Proudly Philippine Made: Children’s Clothes
By KK on Aug 14, 2007 in Beauty, Philippines, Mommy Files
As a first time mom in a new country, I believed that I was saving money buying clothes from Walmart until I found out that the lack of quality of the fabrics could not stand up to the multiple machine washing and drying. They looked worn out after 3 washings. Don’t get me wrong, I am a regular Walmart shopper but I no longer buy clothes there except for Danskin and Levi’s products. We also discovered the Tanger Outlets over at Rehoboth, DE. For a Walmart budget, I can buy clothes from Old Navy, OshKosh B’Gosh, Carters and shoes from Stride Rite for my daughter.
I usually pick out clothes based on the craftmanship(small stitches and neat seams), fabric quality(cotton with fine weave/knits) and style. I used to observe my Mom when she made our dresses when I was a child, so I know a thing or two about good quality sewing. I hardly notice where the products are made until I looked closely lately. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the jeans and dresses were made in the Philippines! I have heard before that the Philippines is like a Little Italy where skilled craftsmen/craftswomen are everywhere. I was proudly telling my daughter that her clothes are made from the Philippines and she gives special treatment to anything coming from my mother country.
I have also noticed that dresses and suits from Ann Taylor and Anne Klein are made there. I just wonder how many other big brand name companies have subcontractors in the Philippines. I just hope that the people sewing these fine crafted clothes are being paid well.
All the dresses and the jeans seen here are made in the Philippines. Little K wears them any day of the week and aren’t being saved for special occasions. She will out grow them by next year so might as well let her use them as much as she can. What I like about dresses is the ease of throwing it on her and she’s ready to go.
On the upper left, Lil K is wearing an awesome pair of jeans from Old Navy, it’s so soft and I was complaining why they don’t have jeans for grown-ups made from the same fabric.
This pretty dress is from OshKosh. Li’l K has been wearing it from Spring to Summer and has been washed countless times but it still looks decent. It’s wash and wear, even if it’s not ironed they look good enough to wear to church.
This white eyelet summer dress is so elegant. The picture doesn’t give justice to the dress. It was at the clearance racks last year. White eyelet dresses are classic summer favorites.
I liked the army green dress. It has little flower details which aren’t visible on the picture. hmmm I need more practice on “fashion shoots.”
yna | Aug 14, 2007 | Reply
Nice fashion show! Lil’K looks so lovely in all the pictures!
thess | Aug 15, 2007 | Reply
Hi there! what a lovely model!! I love what’s she’s wearing on the second picture the most, cute!
got here via Girlie’s page.
raqgold | Aug 15, 2007 | Reply
alam, there’s actually a lot of clothing companies with sub contractors in manila. sempre yung iba they change na tags to Made in US kasi assembly nila sa US na, hehe. aside from ann klein, POLO din. at marami pang iba. whenever we fly to manila, i hoard kiddie clothes there, aside from the price, quality talaga sya! proudly philippine made!
auntie mila | Aug 15, 2007 | Reply
Lovely clothes are mostly made from other countries, seldom are now made here in the USA …..outsourcing because of cheap labor…I have seen it with levi’s,gap,mcklintoc and many other signature brand.I am most proud are those made in the philippines.K is a beauty with those lovely and fasionable outfit. Auntie Mila
soloops | Aug 15, 2007 | Reply
What lovely outfits (esp. the dresses), and Little K is the perfect model.
Now I can’t wait for Faith to grow up so that we can play dress up.
KK | Aug 16, 2007 | Reply
@yna, sa wakas nag-comment din? Bakit walang email?
@thess, thanks for the compliment and dropping by.
@raq, the tags say it’s made in the Philippines. I don’t think it’s allowed to change the manufacturing tags unless that pieces are made from different countries and assembled in US. For the brands I have mentioned, unless going to factory outlets for export overruns, if you go to the stores(Makati) it’s the same prices as US only converted to pesos. So for me it’s cheaper to buy here because they are trying to get rid of the stocks for new ones.
@Auntie Mila, most of the higher prices clothes in the stores like dresses and suits comes from the Philippines. The lower priced like shirts, tank tops, shorts, etc comes from other places.
@soloops, It’s really fun dressing up our girls. I’m taking the opportunity to dress her up now before she demands picking out her clothes herself.
bill | Aug 17, 2007 | Reply
Yup the Philippines is exporting a lot of clothes. But I was told that the clothes which are exported have to pass a higher quality control test. Naiiwan dito sa Pinas ang hindi pumasa hehe.
Wow. Very nice pictures of your kids.
Thanks for visiting my blog. I added you to the links.
julie | Aug 18, 2007 | Reply
Wonderful dresses on a beautiful girl. Your little girl is growing up fast Tina.
Rowena | Aug 18, 2007 | Reply
Hi Tina, super pretty naman your kid. And yes there are a lot of branded clothing line which our fellow Pinoys are manufacturing here like Guess, Gap, Polo, Levi’s, Ann Taylor, etc. Cheap labor kasi here. And we’re wondering why it costs so much there?
Lovelyn | Aug 18, 2007 | Reply
Lovely Little “K”. That’s why I want to have a girl, its more fun dressing them up!
Every time we go home to ‘Pinas’ or a relative does, we buy clothes for Lukie specially summer clothes. Dickies, Polo, Disney and Gap are good which are very expensive here in Italy. You buy poor quality and unknown brand here with the price of branded clothes in the Philippines. ‘Sa atin na lang ako’.
There’s this line of clothes, “Grizzly Active Wear” from home and they make trendy, durable and really nice BOY’s outfits.
So with me and husband, we buy our jeans in The Philippines. ‘Kaya pagbalik’, our luggages are always overweight.
Belle | Aug 18, 2007 | Reply
she has the makings of a model. She knows how to pose and to walk. yes, that eyelet dress caught my attention…so elegant and it fits her perfectly!
KK | Aug 19, 2007 | Reply
Hi Bill, yes they have to be export quality but the good thing about it is buying the defects aren’t too bad either. Some defects are so slight you barely notice them and are sold for cheaps. I bought some Banana Republic jeans from Cavite for 100pesos($2) before and I couldn’t even tell what was wrong with it.
Hi Teacher Julie, Thank you, she is growing up faster than I wanted her to.
Hi Rowena, I was surprised myself because I was comparing prices and the clothes there are being sold MSRP just converted to pesos.
Hi Lovelyn, maybe you should try having Champagne next time
. I’ve heard that stuff is more expensive there in Europe. I’ll keep Grizzly Active Wear in mind, thanks for the info. Jeans are cheaper here than in Pinas, I went to Costco(bulk item store) last week and they are selling orginal Levi’s for $17!
Mag-buy and sell kaya ako ano? Mahirap lang kung uutanging tapos sasabihin na “akala ko pasalubong ko.”
Lugi negosyo.
The last time I went home I was wishing I had the time to go to ukay-ukay
.
Hi Ate Belle, Thank you. The white dress picture, ah that one has a story in it self. She was excited to go and have her picture taken, when we got on location after 5 minutes, she changed her tune(didn’t want her picture taken) and was being difficult so that’s the best picture I can come up with.
Leah | Aug 19, 2007 | Reply
Oh my, lovely dresses and lovely model. I also noticed that, quality clothes comes from PI. I’ve seen and bought ones from Tommy and Gap.
geri | Aug 20, 2007 | Reply
Tina, pareho pala tayo, I’m a Tanger outlet fan
That’s a lovely photo shoot with little K.
KK | Aug 20, 2007 | Reply
Hi Leah, Thanks. And they are usually the ones that aren’t just the t-shirts. Isn’t GAP an upscale brand of Old Navy?
Hi Geri, Thanks. Ganda doon diba? Is it tax free also in your place?
Allison | Apr 20, 2008 | Reply
hey reali kute pic luv the white dress on board walk!! =O
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Thanks Allison.
Melissa | May 1, 2008 | Reply
Ancestors are from Cebu and I was looking for an outfit that was worn at traditional celebrations so my son could wear and show for a class presentation of his ancestors culture. Would you suggest where I may find such clothing? We are also looking for a flag
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Hi Melissa,
You can find Barong Tagalog for kids from online stores now.
dawn | May 15, 2008 | Reply
someone was telling me about kids clothing with the label ‘Gingersnaps’ from the Phillipines. I have tried to find it but no luck. Any suggestions?
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Hi Dawn,
Gingersnaps? Sorry but I am not aware of the brand. It really depends on what you are looking for.
beth | Jul 5, 2008 | Reply
Hi,
Regarding Gingersnaps, I tried finding them online but they don’t have one. I know this store, it is a quite popular store in the Philippines. They have cute, chic little dresses, tops and bottoms for girls and smart looking shirts for boys. As for the quality and durability of their clothes, this I have yet to find out, my baby girl had just started wearing these clothes.
Katherine Tan | Jul 30, 2008 | Reply
Where is the factory of these branded clothes cheaper than the mall. I want to buy for my kids.
KK | Jul 31, 2008 | Reply
Hi Beth,
Thanks for the tips. I’ll check them out when we vacation in the Philippines.
Hi Katherine,
Like I mentioned in the post, it’s Tanger Outlets in Rehobeth, Delaware.
may | Aug 14, 2008 | Reply
where in cavite did you get the banana republic items? can you tell me how to contact them?
KK aka Tina | Aug 15, 2008 | Reply
Hi May,
The BR export over runs were sold in Robinson’s Mall near Cavite City. They were in the “tiange” looking isles. That was like 7 years ago though.
may | Aug 17, 2008 | Reply
Thanks! I was hoping you stumbled upon the actual ’source’. I heard that the contractors are somewhere in cavite. can’t seem to locate them though. Thanks again!