Old Navy: my new favorite toddler clothing store

I am going to do a few posts on stores that I love to shop at for my children and what my must-haves are from those stores.  First on the list is Old Navy.  I have always shopped at Old Navy for cheap wardrobe staples for myself like tank tops, camis, etc.  They have lackluster quality in some of their items that I don't fully appreciate like jeans and jackets.  I like their website and their selection of items in pretty much any color that you can imagine.   

Since we had kids we tailor a lot of our shopping trips around the play places in the local malls.  I can pretty much tell you which malls have good play areas and what I like and don't like about each one.  Before I had kids I was always annoyed by these places because it's like 900 million screaming children under 3ft tall running and screaming and being crazy all in one small area.  I'm not going to lie; it still touches my soul a little bit to be in there with my kids.

Ridgmar Mall, one of the closest malls to our house, has a pretty decent play area.  It's a rather large and has a lot of different things for the kids to climb on.  There are two things that I hate about going to that mall: 1) the people that bring their kids into that play area aren't always the smartest when it comes to being able to read the rules of the play area re: no food/drink and the height requirements of the children that they are bringing in, and 2) there are a lot of stores that have left that mall because of the lack of traffic. 

One of the big stores in that mall is an Old Navy, which has rekindled my love for the store.  I love cheap children's clothes, but I also want them to be decent quality.  Your kids wear an outfit only a few times before they either wear it out, spill something on it that you aren't able to get out, or they outgrow it.  I love pieces of clothes for both of my kids that I can mix and match and make different outfits out of so I can get more use out of them.  Who am I kidding - it's really first and foremost so my husband can pick them out something to wear that remotely matches, and the bonus is that they get to wear the clothes more than a few times. 


Below is a list of staples for my daughter's wardrobe from Old Navy:

• $5 leggings - these are a must.  I am a fairly modest dresser and I pass that on to my daughter by force at this age.  I dislike short skirts and dresses for toddlers.  I don't think that there is any reason why my toddler should have dresses and skirts that are shorter than people would be allowed to wear in school.  I put leggings under anything that she wears that I feel is even remotely too short.  They have them in all colors and patterns.  She has probably 6 pairs of these right now and she loves them.  Mom dresses her in them when she is at home to be comfortable and she wears them under dresses when we go out.  They are full length - not sure if they have a capri length or not.  The picture above is Isabella modeling the leggings in black. 

• 'mix and match' items - shorts, capri knit pants, t-shirts, and tank tops.  These are typically on sale for $5 a piece.  They have patterns and colors that are designed to coordinate together so that you can mix and match - hence the name.  I absolutely love the capri pants on Isabella - they are the perfect length and seem like good quality material.  The shorts are longer length and the shirts are longer than average length which helps them to not ride up and show her midriff.  The above picture is Isabella wearing one of the t-shirts.

 

• dresses - we absolutely love their longer flowy summer dresses.  We bought some from a seller on eBay on time and over time have purchased more than five directly from the store.  They are long enough to not be considered skanky and they typically have some sort of semblance of a lining on the inside which stops them from being see through.  Often they have a super cute detail like a bow in the back of the neck or a super cute neckline.  They also have awesome patterns. 

Below is a list of staples for my son's wardrobe from Old Navy:

• 'mix and match' items - shorts, t-shirts and muscle shirts.  I love the muscle shirts for toddlers, especially for my son because he gets so hot when he plays that I think that they keep him cooler than other shirts.  Their t-shirts, especially for boys are really soft and comfortable. 

• solid onesies - you will figure out soon after the birth of your child that you will be hard pressed to find a solid color onesie that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.  Carters will sell them in like a four pack for $15 or something like that.  Old Navy will regularly have them on sale for much cheaper than that.  The one down side is that I find that their onesies are on the short side as far as length so my kids usually can't wear them until they are too tight because they are too short on the rise. 

• shirts with cute sayings on them - the majority of ours for Silas have been long sleeve but they have a number of them that are short sleeves.  My sister bought him this one but I love it.  The arms are the right length for the size which is important because sometimes they are too short - maybe Silas just has long arms?  Either way, they fit well, are the appropriate length and looks good for multiple wearings. 

All in all, I can usually spend more money than I should on clothes for the kids when I go in the doors.  Another bonus of Old Navy is that there is normally at least a wall full of clearance clothes and you can find some excellent deals on clothes.  I definitely recommend Old Navy for children's clothes. 

- Sara