Boutique Style without Boutique Price

Being a mom of a beautiful 5 month old now I have come to realize girls clothes are expensive. (Probably all children clothes) but I refuse to pay $35 for a dress that Lillian will only be able to wear for one season before she grows out of it. I hardly ever spend that much money on something for myself and I have clothes I still wear from back in high school (10yrs. ago). Not going to mention any brands but you other moms have seen those cute outfits and then gasp when you see the sale price is still $55!!!

Here lies the dilemma though. Those $35+ dresses, jumpers, and bubbles are sooo... cute. And a lot of those smocked dresses are timeless. I wore them was I was young. But I just can't justify it. So what do we do? We find the deals. Trust me they are out there.

Most of Lillian's clothes were bought by Nana or her Aunt Nina, they have good taste. Baby Gap is where a lot of her everyday clothes have come from, and the onesies are from department stores like TJMaxx or Kohls( we almost always have a 30% off coupon for Kohls). These stores have great deals. But what about those expensive cute dresses? The answer is consignment! You have to be careful though at these sales because they aren't always way cheaper ( the previous mom remembered how much she paid for that dress and wants to make the money back). But for the most part it's a deal! Here are two little outfits i got at a sale today.

This swimsuit is for next summer and was monogramed. I just unstitched the monogram and will either replace it with Lillian's monogram or an applique. It was only $5! Whoop Whoop! (I'm a sucker for seersucker)

This was a little bit more pricey,$25 for top and pants, but it's a size 2 so I figured she may be able to wear it a little longer than a month or two. Plus I can add a shirt underneath for cooler weather and add a little applique or monogram.

Other places I've seen are Facebook groups of moms doing resales of their kids clothes. Kind of like a yard sale but through Facebook. This is what I would do because you just take a picture and post with a price and anyone can view it. No worrying about attaching them to hangers with safety pins. Small businesses or boutiques also have Facebook pages and will generally have a daily or weekly deal! I recently got this cute little dress for Lillian through Hush Little Baby.

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It was a daily deal for just $16 and while on the Facebook page I noticed another cute dress

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for $60 but they mentioned a coupon code to get 60% so I got that for a steal at $14.40!  Granted there is shipping cost always involved with these items but it keeps me from having to get  little one ready and out and about and saves gas money. Plus who doesn't love when you get a package in the mail! ***UPDATE DO NOT ORDER FROM THEM! I have yet to receive my order almost 3 months later and I emailed them twice and no response. E tracking number they emailed me only shows a label was created for this package but I that it has never shipped****

The last place I've been able to find a few good deals online are websites like Zulily. Zulily is a daily deals site featuring up to 90% of apparel and other items like toys, shoes, and housewares. I have found some cute dresses on here cheaper than I have at a consignment sale. Zulily is done through a membership but don't worry it's a free membership and if you refer friends you get store credit. ( if you don't already have an account tell them I sent you when you sign up) plus if you buy something in the morning and then realize later that the other toy was actually a good deal too so you want to buy it, no problem. You only pay for shipping once in a day. Here is something I bought recently from Jelly the Pug on Zulily for $19.99. I don't remember the original price but I believe it was around $40-$50.

(Bad phone picture)

Two more pieces of advice; 1. You can  to learn to sew the clothes yourself. I am not that talented. Or  maybe you can find a friend who would be willing to whip up a new outfit (they saw on Pinterest) for a small fee. Buy the fabric at hobby lobby and use a coupon to save money as well. 2. Buy stuff out of season. Before i even had lillian my mom and i went shopping at a department store. Went over to the clearance racks and racked up on some adorable outfits. Lillian's closet ranges with clothes from 3months- 3T. Eventually she will fit into the clothes and we try to guesstimate what size she will be wearing for each season.