Tips for dressing a girl

It's no secret that Shye has a better wardrobe than me. For one thing she looks way better in rompers and leggings than I ever will, and for another thing toddler clothes are quite a bit cheaper than adult clothes so when there's money to spend it gets spent on her. I guess that's just being a parent, right? But still, sometimes clothing a child can feel kind of daunting. I remember telling my mom once how frustrated I was with our budget because there was no allowance for Shye's clothes for despite the fact that she basically needs a new wardrobe every six months, mostly due the extreme change in weather here in Utah. If we lived in CA I guess she could probably wear her clothes for a year. But anyway, over the past few years I've figured out a few tricks to making the dollars stretch so that Shye can have a cute wardrobe.

Wearing dresses as tops. Here's one that really give you some bang for your buck. Whenever a dress starts getting too short, throw a pair of leggings underneath and call it a top. I do this all the time. Shye had some cute play dresses that were 2Ts last year and this year they were like mid-thigh on her so she wore leggings under them this year and they looked like tunic tops.

The boys section. This was one of my biggest aha moments. Not only is the boys section full of cute plaid tops and button down shirts but they also generally have better deals and aren't as picked over as the girls sections are. A few years ago I got Shye a fleece lined denim jacket on clearance from the boys section and no one was the wiser. I've also been a fan of boys shoes. I love these little Converse knock offs I got for her and this fall I'm hunting for some cute boys boots for her.

Walmart. Seriously. Most of the stuff at Walmart is kinda ghetto but they do have cute stuff mixed in with the ghetto. They always have good basic tees, leggings, playdresses, and jeans. And then every once in a while they will have something majorly cute like these moccasins.

Thrift stores. Duh. I get like half of Shye's clothes from the thrift store. You just can't beat the deals you find there. Some of my most favorite, unique items have been from there like this outfit and the clogs that are actually from Holland. 

End of season clearance. The best deals are in late July-early August for summery things and January-Feb for winter stuff. Of course, I have to guess what size Shye will be wearing for the following year but I'm usually pretty spot on. My only fumble was when Shye was 18 months old and wearing a size 5 shoes I guessed that the following year she would be in a size 7 and bought her a cute pair of shoes on clearance from H&M. Wrong. It took two years for her to grow into those 7s. My favorite places for end of season clearance are Target, Old Navy, H&M, Gap, and JcPenney. I picked up these cute outfits from Target last month for next summer. And those silver sandals from Old Navy? $1.47. Boom.

What are your secrets for finding good deals?