While some stores stand out for overall price and quality, others excel in a particular category of clothing. We'll take a look at each category on our list, starting with cheap kids shirts.
This includes boys polo shirts, button-down shirts, T-shirts, and hoodies, as well as girls T-shirts, sweaters and fashion tops, and hoodies. Walmart has the lowest prices across the board on cheap boys shirts. Faded Glory polo shirts cost $4.97, button-down shirts are $7, T-shirts cost as little as $3.88, and Hanes hoodies start at $10. Sears and Kohl's are at the high end: Sears boys shirts range from $7.98 for T-shirts to $30 for both hoodies and polo shirts, while Kohl's charges $12 for T-shirts and $48 for hoodies; button-down shirts and polo shirts fall in the middle, at $20 each. JC Penney's Arizona brand cheap boys shirts range from $9.99 for T-shirts to $29.99 for hoodies -- high prices compared with Target's Cherokee brand, which ranges from $3.99 for T-shirts to $12.99 for hoodies. Kmart boys T-shirts cost $7.99 and polo shirts $5.99; button-down shirts and hoodies go for $16.99 and $18.99, respectively. These are considerably low prices, but the quality seemed a bit iffy, especially on the T-shirts, which appeared to be made of weak fabric with no reinforced stitching. Old Navy's cheap boys shirts fall right in the middle, with polo shirts costing $9.50 each, T-shirts $9.94 (or two for $15 in select styles), button-down shirts $14.50, and hoodies $16.94. As far as selection goes, Walmart has tons of T-shirts, Old Navy has a wide selection of tees and polo shirts, and JC Penney has lots of options in all styles, but prices are a little higher.
For girls tops, Walmart and Kmart have the cheapest offerings. Walmart charges $3.50 for T-shirts, $10 for fashion tops, and $8 for hoodies, while Kmart asks only $5.98 for fashion tops, $5.99 for T-shirts, and $16.99 for hoodies. Kohl's is the most expensive, with prices ranging from $16 for T-shirts to $32 for hoodies. Target girls shirts are fairly cheap, at $4.99 for T-shirts, $9.99 for fashion tops, and $24.99 for hoodies. Old Navy again falls in the middle, with T-shirts for $6.50, fashion tops for $12.94, and hoodies for $19.94. Sears and JC Penney have similar prices: $9.99 for T-shirts and $24 and $29.99 for hoodies, respectively. Walmart has tons of T-shirts for girls as well, and Old Navy offers a wide selection of T-shirts and fashion tops. JC Penney and Sears also have a huge selection but are relatively pricey. One mom told us Kmart is her choice for girls shirts because it carries the Disney tops her 8-year-old especially likes.
One word -- uniforms. JC Penney has every imaginable uniform item your child would need for low prices that happen to be compatible with high quality. In fact, selection is good in most categories at this venerable department store, although prices can creep up on you. As for quality, the Arizona brand ranks up there with the best when comparing T-shirts, hoodies, and polo shirts. Customers say JC Penney is a convenient place to shop, especially if they need to buy uniforms.
Kmart offers shoppers something of a mixed bag. Although jeans are well-priced and sturdy, most tops seem a bit flimsy. Customers seem split in their opinions of Kmart. One mom told us the quality of the cheap kids clothes seems to have improved over the past few years, while others say they don't shop at Kmart because of the flimsy materials used to make the clothing. In addition, the return policy is quite strict.
Frugal shoppers say Kohl's offers a wide range of high-quality brands for low prices. While the store placed as the most expensive in our shopping cart test, the coupons and in-store discounts are impressive and help lower prices drastically. In our review of cheap kids clothes, we found that Kohl's kids dress clothes, including dresses and pants, surpass the rest with a large selection of items that should last a while. Plus, the return policy is unbeatable -- completely hassle-free, meaning you can return just about anything at any time with or without a receipt.
Excellent quality jeans and polo shirts at affordable prices make Old Navy a top store brand. This retailer also boasts the greatest assortment of styles in outerwear that we saw while shopping toward the end of July. Consumers seem to like Old Navy; they say the budget kids clothes are well-priced and right up there with the latest fashion trends. One arena where Old Navy flags is its return policy. In certain situations you can only get a store credit mailed to you rather than receiving it on the spot. We also found a very limited selection of budget kids shoes, and pajamas are available only online.
Everything you need for your child's back-to-school wardrobe can be found in-store at Sears. That's right -- from underwear to uniforms and everything in between, it's all there. But you may pay slightly higher prices for the one-stop-shopping convenience. Still, consumers don't have any complaints about shopping at Sears.
Target outshines the competition in budget kids shoes. It boasts an outstanding selection at very low prices and several shoppers laud the quality. Cheap kids tops also seem to be a good value at Target; fabric used in the Cherokee brand seems quite durable. Most customers seem satisfied with Target's back-to-school options and consider the return policy easy to work with. On the downside, we found a limited selection in certain categories, such as uniforms, pajamas, and dress clothes.
In our shopping cart test of cheap kids clothes, Walmart was the clear winner with the lowest total: $218.36. The store also came out on top in the jeans and underwear match-ups. In jeans, Walmart offers the lowest prices for relatively high quality; the durable fabric is unlikely to rip or fray easily. Many retailers carry the same brands of panties and briefs, training bras, socks, undershirts, and tights, but Walmart sells them at the lowest prices. Customers seem to like Walmart as a place to stock up on these basic items.
The more you know about a graduate's plans for the future, the easier it is to come up with a cheap graduation gift. However, the suggestions below should work for most any grad and cost less than $25.