Saving money when shopping for baby clothes

Last month I wrote about my exploration of children's consignment stores in Seattle, but how much can it save you?  Being the first in my family to have a baby, I wasn't sure that I'd have anyone to hand clothes down to me so I felt the need to stock up on baby clothes, but the prices can be quite steep.  Since my initial frenzy of buying basics like onesies and footed pajamas, my friends with baby girls have very generously passed on beautiful clothes to me.  This is, of course, the best way to stock your baby's wardrobe if you're lucky.  Now, when I'm at the consignment store, I try to find the best deals possible.

Some examples are shown above.  The first tunic/dress is from Tea.  If you were to buy this new, it would cost approximately $29 or so.  The middle romper is from Hanna Andersen and would probably cost $20 or more new.  The last is from Oilily, the priciest of the three brands, and would run probably $40 new. That would be a total of $89 or so plus tax.  Because these were gently worn by someone else's baby and also off-season (end of summer sale) at the store, this cost me less than $15 total.  That's a savings of over $75 or 84% off retail!  Of course, if you have an aversion to used clothing, you could probably buy these 3 pieces in more generic versions new at the sale rack at Carter's, but aren't these just adorable?  I'm also hoping, I'll be able to trade them in at a good deal for more clothes down the line.

  Another alternative to consignment stores, are outlet stores.  Thanks to Seattle Moms Deal Finder, I found out that Kate Quinn Organics has an outlet store and showroom close by in Kirkland.  Even better, they had a summer special where items were buy one, get one half off.  The regular price of a pants and top would be around $44.00.  Pants by themselves would cost around $30.  For the 3 pants and 1 top above, you'd spend over $100 retail.  At the outlet, most pants and shirts were marked down to $7-12.  With the buy one, get one 1/2 off deal, I spent around $20 for the items above and they were brand new.  Some were even from the current season of clothing - not that the baby will care.  That's a savings of $80 or 80% off retail!  Also, if the baby ends up not using them, I may be able to sell them for more at consignment if they still have the tags attached.
   Again, you could spend even less if you went to a thrift store, a regular consignment shop, or found a mega sale at places like Carter's.  However, if you can't resist getting a few adorable name brand outfits for baby, it's good to know you can do it and still save some money.  After all, the baby will probably only be wearing it a handful of times.  Now, I need to figure out the best system of organization so all these cute clothes actually get worn when baby comes.