Take some 'second hand' things round, things that you are 'clearing out' and that your daughter has 'grown out of' this was avoids embarrasment!

I would meet and talk to the parents so you can get a better feel for the situation. If I had no money but someone showed generosity to my child I would be very accepting of it. However some people are not so check first.

bless your heart..knock on the door of the parents and say something like, I would like to do this for your daughter..without hurting their feelings. I have been on that side of the door, and have had this done to me..it's a little awkward to say the least but deep down I really did appreciate the gesture..and took some pressure off of me.

Maybe the Parents could afford to dress the child my spend there money on other things??

I dont have alot of money either but I can get the girl a nice wardrobe at our thrift store here for 20.00, I just dont want them to get offended because it seems like they act weird when I buy her things. I bought her a cute book and left it on the porch for her yesterday. I just dont want them to feel bad, I took the kids bike riding and the little girls parents had a bike for her that was so big she couldnt even ride it and it had training wheels that kept moving around so bad she kept falling and her handle bars kept twisting around. My hubby fixed it for her but I am wondering why they never took the time to fix it, I know her step dad knows how. Seems like they just dont care about the kids, I am not sure. I feel bad about it because I had a good child hood but I know that many kids dont and it affects them for life.

can you just be casual about it? Like "oh I got her this dress because it was a 2 for 1 sale and I needed to get one for my daughter. Hope you don't mind"?

i tried that too, with Pj's that were on sale and they acted weird. i think I will just get her some clothes and put them in a bag and tell her that I was cleaning out my ebay room and thought she could wear some of the things that I had in there. that may work

Yeah, that sounds like the best idea.

Got any "thrift stores"? They are run by the Salvation Army. If you have one... go there. You'll get more bangs for your buck and you'll be able to buy 3-5 times the amount of clothes that you could at regular stores and you're helping the homeless, etc.
Rummage through you closets and get what you'd probably throw away!
You sound like a gentle and sweet woman with a very nice conscious. What you're doing is very commendable!

StillMoving...do you think they are poor or just don't give a damn?

Hmmmmm....Sounds like neglect. Are the parents sober and stuff? It might behoove you to find out. If so, maybe someone needs to step up the plate for the little girl.

You could just ask the parents how they feel about you giving things to their child. Then take it from there. No need to talk about all the things you have noticed, just tell them you have so much fun with your daughter buying her things and since the two girls spend time together, when you shop for your daughter you can't help but want to buy for their daughter too. Sorta like dress up. You might mention the 'find such a great bargain' you though of their daughter. See how that goes

Hmm...You and I sound a lot alike...I just have a problem (I've been told) with boundaries. I don't know the parent's situation though...I come up with excuses that this kid outgrew this...type of thing... I dunno?!?

You mentioned that her clothes were dirty when she came over to play. I'm concerned that the items you buy won't get washed on a regular basis considering how she goes out in public. With the parents acting weird it seems like they are unaware or unconcerned about holes and dirty clothes. Thats unfortunate.