Are "hand Me Downs" The Best Way To Save?

Discussion in Fashion & Apparel started by ExpertAdvice • Jul 16, 2015.

  1. ExpertAdvice

    ExpertAdviceActive Member

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    We've all heard of the concept of "hand-me-downs", I'm sure!

    Y'know, that system wherein you, being the younger/youngest sibling, "received" the clothing that your older sibling(s) wore and no longer fit.

    I certainly had my fair share of "hand-me-downs", as I grew up in a household with multiple siblings and a "restricted" budget, as, I'm sure, many of us did. It wasn't my favorite thing to do. Hey! I wanted brand new clothes...the same all of my friends were wearing, but y'know, after a while, it really didn't matter much to me what I wore, as long as it was clean and fit okay!

    However, in modern times, I've heard some parents say that they would never encourage their children to wear "hand-me-downs", simply because they'd prefer to buy new clothes for each child, so that each child can feel like an individual and not feel "less-than" their older siblings.

    For my personal take, I'm still gonna practice it with my kids, because I believe it's a great way to save when it comes to buying/not having to buy extra clothes! Plus, my kids will probably want new versions of the very same thing.

    So, what do you think?

    Do you think that the concept of using "hand-me-downs" to save on clothes is outdated?

    Or should more and more parents practice this, to save?

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  2. Pat

    PatWell-Known Member

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    I believe you should use your resources to their highest good. Why spend $80 for a coat when you have a coat that is already paid for, when you can use that $80 for something else. It is wasteful to keep replacing items that you all ready have and there is nothing wrong with them. My daughter recently had a few t-shirts she planned to give away and I needed a few t-shirts to wear around the house, which I had planned to get from the second hand store to save a few dollars. I took the shirts my daughter was getting rid of and keep my money.
     
  3. ExpertAdvice

    ExpertAdviceActive Member

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    I'm so glad to hear that you were able to make use of some wisdom when it comes to saving!
    I definitely agree with you! $80 doesn't just come and go like that for most of us, so it's incumbent upon us to just use methods like "hand-me-downs" to save that extra amount! We could really use it, and at the end of the day, if they fit and are clean and without holes etc, then what is really stopping us? Pride? lol
     
  4. Briannagodess

    BriannagodessActive Member

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    My sister and I have quite a different take on this 'hand me down clothes'. We are almost the same size in body so naturally we borrow each other's clothes. Usually, instead of just me receiving the hand me down clothes (I am the younger one), we exchange our clothes with each other.

    Let us say that I am cleaning out my closet, when I remove clothes that I do not like, I run these through her and ask if she wants them. She then takes what clothes she wants before I donate the rest to charity. And also vice versa if she is the one cleaning out her closet.
     
  5. LeopardJones

    LeopardJonesActive Member

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    I have no siblings, but when I was younger I received a lot of hand-me-downs from cousins who were around the same size as I was. I didn’t love everything, but there was quite a bit that I wore regularly while I was figuring out what did and didn’t work for me style-wise. I knew some of it was out of date (and so did everyone else - I caught some flak for it) but I stopped caring after a while. Plus a lot of it came back around eventually! So I would say hand-me-downs actually encouraged my individuality, and helped me play around with my style and figure out what I liked and disliked.
     
  6. missbishi

    missbishiWell-Known Member

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    Kids grow so quickly and garments are often outgrown whilst they still have plenty of wear left in them. It makes sense to pass these down to younger kids - buying new every time is a huge drain on resources.
     
  7. danielle davidson

    danielle davidsonActive Member

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    I don't think that it is dated at all. I think that it's such a great way to get clothing so you don't have to spend a ton of money on new clothing. Plus, if you have children then this a great way to get them clothing. They grow so fast, that sometimes it hard to keep buying them clothing. This way you are able to keep them clothing, while they are still growing. Even going to a second hand store will save you so much money.
     
  8. srock

    srockNew Member

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    I grew up wearing hand-me-downs and it was great! I always had unique clothes and I often styled crazy fun and cute outfits. Now I purchase a lot of clothes from thrift stores, or trade with gal friends at clothing swap parties. I LOVE clothing swap parties!!! I like that each of my clothing pieces is unique.
     
  9. LeopardJones

    LeopardJonesActive Member

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    I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, swapping clothes with friends is awesome. We love knowing that our unworn clothing is going to a loving home where it’ll be used more often than it was before, and the uniqueness factor is of course another perk. One of my favorite tops came from a clothing swap.
     
  10. ACSAPA

    ACSAPAWell-Known Member

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    I think hand me downs are fine, as long as you get your kid some current and stylish clothes for birthdays and holidays.
    Hand me downs are fine for everyday wear, but occasionally kids want to go out looking cool in a t shirt with a current anime character or a cool pair of sneakers. My daughter is my only child , so she wears some of my old jeans and her cousin's old shirts but I also buy her a few new outfits every year because she's a cool teen and I don't want all her clothes to be from 1998.
     
  11. Sue

    SueActive Member

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    With the high cost of everything these days it is good to save anyway you can. I think hand me downs are great. Most clothes are like new and get wore little so why toss them out when you can put them to good use.

    I am the second youngest in a family of six girls so I wore plenty of hand me downs. Some handed down from many older siblings.
     
  12. Liv6

    Liv6Member

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    I personally have a cousin who is the exact same size as me in both shirts and jeans, as well as roughly the same height (she's probably an inch shorter). I love it when she gives me hand-me-downs because she always goes for the designer brands that I cannot afford as she typically finds better deals on them. :D However, I can understand the negative perspective on hand-me-downs as they can be completely out-of-style, which is especially not good for job interviews. Yet, for me, saving money is always the best option.
     
  13. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    I also am in favor of using hand me downs among siblings, especially if the budget is tight. However, I'm pretty sure that rich people don't practice that. But for the average joe, that is a must. Since I'm the youngest and my sole sibling is a guy, I didn't have that much hand me downs. However, some of my school uniforms were hand me downs from my mom's friends who went to the same school. Oh, and they dumped their textbooks to our house too, since their daughters were older.
     
  14. GemmaRowlands

    GemmaRowlandsActive Member

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    I think that keeping clothes for future children is definitely a good idea, provided that the clothes are still of a high quality. Children don't tend to notice the types of clothes that they wear until they get a lot older anyway, so certainly this would be more than enough for the likes of babies and toddlers. Always try to make sure that you keep hold of anything that you feel you might use again in the future, as it seems rather silly to be spending money on something that you have already bought in the past.
     
  15. gata montes

    gata montesActive Member

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    I don't think that the concept of using hand me downs is at all out dated - in fact as we now live in age where every cent counts I think it a very wise thing to do - particularly as it frees up money that can be better spent elsewhere.

    Even better still if you can sew - you can easily transform many hand me downs into totally new outfits at very little cost - just by shortening sleeves and hems, adding a few tucks here and there, removing collars or adding a few motives, lace trims etc.
     
  16. gmckee1985

    gmckee1985Active Member

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    Nothing wrong with "hand me downs". I wouldnt make my child wear them exclusively. But with a combination of hand we downs, thrift store finds, and shopping at places like Kohls you'd be surprised just how cheaply you can put together a spiffy, large wardrobe.