Wednesday, May 14, 2014

The Price to Pay for Beauty

So as you read that title, I bet the first thing that popped in your mind was makeup, plastic surgery, and starving diets to lose weight.

Well, that's all true too, but that's not what I'm talking about today.

Today I'm talking about little girls clothing. Dresses, to be more specific.

If you are a repeat reader of my blog, you know I am a bargain hunter and a thrift/consignment store shopper. I am not above my daughter (or myself) wearing hand me downs and second hand clothing. Especially my daughter, because honestly, how many times can they wear an outfit before they outgrow it?

Now, if you have two kids, preferably of the same gender, then you are good to go in the clothing department.....if you kept what you had. Even though it may not happen, I will be hanging on to Layna's clothes for a little while, just in case. There are many articles of clothing in a Rubbermaid tote that either I bought, were given to me, or handed down, that she only wore once, or didn't wear at all. I am sure your child has the same. So no, I am not above going and buying a second-hand outfit for Layna, because I know that it is probably in good shape. And if it's not? I don't buy it! Duh!

I just don't get the outrageous prices on kids clothing, tho. I mean, like we just established, they don't wear them for long. There isn't that much fabric to them, they are so small (that's why plus size clothing is so expensive, right? Extra material.) And unless you are planning on handing it down to siblings when they outgrow them, then there's really no reason to pay that much for anything that your child might wear. 

I was never a pageant type girl. I didn't like the frilly fru fru crap that most girls were into. Yet I find myself looking at my adorable daughter and wanting to show her off. There is a church Homecoming that we will be going to in July, I believe, that has a baby show during there activities. I am thinking about putting her in it. It is nothing fancy, just little ones in their Sunday best and the winners get $1 (at least that was what it was when I last went, about four years ago, and that was when there were only two girls in the contest and they both won). Its more for fun than anything, so I can't wait to put her in it.

That got me to thinking that maybe I could put her in at the county fair. I mean, after all, who doesn't want to show their cute baby off? The problem? Where should I begin.

For starters, we've always wondered if the pageants have been rigged. People with money, or influence in the county, paying off the judges and whatnot. It was actually a joke one year when someone didn't win; we said her momma must not have paid them enough. 

Second off, the rules state Sunday casual. They do NOT wear Sunday casual. They go a little more than that. Not Toddlers and Tiaras far, but enough that what they wear to me is not Sunday casual. 

So, off I go on the Internet to look for a dress. 

Let me first say that you do NOT want to type in "3-6 Month Girl's Pageant Dress" into the search bar. I did that, and let me tell you my jaw dropped onto the keyboard! There were dresses like this:  http://ritzeegirls.com/GalleryCup.html  Even though it shows big kids, it says they come in 6 month size too.

Um...no?

Maybe eBay will be better.

Well.....yes and no. 

They have some beautiful dresses, don't get me wrong. I absolutely fell in love with this one , but I refuse to pay $39.99 for a dress she will probably only wear once, MAYBE twice. I keep looking.

I find this beautiful one for $30.00, yet again too much. I am getting frustrated.

This one would be absolutely perfect, as she looks good in blue, and you HAVE to have the poofy skirt beings that she will be carried and the skirt has to show. But at $16, it is still way too much for me to spend on a one-two time dress. Now if she was winning a bunch of money in this pageant, maybe I could justify it. But she's not. 

I came across this beautiful yellow dress , and even at $10 I am hesitant. I bookmarked this one so I could watch and see how high the bid goes. 

I came across one that would have been perfect, price and all.....but it had 30 seconds left in the bid and I wasn't prepared. I would like to add that I HATE bidding. I hate the back and forth crap and the not really knowing if the seller signed in under another account and is driving up the bids. (It can happen!)

In my frustration I am ready to give up. I have till September, after all, to find her a dress. But I am addicted. I just can't stop. "One more page" I say, as I keep looking, hoping to find that great bargain on the next page. 

I get a good laugh as I stumble across this gaudy one at a mere $89.99 and am shocked that anyone would spend that much on a dress for a 6 month old!

So I decide to take out the word "pageant" and just search for 3-6 and 6-9 month girls dress. Page after page of non-dressy dresses, with the occasional expensive one thrown in. I came across the cutest little dress that is not baby show fancy, but I may just have to get for her anyway. She would wear it more than once, so it would get a lot of use. I bookmarked it so I could watch the bids on it, see how high it goes.

In the end, I bookmark a few that I like that are within my price range, but that have 3-5 days left to go on the end of the auction, so they may or may not be in my price range by the last day. I will keep an eye on them though. 

This ordeal, this quest to find an inexpensive little casual dressy dress, has made me want to run a rental business. Buy up a bunch of these dresses then rent them out to people like me who don't want to spend that much on a dress to only wear once. $5-$10 a day to rent a dress (depending on the dress) and a $5 cleaning fee that you would get back once the dress is returned and is not stained. Would anyone be interested in something like that? Would someone rent a $40 dress for $15 to do a pageant or pictures, or even a wedding? Here I am saying I wouldn't want to spend even $10 on a dress that she might only wear once, why would I pay $15 for one I wouldn't keep?

Clothing just costs WAY too much! Both for kids and adults. I think I might learn how to sew.

*BTW, I think I found a dress. Finally. 

1 comment:

  1. I may have a couple cute dresses in that size you can just borrow! If you are interested just let me know and I will look through them and check

    ReplyDelete