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Kmart bought Sears a few years ago when they both were in bankrupt.,
Lands End just has a marketing arrangment with sears to carry there stuff, just like alot of companies. Lands End is a Ind, company. (a real nice one to)
Sears. They sell a brand called Toughskins and they are great. I bought 4 outfits for him at the beginning of last school year and the shirts lasted the whole year and didn't look worn out at all.
Sears also has the Kidvantage Club...sign up for it and you can earn discounts, plus they have a guarantee that if the clothing wears out while your kid is still wearing it, they will replace the item at no charge. Plus, Toughskins has double-kneed jeans, which really came in handy when my son was younger.
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Originally Posted by haggardhouseelf
We like L.L. Bean backpacks better than Lands End Backpacks. L.L. Bean stuff seems to hold up better than the Lands End stuff, but the Lands End stuff is more affordable...
I can't stand Old Navy/Gap/A&F/Target/etc. Cheap cheap cheap... falls apart and starts looking bad too quick. If we're buying new clothing, rather than hitting the thrift stores, we're going to buy quality stuff so it lasts awhile.
OH! We also hit the Ralph Lauren Polo outlet store near us for sweats. They have great dressy clothes and really comfy sweats for boys. Socks and undies, too.
Both LLBean and Lands End have guarantees that they will accept a return anytime for any reason. My neighbor has returned her son's backpack every year and gotten a new one.
Ralph Lauren for sweats and underwear?!?! Even at the outlet, their prices can't beat TJMaxx, Marshalls, etc. Hanes holds up well at a fraction of the price. At Target, it depends on the brand. Circo is pretty cheap, but the Sonoma and other brands are good. I never buy from Walmart or Kmart as I find their things fall apart after 1-2 washes. Also, my kids grow so fast I don't expect them to wear any item for more than one year--if I get 2 years it's because I bought it big. When they stop growing I'll buy them the good stuff, but until then I refuse to pay Gymboree/Gap/Justice prices. this past year I've gotten more at Kohl's and JCP than ever before...their sales prices are great. If you get a Kohl's credit card, you get coupons in the mail, plus you have the option of not paying your entire bill but not paying interest as long as you pay a certain amount. I've never paid a dime of interest yet.
You have to know your thrift stores, too. I'm not a huge fan, but I've come out with brand new looking Talbots dress shirts, Levi's jean jackets and fancy department store dresses for tiny prices. Consignment shops can be great, too, as long as you have the patience to look and make sure the items are in good condition.
Oh and I do a LOT of shopping for the kids at Marshalls and Ross. That's where we get most of there stuff. Just look closely at the clothes. Some of the "designer" brand clothing is made very cheaply. You really have to check out what you're getting.
Sears also has the Kidvantage Club...sign up for it and you can earn discounts, plus they have a guarantee that if the clothing wears out while your kid is still wearing it, they will replace the item at no charge. Plus, Toughskins has double-kneed jeans, which really came in handy when my son was younger.
Thanks for the heads up FFM! We are going shopping in the next few weeks so I will definitely keep that in mind!
My son is 5, will be 6 in less than 4 months, but is big for his age (4 feet tall and 55 pounds). He's currently a size 6/7. We generally shop at Old Navy, Sears or JC Penney's. All three have some nice selection across different styles and all have some pretty awesome sales. We try to not wait to buy the clothes, but pick stuff up as sales happen. For instance, we got four pairs of Arizona jeans at JCP about 5 months ago for $10 (that's for all 4, not each). He's just growing into them, but they will be perfect on him for school when the weather starts to turn.
However, as I have said before, my son is a bit of a fashionista. He likes nice clothes and prefers to dress preppy. We indulge him with some nicer stuff from Abercrombie Kids or GAP, but the bulk of his clothes come from the other places.
Probably the one store he is happy at and we are happy with the prices is PS. It's the kid version of Aeropostale. He likes the clothes as they lean to preppy without the skater influence and we like them as they are made well, fit him well and are cheaper than Abercrombie or GAP.
Ralph Lauren for sweats and underwear?!?! Even at the outlet, their prices can't beat TJMaxx, Marshalls, etc. Hanes holds up well at a fraction of the price. ...
We just can't stand cheap socks or underwear in this house. I'm frugal in many ways, but for some things I don't mind spending a bit more for quality. If we have to do dept. store socks or underwear, I try to find the Jockey brand. Costco often has good socks. There's nothing worse than cheap underwear. We splurge a bit on shoes, too. Brooks or New Balance running shoes and good quality leather shoes (like Clarks) for dress shoes. We like REI and Patagonia for cold-weather gear and summer recreation gear.
When Sears and Kmart merged, Lands End was already doing business with Sears. It doesn't matter, but just in case anyone was curious. Sears Holdings Corporation I think Sears bought Lands End in 2002 (but they were doing business together long before that), and the merger between Kmart and Sears happened in 2004/2005? Anyway... it does make returns/exchanges go very smoothly.
When my son was that age it was Kohl's, Target, Walmart (socks, underwear sometimes basketball type shorts) or Old Navy.....
Come to think of it....he'll be 17 next month and other than the addition of American Eagle and Aeropostale.....I'd say nothing's changed....
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