Back to School Clothing
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| Wed, 08-09-2006 - 5:58pm |
Ugh- it's my dd14's favorite time of the year again - a bonafide excuse to go shopping, where I foot the bill ;-)
I just want to know what everyone else does - maybe get some ideas. Do you offer a "budget amount" to each of your kids for back to school clothes and let them choose as long as they stay within the budget or do you go through and see what they actually "need" versus "want"?
I personally like the idea of letting them learn money management skills by giving them a set amount to spend and if they wear the same worn out shoes because they over spent in other areas perhaps they might learn something...the question becomes what amount is reasonable. Dh, who is completely out of touch with how much anything costs these days, thinks $100 per kid is enough, when as we all know a good pair of shoes can't be found for under $40. For my ds10 who likes to shop at Target $100 will be more than enough. But teenagers are a whole different ballgame, clothes are just pricier, even if you don't shop the name brands. What do you think?

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Ahhh the joys of back to school shopping.
I have an 18yo in college and a 15yo in the 10th grade. Luckily both of them worked hard at summer jobs this year and are able to contribute to the clothing fund.
YES, I think it is VERY important for teens to learn about money, budgeting and such.
Here's where I say "YIPPEE" for school uniforms! Well, DD does need a few new polos that we'll buy at the school store on orientation day and she needed shoes earlier in the summer so we bought a couple extra pairs to put away for school since they were already on sale. So, SHE is set!
Now, it's still nearly 100 degrees here in California so it must be close to that for you too, and for DS, he got a bunch of new shorts and shirts right before school let out. He can still wear those. I bought him ONE cool new shirt and a new pair of shoes (his feet are now bigger than DH's) and that's all he's getting, aside from school supplies and a new backpack for school, until the cool weather sets in.
I find that the stores will be already loaded up with fall clothing that we will absolutely NOT need until January or February, at which time the fall clothing will be gone and we'll find shorts and swimsuits ... I promise I am going somewhere with this LOL.
Here's what I suggest: Buy your DD one or two cool, new outfits for the first day or two, plus shoes, supplies, etc. Surely she has some nice clothes left that can still be worn until the weather turns? Then, when the weather starts cooling down, you will be able to take advantage of the sales on all the fall clothes because they will need to clear them out for the bikinis!
This won't work of course, if your DD has worn all her clothes out or has grown a ton since school let out in June.
I do like the idea of a pre-arranged budget -- tell her what you're willing to spend now and how much you can spend later in the winter. Take her and a friend to the mall and give her a pre-arranged amount of cash. (You may want to dole it out in small increments, say $75 and when it's gone, she can check back in with you, show you her purchases and drop them off with you so she is not burdened with a bunch of packages.) Park yourself in the food court with a book and let them go. Tell her you have final say and ultimate veto power on items of clothing you deem inappropriate, though, and arrange for a time to be finished with all of her shopping.
Good luck! I know this is a stressful time for a lot of parents.
Julie
DSs never cared about clothes except shoes... they had to be comfortable, durable, and look good.
Julie, I do exactly that. i buy one new outfit for the first day of school maybe two if i get a deal and then i start picking up warming things as I see the sales. I don't see a need to go out and buy a bunch of clothes that are going to sit until the weather gets cooler anyway.
robin
edited to add. i've been lurking here but haven't posted before.
LTNS :-)
I had to chuckle at your post.
We had to -drag- my boys to the clothing store. All they cared about was jeans and tees. I always warned beforehand that I had veto power over any inappropriate messages on the tees. Anything unreturnable would be used as firestarter in the fireplace. As I recall, that happened only once with middle guy who thought it would be cool at 14 to display a derogatory slur to our police officers.
DD on the other hand, presents the opposite challenge. She gets $300 for school clothes (which, according to her, is a mere pittance)and the same rules apply. Last year, she had to return a top that I swear was an athletic support bra that was mis-labeled, and a pair of shoes my dear old brother would refer to as "f**k me pumps." We'll see what this year brings...
Very good ideas posted so far. Let me add one more. We have a Plato's Closet resale store here in town. For those who aren't familiar, Plato's buys "gently used" name brand teen clothing- usually for cash- and resells said items at a huge savings. Sometime during the first couple weeks of August it is "clean out the closet" time at our house. Anything outgrown, out of favor, whatever, that is appropriate for resale at Plato's we take there and whatever proceeds are received go toward new school clothes. Last weekend DD14 took two shopping bags of too-short jeans and miscellaneous items in and netted $148. This is hers to spend on new school clothes. She has spent about a third of it so far. She has a lovely core wardrobe that she fills in a little here and there with a few trendy items, a splurge item every now and then and the rest from the sale and clearance racks and EBay. She has an uncanny ability to sniff out bargains- last summer she walked out of Abercrombie with two pair of khaki shorts, a denim miniskirt and 2 tshirts for under $25 total. It helps to be a size 0/XS- those are usually the sizes left that get marked down several times.
DS17 has very expensive taste. He does work and contribute to the clothing budget, and is willing to do with fewer things in return for certain brands, etc. He is good about spying bargains- always checks that clearance area first. Shoes are the biggest expense by far- he's a runner with a history of foot problems so we do high end running shoes. However since his feet finally stopped growing we have invested in a great pair of Doc Martens (2 years old and still like new) and some really nice boots. He also has a bunch of stuff to go to Plato's, and will probably spend his proceeds on a few luxury items that old Mom won't cough up for, lol.
We also take advantage of every discount program we can- PacBucks at PacSun, Access Pass at American Eagle, Club Cali at Hollister- we try to take advantage of all of them.
I forgot to mention shoes in my post. In our home, good shoes are a priority and I don't fuss over prices here. DS has really wide feet, so it is important for him to have good fitting shoes with good support and I pay the price for them. Lots of time, we'll find shoes for him on sale, though, so there's a bit of a savings. For whatever reason, he wanted to go to Nordstrom Rack a few weeks ago, and we found a pair of DC shoes for under $40.
With DD, I actually have to help her find good shoes. She is inclined to like shoes that while very cute and stylish, offer no support whatsoever. She has a long day at school when it's in session, so I tend to exert my parental authority for her a little more often. She is not allowed to wear flip-flops or backless shoes to school, though, so that does make it a bit easier. For her, I nearly always buy 2-3 pairs at a time, especially when they're on sale. She has pretty much stopped growing, as have her feet, so I don't have to worry about her growing out of her shoes before they wear out. Now with DS, that is a completely different story. He continues to grow out of his shoes about every 3 months.
We also have our annual clothes sorting and closet cleaning during the summer. DD makes 3 piles of the clothes she is getting rid of, one for the trash, one for goodwill, and the nice clothes go to her cousin. That was a great idea to bring some of these clothes to a second hand store...I'll have to do that next year.
Since DD has been earning her own money I give her a budget of $500 and she has to decide what she needs as opposed to what she wants. This is the only money she gets from us for clothing the entire year so this not only has to cover shoes, jeans and tops but it also has to cover bras, socks, underwear. And we all know how pricey bras can be!
I thought for sure that she would want the cash and go shopping with her friends but quite surprisingly she wanted to go with me and said that it was an annual tradition. We went this past weekend and she did very well. Not only did she buy what she really needed but she went through all the clearance racks and made her money stretch and kept a very close eye on the budget. We had a really good time and I was proud of how well she managed the money.
Now when she was 14 it was a whole different ball game. I don't remember it being so enjoyable....lol. I seem to recall wanting to pull my hair out because she wanted this particular pair of sneakers that she just couldn't find anywhere and it was a constant struggle because she kept picking these little tees that would have fit a toddler that cost $30 each! I don't think she really understood the concept of a budget until she started working herself.
Teen girls are tough when it comes to shopping so good luck!!!
Hi Robin,
I just wanted to say "Welcome to the board!" Hope to "see" you around.
Amelia
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