and explained the fact that these are people who get paid to do these You tube videos to hawk stuff THEY get for free to try and get parents to shell out THEIR hard earned money to make themselves rich! That goes for the LOL scam and the list goes on. So she understands money doesnt grow on trees and we can’t fall for everything these You Tubers are hawking. She’s not even allowed to watch these things put it that way, Bcus when she did that’s when the asking n begging started. I’m like uh uh. Nowadays we just buy practical necessary sale items from places like the Gap or Walmart.. where there are enough cute unicorn themed or Disney or other interesting themed clothing are available. If you try n keep up with every fad that You tube throws at the kids these days, you will go bankrupt!
Feeling really grateful right now that my kids have to wear uniforms to school. Saves us a ton of money.
I am very jealous of this! 😉
My 6.5 year old is Jojo obsessed and I get her bows on geek(app). They are only like $2-$3 each!
Sweet! I am going to check that out! Thank you for the tip!
I am a big yard saler and when I find a yard sale that has a majority of clothes that are my taste, I offer my name and number. Then I tell them, instead of having to set up and do all the work, next time they can call me and I will buy ALL their clothes! Because you are buying in bulk, the prices are WAY lower! I just bought 7 bins of Justice clothes for less than $0.50 a piece! I just resale anything I don’t need!