As Good As Used

I come from a large family, but there's a big enough age gap between me and my closest sibling that I almost never had to wear hand-me-downs. But my boys, unfortunately, will not be able to say the same - especially Coby (son #3 who's due in a few short weeks, if you're new here or just out of the loop). A friend of mine sent me a few adorable little outfits the other day (shout-out to Elly!), and it dawned me that, for now at least, those are the only new things he has! Everything else - right down to his nursery bedding and decor - has been used by at least one, if not both, of my older boys.

It's really funny how that works: things just go downhill, fashionably speaking, when you've got more than one child. When we just had Colin, we decked the kid out. He wore better clothes than either of his parents. Only brand-name, only the best for our little prince. Allow me to share a few examples:



Then Cameron came along ... and though we weren't making any less money, there was less to spend on wardrobe when divided among two kids. Anything Cammie wore was either used or generic:



(Just pretend he isn't picking his nose in that last picture, k?)

And now there'll be Coby, who - chances are - will rarely see an item of clothing or pair of shoes that isn't "pre-owned" or off the clearance rack. But you know what? He'll still be adorable, hand-me-downs or not. To prove my point, let me show you one last picture of my boys (and before I get hate mail, I promise they're not stoned. Just non-photogenic, like their mother):

See? If not for my artfully applied labeling ('cause I've got mad photo-editing skillz, yo) you'd never be able to tell the difference!

Comments

  1. Rita-it is so true. I'm pregnant with my 3rd child. I have one girl (6) and one boy (2). For the sake of cheapness I'm hoping for a boy since I have saved all the boy clothes and one of our kids will have to share a room. =) I love your blog!!

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  2. That last pic seriously made me LOL! TOO CUTE! They crack me up. Coming from a one income, family of 7, I obviously RARELY wore anything name brand unless it came from a garage sale, but we still felt spoiled. As long as they know they are loved and you guys do the best that you can, they won't care what the labels are! :)

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  3. Wow! They DO look like the same shirts! And I think maybe you did stone them, with Benadryl? Don't know...just sayin'.

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  4. It is "unfair" that, in our family, the oldest daughter gets the grand majority of new clothes purchases, and the other two girls get hand-me-downs. I've also been very fortunate that my children are small compared to their friends, so we get hand-me-downs from them as well.

    Anything you buy new is used the first time you use it, so I see no problem with second-hand clothes or toys or furniture.

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  5. Morgan has kept Drake's stuff in tip-top share, all for the next one. She hopes for a boy (all boys, all 3/4 of them she has), which means of course, the next one will be a girl, lol. I didn't get hand-me-downs because there was too much time between me and my sister. But hand-me-downs are part of life. Dallas even got his sister's, well, when it came to strollers, toys and such, he never had to wear pink ruffles.

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  6. That's it, I'm shopping at Wal-Mart from now on. I'll just bring a Banana Republic catalogue with me.

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  7. Haha, that's funny.

    If I had another kid the same thing might happen to it. But I'm not sure. I LOVE to shop for children's clothes. I'll go naked if it means my daughter gets the adorable skirt with a matching top and hat..I know. I'm a strange one..

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  8. HA - I too have three boys, although my older ones are twins and we have the hand me down loop. I now have clothes that I gave away after they were too big for the twins, that have now been handed back for the little one.

    Stopping by from SITS and LOVING your blog!!! Going to read more now.

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  9. I miss you on my blog, come back! My URL changed... www.myhappymyfunny.blogspot.com

    I moved and didn't have internet for few weeks, I am back :)

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  10. First, I think they could NOT be any cuter. And you do have mad photoshop skillz. Playa..just kidding. I felt I had to add "playa" because I actually ended a word with the letter Z. LOL.

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  11. LOL too cute. The majority of my son's wardrobe has been from a gal that my mother-in-law works with. I love it cuz then I don't freak out if something gets stained. :)

    And they're not going to remember at this age anyways, right?

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  12. Try being the youngest of 7 like me....luckily I think I only wore things from Susan & Denise though.....but heck my mom made ALL of our clothes back in the day - it was insane!
    And wow those shirts look similar!!

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  13. LOL, I was the only girl and STILL wore hand-me-downs from a friend who was a couple of years older. But she had nice clothes, so I didn't really mind. What I did mind was the darn cowboy bedspread and curtains I inherited from my brothers!

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  14. I hear you loud and clear! I honestly don't think Baby (who just turned 4) has had a brand new pair of shoes yet!

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  15. So funny! My boys are experiencing the same thing. Kids #2 makes a big difference.

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  16. I am the oldest in my family, but I still wore hand me downs from my cousin, passed them onto another cousin, she passed them back to my sister, and then we passed them once more to yet another cousin. Each time a new box or bag of hand me downs arrived, it was like Christmas morning all over again!

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