Am I wrong to put my child in 'designer' clothes?

One thing I've learnt since I've become a mother is that everyone has an opinion on how you bring up your child. From the woman at the bus stop to the postman and his dog, parenting is this unchartered territory where everyone thinks they can stick their two'penneth in.

I've been told that; Fred should have been 'having real milk straight from my 'babylons' as some old perv so kindly put it, lectured about giving him a pink beaker as it's sure to turn him into the next Shirley Bassey and the latest, that I am 'stupid' for putting my child in designer clothes.

Before I was pregnant, myself and Mr C both had relatively good jobs which meant we could afford nice things. I've been lucky that I've always had the privilege of nice things and I appreciate nice things. At 16, I worked hard to save my own money to buy a Chloe handbag. The satisfaction that I got from knowing that I'd worked hard to buy such a beautiful piece made me feel proud. The majority of my friends  had never even heard of Chloe; never mind it's £800 price tag so it wasn't about showing off. To me, it was the feeling of accomplishment that came with the smell, the feel, the everything about my wonderful new bag.

Quite simply, I'm one of those people that would rather have one nice thing than lots of medioke things. As that sort of person, naturally this carries through to my son.

I like to buy him designer clothes.

I'm not talking high-end catwalk designer. I simply cannot afford that anymore with all of my responsibilities. I mean 'high street' designer such as Ralph Lauren. 

The majority of Freddie's clothes are from Next but he has quite a few 'designer' bits such as RL or Levi jeans. He has clothes from Asda and I'm a big fan of Tesco for some stuff.

But still, I'm 'stupid' for buying him designer clothing.He has a Ralph Lauren winter coat that I actually bought from an outlet so it was half the RRP. He has some Ralph Lauren trainers that I got from a discount website for 70% off the RRP. He also has some bits that I loved so I paid full price for them.

It isn't about the money as the majority of his things are from outlet stores or online. Even if I did pay £80 for a polo or £130 for a coat, what's that to do with anybody else? I don't smoke, drink or go 'out'. I very rarely buy myself anything as I prefer to spend MY money on nice things for MY son.

Notice the MY? Yes he's my son and I like to buy him lovely things with my money which myself or Mr C earn.

I agree, he grows fast and he doesn't know the difference between designer and supermarket clobber but as his mother, I do. Whilst I am still in control of dressing him then I will choose to dress him how I want. If I like a particular item of clothing, regardless of price, then I will buy it. I also find that spending a little bit extra on something means that it is better quality, washes well and lasts longer. 

I would not dream of slating someone for dressing their child in Primark so why do we feel that we can slate others who choose to dress their children in designer? 

Freddie in Ralph Lauren at 3 months

More designer at 4 months

Designer shorts at 8 months