I’m standing in Target with two striped jumpers in my hands. ExACTLY the same jumper. One is priced at $34.99 and hails from the women’s department.
The other? $18.99 and lives in kids. Same cotton blend. Same stripes.
Same jumper. Except one costs almost twice as much because it caters to adults instead of children.
And at 5’3” with what my mum likes to call a “petite frame,” I realise I may have been financially brutalizing myself by shopping in the women’s department this whole time.
Let’s back up.
Last week, my neighbour Sarah mentioned casually that her teenage daughter routinely raids the adult portion of Sarah’s closet for clothes she “borrows.” “Seriously,” Sarah laughed, “half the stuff I buy for myself in women’s would fit me in kids and costs way less.” Sarah is one of those quintessential Seattle mums who drives a hybrid, batches cooks on Sundays, and always seems to have her shit together in that effortlessly messy Pacific Northwestern way. If suburban mum wardrobe wisdom is teaching me that kids clothes really are cheaper, I want all the tips.
For one week, I will wear only children’s clothing. The Great Kids’ Department Experiment of 2024 has begun. Well, sort of begun.
I have a little work left to do first. If children’s clothes are only, like, $10-$20 less than adult clothing, I’m not actually going to save that much money. But what if kids’ clothes are cheaper BY HALF?
Then we’re really talking about money. I spend approximately $2,000 per year on clothing. Between client presentations, conference calls, and interviews, being a mildly professional-looking adult costs me money.
But what if I only had to spend $1,000 on clothes that looked just as good? Now let’s do the really exciting what if. What if I spend half as much on clothes and invest that money into… literally anything else?
A holiday! Retirement! Student loans!
Something other than clothing that I will wear once and immediately regret purchasing! Today is day one, and it’s a Monday. If I’m going to figure out if kids’ clothes can stand up to the rigors of an actual adult’s daily life, I’ve gotta start somewhere.
My first stop is work, because I have a client presentation at 10 AM and I need to at least LOOK like I know what I’m doing when I march into that meeting. Nordstrom is the place to go for high-quality basics, so that’s where my shopping journey begins. One navy blazer from their boys’ department later, and I am officially feeling impressive.
It retails at $89 versus $179 for an adult woman’s blazer; it’s got some fancy sulfide buttons but the cut is nearly identical to what I’d find in women’s. Same story with a pair of charcoal kids’ trousers from girls’ ($32 versus $78) and a simple white button-down shirt from boys’ ($28 versus $65). I’m just getting started, but so far I’m spending half of what I would’ve loved in a department that sells oversized homework shirts and ugly trainers.
I arrive at my office terrified that someone will notice my skirt doesn’t quite reach my knees. What will they THINK? That I shop in children’s departments?
Girl, they don’t even know. My coworker James spots me first and gives me a nod of approval. “Oh wow, I love your vintage menswear vibe.” Dude. Vintage menswear shops at Nordstrom’s kids store.
Please let no one figure out my secret. Turns out no one cares. Not my coworkers, not my boss, and definitely not my client.
They compliment me on my presentation (thanks, work!) but nobody mentions my ensemble. Side note: the blazer fits great but is way too long in the sleeves. Adult proportions are different than what Nike thinks kids are.
Journalism facts. For day two, I’m splurging on some more casual basics. Jeans, t-shirts, jumper weather coats.
Things that kids need, too, but also need to wear while doing adult things like WORK. Unlike fancy work clothes, casual should be where kids’ clothes truly shine. They should be affordable across the board if anywhere!
After a pretty wild day one, today’s strategy is keep it simple. A plain white tee from Old Navy? $12. The same shirt from women’s? $18.
Same with trousers, jumpers, jackets. Again, nothing here that isn’t identical to what you’ll find Adult Emma shopping at, but I’m digging the price differences. Holy samoleather, Batman.
Kids jean companies do NOT mess around when it comes to basics. The pair I buy from J. Crew’s Crewcuts line is heavy denim with a straight leg that retails for… wait for it… $35.
Same jeans, same fabric, same everything in women’s costs me $78. Not cool, J. Crew!
Not cool! Kids’ jeans are also way easier to shop for than women’s jeans. They don’t have all these weird stretch panels or “tummy control” nonsense like adult women’s jeans do.
They’re just simple trousers! Made to cover your crotches and let you climb tree stairs. I find a pair that’s basically identical to what I’d wear on date night and feel like a million bucks.
Or at least $23 bucks. Lunch with Lisa and she LOVES my jumper. “Where did you get that? The colour is perfect.” Kids department, Lisa.
Kids department. She’s so excited by my thriftiness that she doesn’t even care that my trousers are three inches too short. “THIS IS GENIUS, EMMA. WHERE ELSE SHOULD WE SHOP?” Welcome to the socialist collective that is my friendship.
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Wednesday is workout day, which means I have to brave the dreaded athletic department. Most times when I buy workout clothes, I end up accidentally spending $80 on leggings from Lululemon that I hate. I try to psyche myself up to spend “whatever amounts to being reasonable” on activewear from the kids’ department, but boy howdy are they giving us options these days.
Nike’s kids section is basically a twin to their adult line, just… cheaper. The leggings I spot that would typically cost me $75 in women’s athletic are $45 for girls’ in XL. Same thing.
Same tightness. Same thrilling blush of self-loathing when you realise how much money you just dropped on yoga trousers. Newsflash: kids’ bodies are not shaped the same as adults when it comes to boobs.
While my leggings pass the toddler pull test with flying colours, my sports bra is gigantic and rides up in all the wrong places. News for you, Emma: workout clothes might be comparable across departments, but they’re not the same! So let’s pretend that sports bra shan’t happen again, k?
My Spin class instructor oozes pres as she swings by to compliment my “new gear.” Baby steps. I’m getting used to this whole not-being-arrested-for-shopping-in-the-wrong-department thing. If Wednesday was mild, Thursday’s a challenge.
Happy hour with clients from the office in Portland means I need to essentially dress for work… again. Can I find stuff in the kids’ department that looks professional, goes with what I already bought, and doesn’t make me feel like a giant hammock for humans? Miraculously, yes!
Banana Republic’s kids line has a simple black sheath dress for $65 that retails for $120 for adult women. It’s actually quite lovely and hits at my knees in all the right places. Draped over my bodice are nearly $400 worth of clothing I spent about $150 on.
Suddenly my wallet feels a lot less fatigued by this whole experience. Low-key love these dress whispers that I’m basically Emma Roberts in young money. Happy hour is a blast, and I end up connecting with a potential client over our shared passion for sustainable supply chains. “That dress is adorable!
Where’d you get it?” Give Jordan @Banana Republic kids credit where credit is due: it LOOKS expensive. It feels like something I’d normally spend $200 on, not $65. Score one for the kids!
Friday is full client day, including with one of those boutique tech startups that probs judge me based on my activewear. Now that I’ve got a feel for what works and what doesn’t, it’s time to fully embrace this thing and see if kids department finds can pass professional muster. Behold: my at-home-made-workout-class-spin-class-five-starclient-meeting outfit.
Black ponte trousers from Banana Republic kids ($28), cream-coloured silk blend blouse from boys’ ($35), classic blazer that cost me $65 instead of $140. They don’t all fit perfectly – my blazer’s a tad boxy, my trousers could be an inch longer – but with some slight adjustments they give off very intentional, artfully lazy vibes. Not tried-too-hard street kid from the Gap vibes.
They don’t notice. Not my boss, not my coworkers, and definitely not the startup tech bros I’m meeting with later. “Great job on the presentation! Your style is so unique,” they say.
Excuse me while I go instagram hot childhood pics of myself wearing this exact outfit. Weekend wear should be a piece of cake, right? Kids need to play and run and do stuff, which means they should also be wearing the most comfortable, utilitarian clothes possible.
Time to stock up on weekend essentials! Nike leggings, sweatshirt, fuzzy socks, and boat shoes coming right up. Let’s do the math: approximately $90 bucks for an entire outfit that would cost me well over $200 if I bought these trainers in adult sizes.
BOOGIE DOWN, CHARLIE BROWN. I don’t love that the shoes are a little narrow for my feet – again, kids’ proportions are different than adult women’s – but otherwise this getup is pure weekend Goals. To summarise: kids’ clothes are both exactly the same and yet wildly different from adult clothing.
They follow many of the same trends! There are trendy kids’ clothes that I would NEVER be caught dead in just like there are trendy women’s clothes that make me want to cry. But for basics?
Basic tees, jeans, jackets? They’re identical. And yet adult clothes are just about always more expensive than their kids’ counterparts.
Same jacket. Same materials. Same store.
But somehow that adult price tag is twice as much as the child size. Did I mention how much MONEY I saved on basically a whole week’s worth of outfits compared to what I would normally spend? I bought approximately $400 worth of clothes that retail for nearly $800.
That’s not something I should be able to swing on a whim. That’s money I can put toward my travel fund, or retirement, or literally anything else I want that isn’t vaguely itchy Polyester Blend fabric. I am DEFINITELY going to continue mixing in kids’ clothes with my regular wardrobe.
Working from home and errand-running Saturdays will now exclusively utilise resources from the children’s section. But I’ll probably refrain from wearing kids’ clothes during presentations or anything else that feels career-defining. As a petite person with a small frame, the proportions usually aren’t quite right for me on anything tailored or structured.
But for T-shirts? Trainers? Jeans?
Hell yes, kiddos. But maybe the real lesson here is LESS specific to kids’ clothing and MORE about how we allow ourselves to be duped into paying more for clothing.
I critique companies’ environmental policies for a living.
I should’ve known better than to trust the fashion industry.
There’s also the whole sustainability angle to unpack. Kids’ clothes are often made with the same materials, in the same factories as adult sizes.
But they also need to be replaced as kids grow, so they’re not always built to last as long. Still, if my goal is to build a more ethical closet while spending LESS money, the kids department is going to be my jam. Will I tell my coworkers my secret, now that I know?
Probably not. Part of me will always feel guilty/admitting that I wear kids’ clothes. But that shouldn’t be the case!
Kids clothes are cool. They’re affordable, versatile, and come in endless cute styles. If anything, we should ALL be embarrassed that adults pay double for the same garments.
