School shopping.

Oh gosh, I'm so far behind... I have been procrastinating buying Blake new clothes. And I don't think I can hold out any longer, the poor kid has maybe 4 shirts and one pair of shorts that don't have holes. And no, he has NO jeans that fit, they are all high-waters. Not to mention that his heels hang over his flip flops, and it's a fight every Sunday morning to get him to wear his Sunday shoes because they are about a size and a half too small. I feel like it's a losing battle, He is growing so dang fast, I just can't keep him in clothes! So on the list of things I MUST do this week before possibly having a baby next week or the week after, is buy Blake new school clothes. I have to admit, It was my favorite holiday growing up... The one day a year my parents took all 6 of us kids {My youngest brother wasn't old enough for new school clothes} to Dillards and let us pick out our school clothes and shoes... And actually bought them!... WAY better than Christmas or a birthday! That's a tradition I want to have with my kids. It was awesome. Anyways, I am really dreading spending the money on it. Yes, I know I could buy wal mart clothes, But here's my problem with that, you get what you pay for. It's crap. they fall once and there's a hole in the knee. I only buy Gap jeans and shorts because they are thick and great quality and can be used as hand me downs. I feel like by the time I spend $20 on 4 pairs of cheap jeans because I have to keep replacing them, I may as well have just gone to the Gap clearance and bought one pair that is going to last for the same price. So, this is how I plan to keep my spending at a minimum.

• Hit consignment shops. Sometimes you can get lucky and find great stuff super cheap, other times it's a waste of gas. But it can't hurt to try, If you don't find anything you don't like, you don't have to buy it, but there's always the off chance you can find a brand new item with the tags for 1/4 of the original  price.

•  Hit up Gaps clearance. And sign up for their e mails. A lot of the time you can get an extra 30% off your entire purchase coupon. That includes clearance items.
• Dillards always puts and extra 40% off their clearance. You just have to watch for the sale, to know when it is. 
• Scout online clearance sites. I love Zulily.

• I love the Ralph Lauren outlet for Blake's shirts. Of course, I only buy clearance.

I will say, There is one thing I do pay full price for and those are Blake's Sperry Topsiders. They are FANTASTIC shoes that are seriously indestructible. We have a pair in almost every size and all 3 of my kids have worn them and will wear them. So $50 on a pair of shoes that all 4 of my kids will wear almost every day for 6-8 months is totally worth every penny.

 

So, here's a few outfits I love for Blake that I will find and put together for a fraction of the retail price. Um, but as a side note, On the Ralph Lauren website, you can personalize your shirts, down to the color of the pony, or you can get their initials embroidered on them... I'm not going to lie, this is going to take some will power not to pay full price for a few personalized shirts...