Have your say: How much is too much for kid’s clothes?

Stella McCartney designed a collection for GapKids and GapBaby that she calls “accessibly priced” in a news release. But is $78 for a Stella McCartney for GapKids girl’s tuxedo jacket or $38 for a boy’s Western shirt still priced too high? A reader from Santa Monica, Peggy Jo Abraham e-mails All the Rage:

Reading your article, “Mind The Gap” it is obvious that not only did Stella McCartney grow up in the Wings decade, but she also grew up the daughter of a Beatle. While I'm sure her children's designs are adorable, it's ridiculous for her to call these "accessibly priced.” How many mothers, especially in this economy, will find a trendy military jacket for $128 or sweat pants for $78 affordable items for their kids?

Clearly both Ms. McCartney and GapKids are not in touch with the plight of the average consumer. It will be interesting to see how holiday sales of these clothes stack up against sales at the discount stores.

Point taken. But Stella McCartney’s collection for kids might be accessibly priced compared with her designer-label collection where recent women’s styles including accessories cost around $1,000 and upwards (the Stella McCartney for Adidas collection retails mainly at a more accessible $200).

On Friday, JCPenney is launching Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's Olsenboye, a tween and juniors collection priced from $20 to $50. Retailers Target, Kohl’s and Wal-Mart can go as low as $10 for children's clothes. However there’s the question of quality and manufacturing -- a dress from a made-in-USA brand such as Little Ella by Ella Moss retails for $32 at the Mini Social, a children’s online retailer based in Burbank.

“The quality tends to be better with domestically made garments,” says Melinda Marinack, co-founder of the Mini Social. 

Have your say: How much is too much for kid’s clothes?

-- Max Padilla

RELATED:

Stella McCartney's new GapKids line hits select stores

Photo: Boys' looks from Stella McCartney for GapKids. Photo credit: The Gap

Comments

[Chambers Stevens]

All I can say is that I was in line at 10 am when Stella McCarney's clothes went on sale at The Gap at the Grove. And about 100 women and 3 men joined me. My goal was to get the fantastic Band Jacket that looks like something Stella's dad wore during the Sgt Pepper's Album. Well they opened the doors and the crowd went crazy grabbing everything in sight. I was lucky to grab a jacket from the back. But it was 6 sizes too big. So my son and I went to a tailor and she cut the jacket and now it looks as good as new. (I should mention that Gap online didn't have his size.) Is this a little crazy for a jacket for a 2 year old? Probably. But he loves The Beatles. (He can sing 15 of their songs) And he looks fantastic in it. And I'm his Dad and I only have one son. So it was worth it.

[davevanfunk]

I teach at an elementary school in Glendale and see miles of Ambercrombie & Fitch clothes every day (some of the wearers are also free-lunch recipients -- go figure). One would like to see a venture like this fall on its face. Unfortunately, there is a market for overpriced children's clothing.

[Bob-b]

If you have the money to spend on clothes like this, then do it. If not, well, then let's keep our jealousy under the lid.

[elaine]

Fortunately, my 6-year old daughter took one look at the clothes shown in Sunday's paper and said "No way!". Maybe for some adults, spending $1000 on a designer outfit makes sense, but kids grow out of their stuff way too fast for it to make sense to anyone with a normal clothes budget.

[Joshua]

This comment about 'if you have the money, spend it' and 'keep jealousy under the lid' is the exact reason I lived in LA for a summer then swore I'd never go back. This town is full of self-centered hypocrites who think they are the BEST thing in the world.

The real issue here is that there's an article about overpriced children's clothes that Los Angelinos are bickering over while in other places in the world (hell, even places here in America) children go years without getting new clothes. I work in a school where I had to take a child out during his lunch period to buy him new shoes because he had worn through the soles and his parents said he only gets one pair every couple years. ...and no, I don't live in an impoverished area, I live in a standard, Northeast American suburb.

Perhaps situations like this will encourage you to re-think whether or not I'm 'jealous' because I refuse to pay $50 for a child's tshirt (which he'll grow out of in less than a year).

[Mike]

This clothing is ridiculously over-priced and I am glad my midwestern sensibilities keep me from buying it. In our neck of the woods sweatpants are something worn when we're working in the yard or playing football outside. It would be crazy to spend $78 on something I could ruin on a Saturday afternoon.

[benny]

i would never spend more than $50 on clothing (even for myself) that doesn't last a couple of years. Also your kids won't thank you later for spoiling them like this. They will have what most young adults have these days, a unrealistic sense of entitlement!!

[Dana McConnell]

I bought my son who is 2 the band jacket because it looked like a Sgt.Pepper style and we love the Beatles. It is so cool looking that I decided it was worth it to spend $128.00 on it. He is 30 pounds. I had to hunt for it and found one in Denver about 2 hrs from my home. After asking the salesperson about the childs weight(30-33lbs for a 2t) I ordered the 2. It came in and was so small that his arms would barely fit in it and was tight over the chest. The arms are way too long also. He could not wait to get out of it. I called back and the store would not even hold the 3 or 4 for me until I could get down there. I found a 3t in Texas and ordered that one. Again it does not fit though it says it will for 33-36 lbs! I feel so foolish. I paid $12.00 shipping for these things and $138.00 total. I don't even know if the 4t will fit, and I am not willing to try again. How sad that the maker can't make these jackets really fit the average child, and has the public in a frenzy to obtain one when they are so hard to find.