How To Find The Best Baby Clothes
How to find the best baby clothes can be both fun and a bit difficult if you value not only style, but the quality and material. No worries! The options are basically limitless!
Have you learned that you'll be bringing home a new bundle of joy soon? With babies comes great responsibilities, and by that, I mean that you get to choose the best baby clothes for your little one!
I know, I know, there are many other responsibilities like how you'll feed them, how you'll feed yourself, and how you want to parent each step of the way, but today we are going to keep it light and focus on some of the different aspects that go into purchasing the best baby clothes.
Today, let's talk about the quality, the different fabric options and benefits of certain fabric, where clothing is made, budget, and style.
What Clothing Is Considered Essential For Your New Babe?
When creating your registry, you're often provided with these massive 'essentials' lists that often include some items that probably aren't essential, albeit still useful or fun.
Determining what is essential really depends on you, where you live (the climate), and your lifestyle. If your baby will go to daycare after a certain amount of time, you'll probably need a few more essentials than some other people.
If you live in the frozen tundra, you probably won't get by without a full-on baby snowsuit (I've been there with a 4-month-old baby living in Northern Minnesota in winter for a time).
Some essential baby items, give or take, depending on what your needs are:
- A few baby boy onesies are great to have. When my babe was first born, it was summertime in Oregon. All we really needed were diapers and onesies.
- Footed onesies are also great. At night, footed onesies were nice and so stinkin' cute! This is where it gets difficult to decide what is a need versus a want because cute baby clothes are so little and adorable.
- Don't worry about socks. They're useless. Baby socks are precious because they're maybe 2 inches long, but they fall off and disappear forever within the first 10 minutes of using them.
- Thick full-body onesies are sometimes better than a coat. Putting a coat on a little baby is a weird experience. It's bulky and only covers half of their body, half of that feeling like their head. Lined, thick winter onesies and footies are still cute, but much less bulky. If you need to protect your wee one from the wind, what worked for me was putting them in the car seat or a carrier, and then covering the carrier or car seat with a thick blanket.
Sam Ratelle, Fashion Director, The Wall Group
What fabrics do you want touching your baby's skin?
Some fabrics function wonderfully if you're wearing a cocktail dress to a wedding.
- But many of these synthetic fibers aren't breathable or very soft for a baby's skin. The most popular fabric option is usually cotton. Combed cotton is super soft, and organic cotton is a great choice if that's a route that you want to go and can afford. Cotton is breathable, a natural fabric, and soft against a baby's body.
- You might find fabrics that also list things like rayon, bamboo, fleece, and Minky. Some of these are ok, even wonderful, and some aren't as great. If your baby has sensitive skin, fabrics like Minky (you know those uber-soft baby blankets) might irritate your little one's skin because they use synthetic fibers.
- Bamboo rayon is also a great option, although bamboo isn't a completely sustainable fiber (and can require a lot of chemicals and processing to create), it is thermal regulating and can be oh so soft and gentle for the most sensitive of skin.
Joseph Cohen, Business Development Executive, Coney Island Picnic
Where are they made and does it matter?
This one is tricky, and definitely has implications throughout the world. Fast fashion is a major issue, with the clothing being made in other countries where there are fewer regulations, sometimes unsafe working conditions in those places, child labor can be used, and wages are much less than fair.
And then there is the flip side to this issue. Being able to afford organic cotton boutique baby clothing is definitely a privilege. Sometimes clothing choices come down to budget. If all you can afford is fast fashion, that doesn't make you a terrible person.
The fast-fashion choices and blame fall onto the businesses who are cutting these corners. It isn't the consumers' fault, although we sometimes have control over where our dollars are used. And sometimes we are just surviving.
Let's take Bitsy Bug Boutique for example. Although their clothing is made overseas, they're partnered with trusted, certified suppliers overseas, making sure the fair production of clothing.
These partnerships also allow customers to grab much better discounts compared to most online baby boutiques.
Jannelle A. Slater, Co-Manager, Rainbowshops
Ways To Purchase On A Budget
There are so many ways to purchase really great, high-quality baby clothes on a budget, sometimes even for free.
These strategies take a little more effort sometimes, but the return is worth it (the return being control over where we spend our dollars and the types of companies we support, as well as safe, stylish, and comfy baby clothes that don't break the bank).
Some tips for finding and acquiring the best baby clothes are:
- Ask your friends! Parents tend to keep piles and piles of old baby clothes. If you're baby is a season or two younger than your friends kid, even better. You can ask them to save last season's clothes for you, and then you'll have a wardrobe ready for you after your baby's next growth spurt.
- Shop second-hand stores. Second-hand stores abound and have some really great options. You can find designer brands. You can find organic combed cotton. You can find pieces that look brand new at a fraction of the cost. Baby's grow fast, so some of those itty bitty pieces barely get touched (and in some cases, never get worn before being donated).
- Watch for sales at your favorite shops like Bitsy Bug Boutique. You can usually sign up for a newsletter at a store that you're interested in shopping at and you'll receive a discount code in your email. Planning and saving for sales is a great way to get brand new clothes at a discount.
Sydne Douglas, Area Manager, James Perse Ent.
Finding the best baby clothes doesn't mean you have to be rich for your baby's wardrobe to be safe and stylish. The best thing you can do is start small. Instead of buying 10 baby onesies, just start with a couple of high-quality pieces. Quality is what matters here, not quantity.
Babies don't need a lot of "stuff." They just need unconditional love and a safe home. Be sure to view all of Bitsy Bug Boutique's girl baby outfits and cute boy outfits today for all your babies day time clothing needs. They're fun, affordable, and easy to match with your favorite looks or photo shoots.
Sam Milam, author
Sam Milam is a freelance writer, photographer, and yoga teacher. She is passionate about educating herself and others about attachment parenting, social justice, and living an authentic, empowered life. When she isn't working, she can be found exploring the Pacific Northwest with her two kids. Sam is a regular contributor for The Washington Post, The Week, POPSUGAR, Ravishly, Romper, USA Today Reviewed, Success, and Parent Map.
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