Does it really come as a surprise to anyone that some Manhattan moms think nothing of spending $650 on a dress or $400 on a pair of shoes ... for a 3-year-old? How about $795 on a Gucci backpack or $1,090 on a poofy leopard print coat? Sure, it sounds excessive, but consider the benefits of forking over enough cash to feed a small village on your little one's clothing.
It's like Dara Sandler of Manhattan, who spent $10,000 on her 3-year-old daughter's summer wardrobe (and plans to spend even more on her fall collection), says: "I really believe when she dresses like this, she feels better about herself."
Well, there you go. Who would dare to put a price on a child's self-esteem? Imagine -- just imagine -- the trauma of being the only kid on the bucket swings wearing Old Navy instead of Dolce & Gabbana. Shudder. That kind of emotional damage could seriously derail a toddler's developing sense of entitlement and superiority!
And that's not even the worst risk parents take by not treating tots like tiny little label whores. The most potentially dire consequence of all? YOU could lose your hard-won fashionista status!! Quelle horreur!!
As another elite NYC mom puts it, kids are "a walking billboard of you. They're a reflection of who you are, so if you are someone highly stylized, then you want to make sure your kids are the best-dressed kids out there."
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Too true. Besides, we don't want our kids growing up believing all these silly fairytales about children who go to bed hungry -- and not because they're counting calories, either! So depressing. And god forbid your child actually has a heart and grows up to be one of those do-gooder teens who tells you what a shallow person you are for spending thousands of dollars on a handbag instead of donating the money to charity. Ugh.
What do you think of moms who throw away thousands on toddler clothes?
Image via THOR/Flickr
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Comments 28
Ridiculous
@the4mutts - Wow - just asking. I love my small town and I like my kids public school too, but if I could afford to do better for them I would. And the "you" in reminding to give was to remind EVERYONE, that even a little can go a long way. Sorry I wasn't clearer.
Wow, to each its own, but I've always found it is not practical to buy expensive kids clothes. Biggest splurge is on shoes, and not always, sometimes instead of 1 expensive pair, we'll get her 2 or 3 cheaper ones that she'll have outgrown by next season, and that she'll wear basically on weekends becasue she wears uniform to school (bless them uniforms!!!)
And Marcella and 4Mutts have just demonstrated why I have a love hate relationship with the internet/texting. My sister said it best. You read it who you want to. If you think someone is being a bitch or attacking you that's how you're going to read it.
On another note....I wore K-mart/Walmart/Target clothes all through elementary/middle/high school. When I started getting my own money that's when I started buying clothes from the mall. I think the biggest splurge my mom ever did for me on a single item was for a new backpack. We got one from Walmart my freshman year of high school within 2 weeks the backpack was falling a part. We went to the sporting goods store and bought a Under Armour backpack that lasted me through all 4 years. My senior year it finally started showing some wear. The very top zipper was coming apart but even that coulda been fixed with a sewing machine.
It's not that these moms spend that much on clothes for their kids, it's because they do it for these reasons:
"I really believe when she dresses like this, she feels better about herself."
As another elite NYC mom puts it, kids are "a walking billboard of you. They're a reflection of who you are, so if you are someone highly stylized, then you want to make sure your kids are the best-dressed kids out there."
That's amazingly shallow and sad that these kids are being raised to place their value on what they wear and what other people think about what they wear. Really, really sad.
Gee, I wish I was around to shop the Goodwill after all these kids outgrew their fancy clothes...
I'm more amazed that people can sell kid's clothing with that price tag... Someone has a good marketing team! Yeah... I'm pretty sure I get cranky if I find someone selling clothes at a garage sale for more than $3. The average price of each of my daughters clothes is $0.50 and she wears baby gap, old navy, and children's place. Even if I had the money to blow on a $500 poodle skirt marked down to $350... I would look at the tag, see it was made in China, and laugh at the clerk.