May is here and that means summer is right around the corner. Moms across the country are packing away the snowsuits and taking inventory of the summer clothes they need to purchase for their family. To help you in your endeavours to outfit everyone in your home, we visited a number of popular clothing stores across the country to help you find quality clothing at affordable prices.
When rating the following stores, we looked at the following: convenience, price range, and quality of clothing. The price ranges indicated the average regular prices for summer clothes at each store. You can typically get a discount at most of the stores below if you watch for sales, both online and in-store.
Gap: children’s clothes, $25-50 per item; adult clothes, $35-80 per item
H&M: children’s clothes, $12-25 per item; adult clothes, $15-50 per item
Old Navy: children’s clothes, $10-30 per item; adult clothes, $15-50 per item
Sears: children’s clothes, $15-30 per item; adult clothes, $30-60 per item
Target: adult and children’s clothes, $10-30 per item
Walmart: children’s clothes, $10-20 per item; adult clothes, $15-30 per item
Winners: children’s clothes, $10-20 per item; adult clothes, $20-60 per item
Thrift Stores: children’s clothes, $1-5 per item; adult clothes, $3-10 per item
Finding the Best Summer Clothes
Old Navy and H&M
Old Navy and H&M were comparable in terms of quality and price. H&M had a greater in-store selection of summer clothes than Old Navy, especially in terms of their children’s clothing. For adult clothing, H&M was a bit trendier with regards to style while Old Navy was a bit more generic. Nicole has always found that women’s clothing from Old Navy tends to lose its fit and wears out quickly. Also, zippers on Old Navy clothes are notorious for breaking!
Gap
Gap clothing was by far the most expensive for adults and children alike. The clothing is fun and trendy, but probably not the best choice unless you have children who sit quietly all day and never venture near anything dirty. The selection of adult clothing was minimal and not particularly suitable for playing with young kids.
Sears
The overall quality and selection at Sears was good. The prices were a bit higher than Target, Wal-Mart, Old Navy, and H&M, and there was nothing overly remarkable about the clothing available at Sears compared to what you can buy from others stores. The only exception is with women’s career clothing. Sears had the best selection for well-manufactured professional and workplace-casual clothing.
Target
If you need to do the majority of your shopping for summer clothes in one stop, Target is probably your best option. The product quality was a bit on the “meh” side, but there was a decent selection of sizes and styles to suit each family member. Plus, if your kids (or husband/partner) like superheroes or other character graphics on their t-shirts, Target has the best selection. (Sears and Walmart also have an okay selection of character tees for kids.)
Walmart
The prices are slightly lower than Target when comparing similar items; however, the quality of Walmart clothing leaves a lot to be desired, particularly in terms of adult clothing. While the prices are cheap, you might get more wear out of your clothes (adult and children alike) if you spend a little bit more.
Thrift Stores
Nicole has turned into a thrift store junkie over the past year or so. She’s always amazed at what she finds for herself and her kids (usually there is only a small section for adult men, so she is often hard-pressed to find good second-hand clothes for her hubby). More and more frequently she finds herself looking for what she needs at thrift stores before hitting the big, brand name stores.
Dana also is a frequent visitor to her local thrift store. With 3 busy and active boys, it really is the best option as she can purchase very high quality and brand name (Bench, Gap, Carter’s, DC, etc.) items for all of the boys for a fraction of the cost. The closest thrift store for Dana is Value Village and they have a great Super Savers Membership club which is free to join and often hosts benefits such as special additional discounts (recently Dana was able to get an additional 30% off all men’s, women’s and children’s clothing and shoes).
Winners
Winners is very hit or miss. Yes, you might discover a hidden treasure, but there’s a good chance it won’t be available in your size. Additionally, we found an extremely limited selection of children’s clothing at Winners. If you have tons of time to spare, by all means scour the racks at Winners, but if you need to maximize your shopping time, you might want to skip Winners and go somewhere else.
Our Rating
Gap: 3 stars
Old Navy: 3.5 stars
H&M: 4 stars
Sears: 3.5 stars
Target: 4 stars
Walmart: 2 stars
Winners: 2.5 stars
Thrift Stores: 4 stars
Tell us: Where do you shop for most of your family’s clothes?
Disclosure: This article is unsponsored.
The post Savvy Shoppers May 2014 — Summer Clothes for Your Family appeared first on My Real Review.