Just Between Friends

Yesterday I went to a consignment sale called "Just Between Friends" to round out the kids' spring wardrobes. I have to believe that we actually will need shorts at some point even though it doesn't feel like it. I hadn't been to the sale before so I wanted to give it a try. I went on a pre-shopping day since I have heard it is completely insane on the regular days. I am glad I went early. I hate shopping partly because of the crowds and there were still a whole lot of people today. I am not sure I could really handle a regular day and definitely not with a child in tow.

I thought this was a great place for dresses, but overall I wasn't super impressed. It was fine, but I felt the prices were not unlike what I get on eBay.  In fact, I found an Easter dress for Clara and came home to find a matching one for Hannah on eBay and it was a little cheaper. So the prices are more or less very similar to what I can get at end-of-season clearance sales. That's not to say there is no benefit because I don't like buying everything on sale for next year's season because it's sort of a gamble since I don't know for sure how much my kids will grow. The stuff I bought on clearance for this spring, I bought back in September and they won't wear it until March or April. For the girls, it's not much of a risk because one of them can probably wear it since they are so similar in size for the time being. For Joshua, who knows. Though (luckily?) my kids grow very slowly so it has been predictable so far. People are always like, "Kids grow so fast". My kids really don't.

It was nice to have such a large selection right in front of me, but at the same time, I wasn't particularly impressed by what was available in terms of brand since it was mostly low (Target, Walmart, Children's Place) to mid (Gymboree, Gap) range brands. If you want to buy a lot of things at the same time, it's a good place to go. If you have a very small child, like an infant or toddler, it's great because that stuff goes for so little. But if your kids are older and if you are patient, use eBay and pay the same price for clothes in better condition (often with tags on) or buy end-of-season and pay the same price for brand new things. Particularly for boys because there just isn't a lot of great used stuff for them after around 2T, probably because they ruin things. For Joshua, I have started buying way fewer nice clothes for him in the first place because he no longer wants cute clothes, he wants $5 athletic shorts and tees from Target and I don't like buying him stuff he doesn't want to wear.

If I go to the sale again, I might go on the last day only when everything is half-price because then I really would be saving money. Of course, a lot is gone by then and it's insane on the last day so I am not sure (Maybe Jason will go. He likes crowded shopping.). Joshua was a trooper. I am a fast shopper so it didn't take that long to find what I wanted even though I had to shop three different sizes, but the line took forever to get through. And it was twice as long when we left so I am glad we got there early and only spent thirty minutes waiting in line.

One thing I did get that was well-priced (consigners set their own prices so prices can really vary even for the same item) was a Tinkerbell costume. It was only $3. It wasn't perfect for us because it is a leotard with a skirt which is harder for my girls to get on and off. They really prefer skirts over dresses at this age because they are very easy to maneuver. But Hannah doesn't let wardrobe challenges stand in her way. This is her in her new dress-up outfit, which allowed baby to wear the tutu.