I started listing what Arlo was wearing at the bottom of blog posts, then promptly forgot all about that. Plus, I had to wait until I’d built up a decent collection of photos of him actually putting these items to use. So, better late than never, I present Arlo’s Spring style.
Cardigan, long sleeved T-shirt, and jeans – all from Tootsa MacGinty
Top – Smafolk, bought from Little Sunflowers.
Trousers with tartan turn-ups – Gap
Shirt – Gap
Supermarket jogging bottoms
Wellie boots – Bergstein, bought from Little Stomper
Long-sleeved Robot T-shirt – Boots
Shirt – Gap
Jeans – Gap (these have a fleece lining so are more winter trousers)
Cardigan – Gap (size 4yrs!!)
Trousers – Molo, bought from Love It Love It Love It
Short sleeve t-shirt – Tesco
Long sleeved vest – H&M
Bear bum jogging bottoms – Gap
Cardigan and dungarees – Tootsa MacGinty
Long sleeved elephant t-shirt – Toby Tiger
T-shirt – Gap
T-shirt: H&M
Skinny jeans: Zara
Gilet – Timberland
Waterproof Jacket – Gap (size 3yrs!!)
Trousers – Tootsa MacGinty
Jumper – Gap
Leggings – Ebay
Top – Brights and Stripes, bought from Love It Love It Love It.
Trousers – Molo
Best buy:
Waterproof jacket – Gap.
At first, I didn’t think Arlo needed one of these. He already had two coats and a gilet, plus plenty of cardigans/jumpers for cooler weather. But I grabbed it at a bargain sale price and it has surprised me how much we use it. It’s lightweight, and so it gets easily stuffed into a bag during the last minute rush to leave the house. It also comes in handy as a bib (I always forget to pack bibs) when eating whilst out and about.
Longest serving:
Ebay baby leggings.
These are the 6 – 12 month size. Still going strong at almost 20 months and he’s been wearing them since he was 6 months old. They cost £2.50 including shipping. Search for ‘baby leggings’ on Ebay and you should find a few sellers. The sellers buy in bulk from China. I can’t find any info on whether they are made ethically or not.
Favourite purchase:
It’s a tie between the Anteater t-shirt from Gap and his Tootsa MacGinty dungarees.
I always buy large. It’s an obsession of mine.
Arlo is not a big or tall child. If anything, he is just below the average weight/height. But I was constantly finding that tops came up a little short on him. (Gap, in particular, have really tiny sizing) And as most trousers have stretchy or adjustable waistbands, I find that there really isn’t much difference between one size and the next size up.
With sizing that varies as much as this blog post illustrates, I figure might as well buy large knowing he’ll get the most wear out of it, rather than risk the ‘right’ size being too small or only fitting him for a month.
Arlo started wearing 18-24 month trousers (turned up a few times) at 12 months old. Slightly on the baggy side at first, but not restrictive, and he soon grew into them. At almost 20 months, he’s still getting good wear out of a lot of these items. I expect the trousers to last him until after he turns two.
(with Uncle Max, wearing his 18 – 24 month size h&m t-shirt and Tootsa MacGinty Jeans at 12 months old).
Shorts and rompers are also brilliant for longevity. Arlo is still wearing a few of last years summer rompers as vests. Shorts require no turning up, so as long as the waist fits, you are good to go. I’ll do another post on his summer stuff, but I bought all of his shorts in size 2-3yrs, they fit great now, and I expect them to still fit him next summer when he is technically the right age for the sizing.
Long sleeve t-shirt are a staple in Arlo’s wardrobe as they are perfect for unpredictable Spring temperatures.
When I started out clothes-buying for Arlo, I saw most of the brands that he is wearing here as luxury purchases. We stuck to supermarket basics range for most of his clothes. I baulked at the prices of some brands, so expensive for items they grow out of so quickly.
But I’ve since realised that it’s not just about buying the cheapest stuff, but getting the most value for my money. These clothes may be more of an investment, but they wear really really well, and will still be in excellent nick for Arlo’s future siblings. I can’t say the same for the stuff we bought for the supermarket – a lot of it hasn’t even lasted one season. Plus, 95% of these clothes have been bought at a discount. I buy way in advance (I’ve had some of these things for a year or more), and scour the web for bargains and flash sales, so it hasn’t actually worked out that expensive at all.
I even convinced Sam on this point too (he’s been really impressed with the quality of some of Arlo’s clothes VS the cheapies we have), meaning almost guilt-free purchasing. Happy days.
4 comments
We have zillions of pairs of the ebay leggings, but Isabel has such lanky long legs that don’t stop growing, so we’ve got them in virtually every size!
She’s currently in age 3-4yrs H&M leggings even though I find them longer in the leg than supermarket leggings. The beauty with leggings is that she can wear them even when they’re too short (as 3/4 length-ers) – it’s how we’ve managed to get about 18 months out of her last lot.
Isabel is mostly in H&M stuff. It’s cheap and wears well without being TOO cheap that it falls apart (like some Tesco stuff we were gifted, yack.)
Isabel dresses better than I do, of course.
I find exactly the same – h&m is not too bad, Tesco is awful.
I have never actually squealed with delight when looking at pictures of kids styles and trends, but Arlo is just, OMG, so adorable. His looks one of a kind and the camera just loves his little face. Thank you so much for joining in and I hope you share more of his looks again. You need to get him a modelling gig, I’m serious!
Thank you, that is such a lovely comment. I will definitely share his summer wardrobe (once I get round to it, which should be right in time for winter judging by the rate I’m going).