Lidl’s baby clothes cost as little as £1.49 but how do they compare to supermarket rivals?
Prices start from as little as £1.49, but are they any good? The Sun Online got one mum to test out supermarket baby clothes
BARGAIN baby clothes are bouncing onto supermarket shelves for as little as £1.49 - but how do they measure up to the competition?
Mum-of-one Rebecca Cox has tested all the major supermarket’s collections to find out which ones are worth stocking up on.
Last month, Lidl launched its own baby clothes range with prices starting at £1.49.
We decided to challenge one mum, Rebecca Cox, 30, who lives in Reading with her husband and one-year-old Jack to test them out.
She compared baby sleepsuits, vests and other items of clothing from six supermarkets, Aldi, Lidl, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons.
Rebecca said: "I'm used to topping up my wardrobe once a season with one or two new items.
"When you've suddenly got a little one who needs an entire new wardrobe roughly every three months (and who sometimes goes through five or six outfits in a day) - it can come as a shock.
"The thrill of shopping for adorable mini shirts, shoes and jeans soon wears off, to be replaced with the demand to stock up on a large quantity of easy-on, easy-off, easy-care garments that you can navigate on no sleep in the middle of the night.
With the quantity of clothes needed, keeping costs as low as possible for the essentials is key.
Rebecca Cox
"And with the quantity of clothes needed, keeping costs as low as possible for the essentials is key."
Supermarket baby clothes are affordable, often beating high street rivals on price. As well as Lidl launching a range, Aldi recently decided to step into the market too.
But which supermarkets offer the best choice and quality when it comes to their mini clothing ranges?
Which supermarket came out on top?
Because of the variation of ranges available, Rebecca tested out sleepsuits which were available from each supermarket, to keep the comparison standard.
Some of the smaller offerings include simple vests and sleepsuit collections, while the larger supermarkets include entire wardrobes of coats, jeans, jumpers, socks and shoes.
TESCO: £6 for a pack of two sleepsuits - 7/10
BEST for budget fashion. Like their adult offering, Tesco's Florence & Fred baby range has plenty of variety. With fashion-led prints and mini boots and bobble hats, there is plenty of choice.
Essential vests and sleepsuits come in multipacks and one-off special character prints, with prices starting from £6 for a pack of two sleepsuits.
There’s plenty of choice. The prints are nice but the fabric is a little thin in some designs.
The clothes are decent quality on the whole and the sizing ranges from pretty accurate to a little bit generous.
Jack is just about average size for his age and the clothes fit nicely.
They were easy to get on, easy to get off. Jack was happy to try them on. F&;F clothes wash and dry nicely, no matter how many applications of stain remover they encounter.
ALDI: 3-Pack sleepsuit for £2.99 - 3/10
BEST impulse buy. Aldi’s baby range includes essentials like sleepsuits, joggers and vests in neutral colours and playful prints.
You’ll find them in those middle aisles and they’ll end up in your shopping basket next to an orange snorkel kit and remote-control bread bin before you know what’s happened.
Aldi’s clothes look fairly similar to other supermarket brands. The prints are less appealing than some, with less variety.
The sleepsuit was a pretty good size, but the poppers seemed slightly crooked meaning the fit was off. The fabric is quite thin, too.
He didn’t enjoy the extra five minutes of popper faffing. And made this known. Loudly. The clothes washed up fine, but I don’t think they’d withstand more than a few months wear (not too much of a problem at this age).
LIDL: prices starting at under £2 - 4/10
BEST packaging and fabrics. Lidl’s baby range contains all the basic essentials, including vests and sleepsuits.
Made from organic cotton, they’re super-soft and affordable too, with prices starting at £1.49.
The packaging is great, recyclable cardboard and clear information about fabrics – they look much more expensive than they are.
The fabric is soft and the prints neutral and subtle. The wrap style of vests is lovely, too.
Unfortunately, I can only assume the sizing was developed by someone who has never had, nay, met, a child before.
The sleepsuit I tried Jack in was a size 12-24 months. Most baby clothes come in three month age gaps until 12 months, then six month graduations for the next year.
The idea that a one-year- old baby could wear the same size sleepsuit for a year is ridiculous, and the 12-24- month size is more than generous; it’s enormous.
He was also very entertained by the sheer size of the sleepsuit. He enjoyed playing with the extra mile of leg. Although, the clothes wash and dry nicely.
MORRISONS: two-piece for £8 - 7/10
BEST outfit ideas. Morrisons aim to offer a more premium range of baby clothes than some other supermarkets, with a wide variety of designs and products available.
As well as your usual essentials you can find outfit sets and gift-worthy three-pieces. The clothes look great – cute character sets and picture-perfect prints.
The clothes are really nice quality, they’re presented in a similar way to more premium high street ranges like Mothercare and Marks & Spencer.
However, the sizing was a little off – Jack is usually on-the-money when it comes to his age range for clothes, but these were really small on him.
He had to breathe in to get the trousers up - but on the whole he liked the natty designs. The clothes wash and dry nicely and most are fine in the tumble dryer.
ASDA: £7.50 for seven vests - 8/10
BEST for vests. George at Asda has a great choice when it comes to baby clothes, from all the usual basics to seasonal specials plus outerwear and occasion-wear.
They’re great value-for- money too, with multipacks of vests costing £7.50 for seven.
The vests are good value and come in some of the nicest prints. The neutral stripes and star print vests go with everything.
I’ve been relying on these since Jack was born and so far they haven’t let me down. Easy to get on and off and fit true to size, perhaps a little generous (meaning you get an extra month or so of wear).
The star print vest moved him to break out into spontaneous dancing. This could be good or bad; there’s really no knowing. They wash over and over and last really well.
SAINSBURYS: three packs of sleepsuits for £9 - 9/10
BEST sleepsuits. Like Asda, Tesco and Morrison’s, Sainsbury’s offer a really big selection for babies.
As well as essentials in affordable multipacks, they have plenty of outfits and layering options, as well as character specials including the Gruffalo and more. Their three packs of sleepsuits cost £9.
Their sleepsuit multipacks are definitely the nicest prints. While the woodland theme was present in other brands, Tu’s take on the trend looks more expensive than other supermarket items.
The sleepsuits are thicker fabric than other brands, the fit is to size and the poppers easy to find and fasten. Great quality! Tu clothes usually wash and tumble dry really nicely.
Jack fell asleep in this sleepsuit and slept all night. This could be a validation of the product in question, or it could be the fact that I made him try on six outfits in a row…
On the whole you get what you pay for...
Rebecca adds: "As with most things in life, when it comes to supermarket baby clothes, on the whole you get what you pay for.
"The exception to this are Asda’s multipacks of vests, which work out amongst the cheapest items but are great quality. Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrison’s are all great for stocking up on a new seasonal wardrobe.
"Aldi’s baby clothes are OK for the price tag, and it’s a real shame that Lidl’s sizing is so way off, as they’ve produced a really good quality product at a great price."
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